This will be a long review so TLDR: Danny and his staff are the best there is and their food is…read moreeven better!
It's truly difficult to express how amazing Danny and his staff made our wedding event. As we were working to find a chef for our small wedding reception/garden party, Danny stuck out simply because we liked the pictures of his food, but after we met with him, we knew he was the perfect chef for us. He made us feel comfortable from the start (LGBTQIA+ friendly) and understood our tastes and interests from just a 30 minute intro call.
We signed our contract with him several months out from the event, but he always kept in touch to make sure our heads were still in the same place in how we wanted to celebrate our wedding.
Moving to the actual event, we hosted ~22 people for a cocktail style garden party. Danny came up with an amazing menu including:
- Cheese plate (very high quality cheeses; these leftovers made for spectacular girl dinners)
- The popcorn project (very cute apps with a special, Danny-made seasoning I can't stop thinking about)
- Guacamole three ways (fabulous)
- Black bean mango salsa (so refreshing for an outdoor party)
- Pimento cheese dip (if you only have one stationary plate option, you should definitely get this)
- Black bean hummus (added to our menu last minute and it did not disappoint)
- Gazpacho shots (refreshing and elevated)
- Shrimp lollipops (perfect way to start the event)
- Scallop ceviche (my wife's favorite dish)
- Brisket sliders (my favorite dish)
- Mini cupcakes (soooooo cute and the perfect size to allow you to try all of the flavors)
- Thin mint drunken milkshakes (a perfect way to cap off the night)
For drinks, we had a few signature cocktails, lots of wine, and a few non-alcoholic drinks. Danny has a knack for coming up with differentiated cocktails that still bring together all of the flavors you know and love, just at an elevated level. I highly recommend the Santero (mojito adjacent) and my wife loved his bourbon cocktail. We had a few non-alcoholic drinkers and they loved the blood orange margarita.
And beyond the food, Danny's staff was perfect. Jessalyn and Camilla were so warm and welcoming and we couldn't have asked for anyone better. The kitchen was a little tight to begin with, but they made more than do with the resources they had and left the kitchen in better condition than how it started. Danny and his sous chef, Cat, were busy and possibly overwhelmed, but didn't show it at all. The cadence the food was sent out was perfect and we loved that we got to chit chat with the whole staff in between courses.
When we first met Danny, we told him that with all of the money in the world, we still would want to have a very small wedding reception with a private chef. Danny's personality, food, staff, etc. etc. made it better than we ever could have anticipated.