Chef Steph is truly exceptional. We are vegan, and she has an incredible ability to transform any meal we choose into a thoughtful, elevated, and genuinely delicious vegan dish. Every single week we are blown away by the flavor, creativity, and care she puts into her cooking. Her meals are so good that we honestly no longer want to eat out. The food she prepares for us at home is consistently better than what we would order at restaurants, and that says everything. Each dish feels intentional, nourishing, and beautifully balanced, with just the right touches to make it feel special without ever being heavy. Every meal has been outstanding, and the consistency is what truly sets her apart. Chef Steph has completely changed the way we eat at home, and we feel incredibly lucky to have found her. If you are considering working with her, do it. You will not be disappointed. read more

I never thought I'd be able to justify the luxury of a private chef service, but I keep this service as a lifeline in my back pocket for weeks that we just need a little extra help, like when the demands of parenting and working during a global pandemic seem extra burdensome. So far, we've had three appointments, and they've all been wonderful. For each one in advance, you choose the time/date for your chef, three entree items and three sides. The "sides" is a bit of a misnomer, as you can often make meals of these in themselves. They include salads, hot breakfast casseroles, pies, and more. Recipes range from Mongolian Beef to Shepherd's Pie, homemade granola bars, Thai Chicken salad, etc. I imagine if we did this weekly, the options might get monotonous, but doing it every once in a while works out well for us so that there are usually a few new options that appear the next time we're ready to book an appointment. For each item you'll see an estimate on how much extra it will add to your bill in groceries in addition to the base chef cost. The chef will stop at your local HEB to shop for your ingredients fresh right before your appointment. You pay a $35 deposit, which you can get refunded if you cancel the appointment by the stated deadline (and they send you frequent reminders -- they're not trying to pull one over). On average with tip and the cost of groceries, we usually spend around $225 for our family of four. The meals last us a while. Sometimes we share them with friends who could use an extra meal, or sometimes we freeze the leftovers. There are instructions for reheating, freezing, etc. As stated in other reviews the chefs are generally efficient and very tidy, leaving your kitchen looking spotless, with a huge amount of prepared food for you to enjoy (it's hard not to dive right in). Communication by text is great. During COVID, the chef has worn a mask during the appointment and the service has had very clearly communication about canceling in the event of COVID exposure, etc. I appreciate that they're taking it seriously. If I had a couple of critiques, it would be that whatever process gets communicated to the chef regarding ingredients might need to be streamlined. The past two appointments, our chef has had to make a couple of grocery store trips because he forgot items, and this prolongs the preparation process. I would also love to see a bit more variety to the menu options. It would be nice to have it broken down roughly by type of dish (seafood, beef, casserole, etc.) and price (budget friendly or special splurge). Other than those minor tweaks, we love the service, and I imagine we'll keep using it as occasional customers. read more

This is seriously the best service ever. As a busy mom and business owner, making healthy dinners is something that gets put on the back burner. Our evenings are always so rushed and we often end up ordering takeout. Dinner Elf has so many yummy dinner options to select from. Setting up the appointment was quick and easy to do on my phone. The communication before and after the appointment was also great. Our elf, Dakota, showed up on time for each appointment. He didn't mind our crazy noisy house full of kids and pets. All of our meals have been delicious and easy to heat up. It is SO nice to have dinner ready to go every night. It's one less thing to worry about and we get to spend more time with the kids. Our kids keeping asking if our elf can come over everyday. The cost is totally reasonable compared to ordering takeout. This would make a GREAT gift for new parents, someone recovering from surgery or anyone who needs a break. Thank you Dinner Elf! read more

Dinner Elf - a variety of food in plastic containers on a kitchen counter - Food Delivery Services Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Frankie hooked it up! She made 2 delicious chicken pot pies and my family and I are already making our way through the second one. She was great in the kitchen, professional and a joy to be around. Thanks for the awesome food! read more

It was my first time using Dinner Elf - I received this as a gift after the birth of baby #2. I'm so happy I was able to relax and NOT have to make a meal for the family. Mandy was AMAZING. Her food was delicious, we ordered the salmon and fruit salad. This was supposed to be for dinner, but ended up eating it immediately after she left. Even my toddler gobbled everything on his plate, veggies and all! Thank you Mandy. Oh, not to mention...she cleaned up my kitchen too! Highly recommended. read more

Dinner Elf - Salmon with zucchini - Food Delivery Services Near Me - Austin, Texas

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If you are like me and work all day, having someone buy groceries for me, come in my home and cook 3 meals a week and even wash dishes afterwards, this might be for you. I've been using this service for 8 months and is something we feel is costing us less money. Elf Megan from Dinner Elf cooks for my family. She is fabulous. We love having her and enjoy her dishes. We have told her that she could up the seasoning a bit more. Other than that, it is great!! Bio from Megan: 'I am a 2010 Bachelors of Art in Culinary Art graduate from Kendall College with ten years of professional cooking and baking experience. I love to help people eat well and have more time in the day!' Megan has a few open spots. Grab one with the code RC9024 for $10 off at https://dinnerelf.com read more

Here we go again!! Another incredible experience with Dinner Elf. Chef Michael came to our home this week and I'm blown away. He is a ninja in the kitchen. How on earth did he just churn out all of this delicious food in no time. I walked in at the beginning and my kitchen was filled to the brim with all of the beautiful ingredients. This service is unbelievable. It feeds us all week, is healthy and yummy, and the elf's are awesome and really know how to grocery shop efficiently too. Please do this for yourself. read more

Dinner Elf - Shepherds Pie, Chicken Tetrazzini, Turkey Sliders, all the sides - Food Delivery Services Near Me - Austin, Texas

Michael did a world class job. Really! I've been lucky enough to eat at lots of fine restaurants and I can't think of one that did such an aaaahhhmazing job. It was great to be able to specify the foods I don't like to end up with the perfect fit for my palate. I even had him call an audible when I mentioned that I didn't like an ingredient he was about to use. Like a pro, he didn't miss a beat and adapted to still create heaven. The perfect Christmas gift. Thanks, Michael! read more

Dinner elf is in the San Antonio market now. I can't not say how happy I am for this service. You will feel like a celebrity with having a personal chef come in to your home and cook. No doubt. The first we all sat at the table watching him make his magic in the kitchen. Come on people there is nothing like a man cooking for you. Right Ladies!!!! We had Elf Chef Nolan come into our home and cook for the second time. The first visit was a sample meal and now we had a full service visit. He made 3 main dishes and 3 sides for us. Elf Chef Nolan was on time! He came with all the groceries cooked everything and even cleaned up before he left. I have to say it is such a treat for a man to come and cook for me personally because usually I'm the only one that cooks in our home. Everything he made was season perfectly. We ordered 3 family sized meals and sides: Pesto chicken breasts with mushroom alfredo noodles (side) Chicken tikka masala paired with the side of mediterranean style couscous is amazing. The dish was very well made and season perfectly. I would so order this again. Blueberry pancake muffins fresh made from the oven yumm. Baked salmon and roasted zucchini All of the main dishes and sides Were placed into my own containers. They usually pack them in disposable containers and have everything ready individual servings. We eat more family style and I prefer not to have more disposable containers going into the landfill. Dinner elf can meet your dietary needs. Take advantage in writing your notes on your order. Dinner elf will be a monthly treat for us. Thank you Dinner Elf and Thank you to Chef Nolan. Stars 1 star for easy ordering online 1 star for service 1 star for food 1 star for cleanliness 1 star for overall experience. read more

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The first interaction with Dinner Elf was not great and it went down from there. The first go around the chef was on time and came prepared for all of the meals requested. I had to be present to make sure questions about the kitchen and kitchenware were answered - that is understandable. The food made was at best low quality. I am not a picky person by any stretch of the imagination. The chef...fish was over cooked, other meals were bland. We had 2 additional scheduled visits and the chef called off last minute - like 1 hour before last minute (2weeks in a row). No reason given. Then we received an email asking us to get another Elf. Calls to the owner were less than informational. I was told that we were outside of her driving preference. But this does not answer the question as to why she waited last minute to cancel. As busy professionals I would say this chef and this organization is substandard. read more

5 Stars for sure! This was my first experience with Elf. Hollie was a great chef - food prep and service. Very easy to communicate with. I have already started recommending you to my friends. I look forward to engaging you for many more meals. read more

This service is absolutely stellar! Not only do they have a huge selection of meals to choose from, they also have incredible customer service. After receiving a gift certificate and going through the ordering process I was informed that service to my area was unavailable. I emailed the company and explained that I had been gifted a few meals from the service and was really excited to try it out but they apparently don't service my area. They apologised and explained that they had recently lost the elf that services my area but they would ask their other elves and see who would agree to come out. Cue Elf DeLondra to the rescue! Once it came to my Dinner Elf appointment, everything was a dream. Elf DeLondra was prompt and polite, extremely quiet, cooked three INCREDIBLE meals for us, packaged everything beautify, and she even scrubbed down our stove top when she was finished! Everything was immaculate when she was done, there was zero clean up and all I had to do was enjoy the expertly crafted and beautiful food that was prepared for me. I could not expect better service and I can't wait to chow down on these amazing meals this week! read more

Chef Brett was awesome. He was friendly, he washed all the dishes and the food he tucked away in our fridge was scrumptious. Moreover, the portions were generous. Our four year old loved his chicken tikka. Thank you, Chef Brett! read more

High potential concept with flaws namely in food quality and handling. Our "dinner elf" showed up with all the accoutrements in a little wagon and uniformed like a chef. I felt seriously spoiled (this review may confirm that I am). In any case, he made up all the meals and as he made each one he put them up on the counter to sit while he made the next one. At the end, he took a pic of them all, Instagram-style. I'd say the polenta and tomato mushroom sauce was my favorite, but still overall the meals were 3-1/2 stars in flavor and imagination, a la Olive Garden or Luby's. For these humdrum flavors, might as well get something at H-E-B e.g. their meal simple (oven-ready) offer. Seeing the food sit out for a long while made me queasy also. It's perfectly serviceable institutional food, but since that's the case, I'm not sure what the value is of having them come to your house. I hope I am an anomaly and my comments are unrepresentative. read more

I love the concept but the food just wasn't very good, we ended up throwing half of it away. I really wanted to love, or even just like, the food but it just wasn't very flavorful. We even had one dish where the noodles weren't cooked fully. Another dish that we threw away was the curry. It seemed that water was used instead of coconut milk so it didn't have any flavor at all and was a weird red color. As someone that works 12 to 16 hour days every day, we were really hoping this would work out and even tried it a couple of times. We're just going to keep searching. read more

We were gifted with Dinner Elf from family friends who knew we were having a rough time and wanted to ease our stress. It was just what we needed! Our dinner elf, Michael came in and filled our home with wonderful smells and left us with three nights of scrumptious meals with no mess to clean up - he even took out the garbage! He was friendly and personable but not in the way as we rushed about our busy day. Everything we have had so far has been scrumptious. I highly recommend Dinner Elf for your family or as a gift to others. read more

This is the most amazing service I could have ever wished to exist! The menu selections are great, very affordable and the meals are big enough to have extras. The side dishes can serve as the start of another meal later in the week and are great selections. The experience itself is totally smooth and wonderful, you won't even know they came b/c the kitchen is spotless, the food is out away in plastic containers (they provide). It's the most no-brainer decision to get on autopilot and have them come cook every week. Absolutely PHENOMENAL service!! read more

YUM! I love these guys. Really good affordable, healthy food that is conveniently prepared in my home. Initially we thought we would try this just for the convenience BUT the food is really good too and most importantly our 4 year old happily eats the Elves cooking! (check out the kid friendly option if you are in my predicament). Oh - almost forgot - they push out new meal items all the time. I don't know how they do it but I'm glad they do because I don't have to. No more fighting over "what's for dinner". Cheers to the Elves! read more

I tried Dinner Elf for one night because I wanted to see if it was something we could use. Wow! How nice it was to be tired after dealing with the kids all afternoon and a healthy and hearty meal was waiting. The meat portions were so generous, we got well over the 4 portions promised. I plan on booking an elf when things get busier and I don't have to time to get it together. Also planning for it when we are in the middle of moving or when a friend has a new baby! read more

This was a phenomenal experience. They came in uniform took their shoes off without me even having to ask and got to work. One of the things that impressed me the most was their level of organization they had all the tools they would use to prepare the meals sorted in such an efficient way. I left my keys with them and went to work, they dropped off my keys later in the day and even sent me a picture of the fridge when they had finished. When I got home I laughed because the kitchen area was cleaner than I had left it for them. Sweet plus! Now the food is Where things really made me fall in love with this service. I am a single guy and though the service is targeted towards families I thought (rightly so) that it would be a great fit for my busy lifestyle (I am so cool). I order the paleo meals because like mentioned earlier I am cool and also I workout hard so love the clean tasting protein and vegetables. I never cook at home except for my 6 eggs a day (I make really good eggs, seriously) so normally I just get food form out either chipotle or elevation burger or whole foods, something along those lines. But the problem with these places is that the food is just ok and you need to go there before they close sometimes by 9. Dinner elfs food was DELICIOUS, seriously I am not bs'ing the food was freaking awesome, just really fresh and clean tasting, I felt good eating their food, enjoying every bite. Getting this service by these dinner elf people turned out to be one of the most relaxing things I have ever done. I can reliably go home when I am ready on my schedule not someone elses to find delicious healthy home cooked meals ready in the fridge. Great thing also is the variety of the different foods. I love chipotle maybe more than anyone you know but it is nice to get a good variety of truly healthy and tasty food ready at my fingertips. I am hooked, suggest a try. read more

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What is better for busy families than having dinner completely taken care for the week and the kitchen spotless as if no one had been there?!?!? Dinner Elf indeed!!! Elf Jacquie cooked us 3 yummy meals that met our kid friendly and low carb requirements. They were all boxed up in the fridge ready to heat up as we needed them. Delicious? Check. Healthy? Check. Prepared FOR us? Check. Kitchen cleaned? Check. Stress removed? CHECK!!! What's THAT all worth?!? Really, I got some time and that is priceless! Our elf communicated often, clearly and warmly. The Dinner Elf owners are super friendly, responsive and committed to delivering a superior quality service. One of the best services is the gift card which makes it easy for friends and family to pool together resources to provide meals to loved ones in need. I recently had a death in the family and received dinner elf as a gift from several families. It was a Godsend! And much easier of the families who wanted to help us out than each of them cooking and delivery meals to us. Give Dinner Elf a try! read more

We received our dinners as a gift and will definitely keep ordering them. So convenient and the kids love the meals!

I can not say enough good things about Dinner Elf. I had heard about this company for years and was so busy with life, I did not take the time to really look into it. I was such a fool. This service has transformed my daily life and family. It was exactly what I didn't know I needed. We have been using it for 6 weeks and have sampled the recipes and used different elves. All have hit it out of the park. The meals are easy and perfect for my family of 6. I have been able to dial in on the sides and meals that will appeal to everyone. We have a variety of different dietary restrictions in my family (Keto, no meat, and an overall picky eater). So happy to have my family dinner back and be able to enjoy it myself. read more

I had Chef Nolan come to my home this past Monday and cook a very nice meal for my handicapped wife and I. We were looking forward to him returning next week and cooking another meal plus two more that we could store for later dinners. But then to my astonishment I received an email from his boss Jesse stating that Chef Nolan found my kitchen unsuitable and he would not be returning to cook any future meals for us. Chef Nolan had made no such comment when he had been with us and when I called Jesse to inquire what was unsuitable he could offer me no definitive reply. Don't get your hopes up with Dinner Elfs. When I had them over to fix my first meal I didn't realize that I was the one on trial. Ed R. San Antonio, Tx read more

Chef Darin came to the house and cooked while we were at work. All three meals were fantastic, and the portion size was significantly more than we'd imagined. We're trying to eat healthier, but time has been tight. Problem solved. He left the kitchen cleaner than it was before he arrived, and he wrote down reheat instructions ...which we would have read if we weren't so hungry. Highly recommended. Well worth it. read more

Dinner Elf - Cauliflower mashers, red peppers stuffed with grass-fed, no hormone beef, ginger chicken stir fry, mahi mahi with vegetables. - Food Delivery Services Near Me - Austin, Texas

DeLondra was great! Food was delicious and healthy and cooked fresh right in front of us. Hard to believe this service is so affordable! Much better than the pre-prepared meals at e.g. Central market or snap, and only a little bit more expensive. My sister gave us three family dinners as a gift. We will be ordering more ourselves soon. read more

It doesn't surprise me to see so many five star reviews for Dinner Elf. We love the convenience of having someone come to our house to cook real home-made food for our family. Highly recommended! read more

Thank you so much Dinner Elf team for giving such a great way for people to share and show love to others. Food is absolutely a way in which I show love, and to be able to give that is precious... to be able to do it in a way that allows it be whenever and however the receiver wants is priceless. I set up an account for a friend in need, and it was PERFECT to organize a way for people in various areas of her life to give. Her childhood friends who may have not realized the current challenge in her life, the co-workers who wanted to help but not overstep, her family and longtime friends who absolutely want to show their love but do not live near by... If you have been asking yourself how you can help someone in your life who is in need, I highly recommend Dinner Elf as a great way to coordinate a group to show support. To top it off, Dinner Elf even made a 10% matching donation to Wonders & Worries, a local non-profit whose mission is "to provide professional support for children through a parent's illness" - which is exactly the situation my friend and her children are navigating now. It is this kind of layered thoughtfulness that Dinner Elf has incorporated into the service they provide that sets them above and apart and makes me want to be a repeat Meal Coordination organizer and customer in the future. ps: My friend said everything was "amazing and tasty" and that she was able to get more kid time already with less stress and rushing. (YAY!!! Way to go elves!!!!) read more

Nicole made some beautiful entrees with delicious accompanying side dishes! We have tried two of the meals so far (shepherds pie and lasagna) and we ALL went back for seconds both nights! So impressed with her work! This is a pretty awesome service! read more

Dinner elf was amazing. Our elf Nicole needed almost no guidance to find her way around our kitchen, whipped up three incredible meals and left it cleaner than she found it. Excellent service . read more

As a working mom, I don't know how I'd survive without Chef Nicole. She makes the best home cooked food for my family. She's a lifesaver. The family sized portion is generous too. We have an 8 and a 10 year old and the 3 meals & 3 sides can feed us for several days with leftover for me to bring to work. I would spend a lot more going to the grocery store trying to make all the different foods we get. My kitchen is always left so clean. It's like Christmas, coming home to meals ready to go in my fridge and a clean kitchen! read more

Dinner Elf has always come through with exceptional service. The sheer convenience and quality of food prepared in my home has been phenomenal! I was able to use heir services amidst recovery from major surgery. Michael was and is a delightful chef in my kitchen. He has always been very prompt and courteous, not to mention leaves everything spotless after preparing meals. I highly recommend Michael and Dinner Elf for whenever you need a break from cooking! read more

So, I used Dinner Elf tonight. Scheduling on their website was super easy and I immediately got a text and email confirmation along with clear, simple instructions about what to expect and what they needed from me on the day of (not much). If you're not familiar with what they do, you choose a meal from a pre-set menu and they grocery shop, cook, and clean the kitchen all for one price (current special is $19). Elf Nicole, one of the co-owners, arrived right on time, even in this weather, and just could not have been nicer. Like, ridiculously sweet. She has two young kids and was great with mine. They even bring green frog tape to put up around the entrances to the kitchen if your kids need a visual reminder that things are hot. How cute is that?! Mine didn't need it because they are so not fond of strangers, but I thought it was a great idea. All I needed to provide her was a cutting board and skillet. She asked about any special things in my kitchen (like if the stove was tricky, or if there was anywhere she shouldn't set hot things, etc.) and then immediately got to work. She was done in just over an hour and left my kitchen CLEANER than it was before she came. They put the food in labeled plastic containers and leave a little sheet on your fridge that talks about what they prepared, how to re-heat it (if needed) and has a checklist of all the cleaning they're supposed to do before they leave. It's very professional. All the people they send out are background checked and insured. The food was really good! We did the standard meal because I knew my husband would prefer a meat and potatoes meal. The food was fresh--nothing canned-- and quite tasty. I mean, not over the top gourmet, but neither is my cooking, frankly. The one thing that I would improve on is I thought the portion for the main meal was a little small. However, my husband is a HUGE eater, moreso than most men I know, so that definitely factors in. I grabbed a spinach salad and served that on the side and it rounded out the meal nicely. It was SO nice to have someone else cook dinner. SO NICE. read more

Not sure how much more I can praise this service. I'm a new mom and literally cried because I was exhausted and had no time or energy to cook, but I have to eat dairy free for my baby's sake so eating out or ordering food is tricky. My sister sent me a dinner elf gift certificate to help. I was inititially weary of having someone in the house with a new baby but Chef Mandy was completely amazing. My mother-in-law let her in as I was returning from a doctor's appointment, she set up, cooked and made the house smell AMAH-ZING, cleaned, and then said goodbye and left. Was so unobtrusive; it was literally like a little fairy-tale elf had come and just left beautiful, healthful, and delicious meals. read more

This is a life saving service. Anna comes every week to cook for us delicious paleo meals. We're a super busy family having food in the fridge freshly prepared every day saves me so much time and hassle of cooking when I have zero energy. Love this service and it's so reasonably priced! read more

I loved the Dinner Elf experience. We got our first order as a gift from our friend. My wife had just delivered a baby, and I was caught between work and my MBA program. Needless to say we've been eating out 90% of our meals. Chef Michael came and cooked us our delicious meals. Text messages kept us up to date with his progress towards our house (e.g. headed to grocery store, checked out and headed to house), and he arrived on time and ready to go. Very friendly, he was courteous and focused. I got him oriented to the kitchen and he was on his way. About two hours later, our dinners were prepped, the kitchen was clean, and he was headed out. I love the attention to details. Our kitchen actually was cleaner on his way out than it was before he got there, and that says a lot. We did the math, and it is roughly the equivalent cost of eating out to have Dinner Elf come over and cook us meals. Personally, I'd rather have the home cooked meals. As our schedule normalizes, I'm sure we'll use them more. It also eliminates the waste of having to buy groceries in bulk for our family, only to have to throw away half of it because it doesn't get used in time. I would love it if dinner could deliver or cook meals in surrounding areas ( few hours out). There's a lot of people like me who end up doing project work in small towns and get tired of eating out at the limited options of unhealthy restaurants nearby for every meal. If there was a reasonably priced option, I'd have them send me all of my meals for the duration of my project, which is about 8 or 9 months. read more

Dinner Elf has been a lifesaver for our family. Gone are those Sunday afternoon discussions about solving for dinner all week, or Monday - Friday evening phone calls about whether we're picking something up, or if we have something in the fridge. This is healthy, delicious, home cooked food. Dinner Elf chefs shop, come to our home, cook the food, and clean up. For us, this is a much better solution that a service that delivers food that we'd then have to prep and cook. We've had two long term chefs, who have both been excellent. Chef Darrin, who left for new pursuits, and Chef Haley who is our current chef. We've enjoyed getting to know them as people, in addition to enjoying their food. We highly recommend Dinner Elf. read more

I really enjoyed using Dinner Elf and was very pleased with my Chef DeLondra. She was very clean, friendly and made sure I didn't have to lift a finger. The meals she made were tasty, healthy and well packaged for easy reheat or to bring to work with me. I will definitely recommend this to friends and clients. It's most affordable getting the meals made for 4 servings and can be frozen if you don't eat them all with in the shelf life (a few days). read more

I had DeAnna as my Elf! She was amazing! All I know is that I went to work and when I came home there was yummy food in my fridge and the kitchen was clean! I appreciate the food is not over salted, so we can add salt as we like. Thank you so much!!! read more

Samantha is our "elf" and she is amazing. If you manage to get her, make sure you order some salmon because she cooks it out of this world. She is kind and always polite. We love having her in our home. read more