I wholeheartedly recommend Chef Rachel Erkan for any culinary needs! If you value high-quality,…read morefarm-to-table food, she's your chef. Her expertise shines through, especially knowing many ingredients came straight from her homestead--an impressive touch. With less than a month's notice, she crafted an unforgettable dinner for my intimate wedding, blending local and Mediterranean flavors seamlessly. Communication was prompt, and she handled dietary accommodations for my group with ease. Chef Rachel was professional, leaving the kitchen spotless, and the food? Some of the best we've ever tasted. Standouts included the tender, flavorful lamb--hands down the finest my group had ever had--the unique honey-cured egg yolk, and the pickled quail egg. The lilikoi curd was a revelation, and her macadamia nut baklava outshone any I've tried. Even the kulolo, a dish I grew up with, was exceptional. Every dish and sauce left us in awe. My family still raves about the meal, and Chef Rachel's work turned my wedding into a dream, ending with us blissfully full. Next time my husband and I are on island, we will be sure to check out what cooking classes Chef Rachel has going on at her homestead. Book her--you won't regret it!

We ordered our Thanksgiving meal from Chef Rachel. Pickup went smoothly, everything packaged…read morewonderfully. Easy directions and prep. Dinner was delicious, creative (loved the purple sweet potatoes and mushroom gravy) and my wife raved about the stuffing. It was so good and yummy, I commend Chef Rachel for knocking this meal out of the park.

Jasmine and her HeartBeet Catering team at Pu'uwai Gardens were outstanding. They acted as hosts…read morefor our wedding reception and we couldn't be happier with our choice. The food and venue were both incredible. Their team kept us on track throughout the night and acted as pseudo- day of planners. The team was incredibly responsive and patient with us as we made decisions about food, timing, and other vendors. They provided advice and answered all questions we had to help us create the perfect experience for us for our intimate wedding. We appreciated that everything could be handled in house by the HeartBeet/Pu'uwai team. They handled the bartending, cake cutting, servers, cleanup, and joined in some of the dancing! Plus, the food was INCREDIBLE. We had two kids, under 10, who can be picky, but they ate everything on offer! A true testament to delicious options that were curated for our event. We opted for family style, for our small group, and an extra protein because we couldn't decide on just one! The family style serving option helped us all feel at home, we loved it. Pu'uwai Gardens held a beautiful backdrop for the evening, including the covered area for eating and dancing, that included cute lighting, and the build in covered bar- stunning. The land and tress were also beautiful, as was the view of the water. The HeartBeet/Pu'uwai team overdelivered for our day and we are so grateful to have chosen them to host our reception.

Omg jasmine and her team deserve way more than five stars!!! The quality of her food and service of…read moreher team cannot be beat! Jasmine created the wedding menu of our dreams with fresh and local ingredients. She was super flexible with the ongoing Covid changes even days leading up to our wedding. Our guests were obsessed with the appetizers and said all the servers and bartenders were THE BEST and truly seemed to be having fun themselves. Hands down if you need a caterer - Jasmine / HeartBeetCatering are your choice! We plan to do it all over again in 5 years at the holualoa inn - see you there jasmine and team!! P.s. I'll add more pictures once i get the professional ones back!

The evening was beautiful; a great meal overall. The atmosphere is a bit casual with the use of…read morefolding tables and chairs; but the meal made up for the casual setting. Host just left without an introduction to the support staff and has a lackluster approach to sharing details of each item on the menu. We understand the chefs mission and want to support this vision. Unfortunately; not sure if the menu warrants a second visit. Hawaii has lots of beautiful sustainable food resources that are unconventional. I will caution the use of wild deer meat for carpaccio. There is a concern to cook game meat before eating it. Venison can carry pathogens that cause brucellosis, campylobacteriosis, and listeriosis, and freezing, drying, pickling, and smoking are ineffective at killing these bacteria.

Na'au celebrating the "guts of the heart and mind". Chef Brian Hirata and his team, seeking to…read morebring global awareness and appreciation of Hawai'i cuisine, has created this experience for the lucky few able to dine with them. Reservations are required. At this time each evening's seating is limited to 24 persons. What you will experience: A drive to a remote area just on the outskirts of Hilo; Driving through sugarcane fields and farm roads to get to current location at Whitehaven Farm. Location opens up to a beautiful and scenic area on the bluffs overlooking the ocean. Prix fix menu changes monthly, or for special bookings. Each dish highlighting sourced ingredients from Hawaii. Each dish with a story behind it as so magically described by Robert, our host for the evening (and also found on their website). Highlights in food for me were the local breadfruit appetizer duo made into tostone and hummus and garnished with green big island plums dressed as olives, also the salad created out of ho'i'o, pickled hapu'u hearts, and kimpira takenoko... so very creative creating an ahh or an ohhh in every bite. Wait a second, that big island kanpachi prepared two different ways, kauai shrimp croquettes in the most delicious lemongrass red curry brown butter reduction, the big island lamb served 3 different ways...tantalizing the taste buds. All so very memorable. Not to be outdone, a dark chocolate tart with whipped lemon chevre dessert finished the evening. No liquor sold here, you are welcome to bring your own with a modest $20/bottle charge. If there were only one suggestion it would be to finish off dessert with a nice french pressed cup of Kona or Hualalai or Ka'u coffee or cup of Big Island mamaki tea. Then I would know I was in heaven on earth. Bravo Chef Brian, former Chef of the Four Seasons Hualala'iand Instructor at Hawaii Community College Culinary School, and recent James Beard nominee. Thank you for your innovative creations while educating us about the beauty of Hawai'i Cuisine. Do I recommend? I recommend staying at the Whitehaven property (they also have cabins and rooms to rent) so that you can dine here every single night of your Hilo stay!

Hurricane Lala did not deter Chef Tim! The rental home had a backup generator and propane stove. He…read morecarried out the planned Appetizer demonstration lessons and served without a hitch to our group of 8. His food was 5-star and the experience was 5-star! Throughout the planning and weather uncertainty he was professional, flexible, communicative and engaging. He found clever ways to acknowledge the anniversary being celebrated. We highly recommend him for his expertise in all facets. Mahalo!

Let's start with dessert. A molten lava cake with vanilla bean ice cream. It had birthday candles…read moreon it. Ok back to the front of the meal. My kids hired Chef Tim to prepare a fantastic dinner for my 70th year on earth. Seared ahi, mochi rice crab cake, mini laulau were progressive appetizers that eased the flow of wine and conversation into just the right pace. A cold soup made from fresh green herbs served as a palate cleanser for the entree: a luscious chunk of opah (moon fish) drizzled with a white sauce along with jasmine rice and zucchini cubes. The fish melted like buttah in your mouth. Just when you thought there was no room for more, Chef Tim presented dessert. It was so good my son went back for seconds. Mahalo Chef Tim and his assistant April for preparing and serving a fabulous meal!

Chef Louie and her team delivered another unforgettable evening! From the curated menu we planned…read moretogether to the beautiful table settings and drinks, every detail felt personal. She easily accommodated a dietary restriction, and her upfront communication - menu, itemized costs, and contract confirmed by email - made everything stress-free. The food was exceptional: fresh produce from her own garden (the garnish on the chicken shooters was amazing!), tropical fruits she introduced us to and wove into the meal, and dishes I'm still thinking about days later. She even snapped photos of us during the event without being asked. Chef Louie embodies the warmth of Aloha, and she just keeps getting better - even after her Iron Chef win!

Katherine organized and provided an amazing dinner experience for our large family at our beautiful…read moreBig Island rental house, in celebration of some notable birthdays. Not only was the food outstanding, but she also arranged for outdoor seating, flowers, leis, a musician, a photographer and an after-dinner fire show. All were great. She is a friendly and likable person, with great culinary and organizational skills. She easily accommodated various dietary restrictions and preferences among our large group, and everything was delicious. Our family will never forget this memorable evening.

My daughter had great conversations with Max regarding our menu, which was absolutely delicious!…read more Every item they chose was amazing, filled wontons, short ribs, delicious fish, rice and mashed potatoes!! The salad was incredible!!! But the banana cream pie was out of this world!! Delicious the night of, and also for breakfast..:) We had amazing dinners throughout Kona, but this was by far the best! Highly recommend.. Thanks Max and Austin!!!

Amazing meal, amazing experience! Max put together an amazing Hawaiian meal for our family of 8…read moreand gave us the full private chef experience. We looked at many other private chef options and Max stood out for his highest ratings and no add on charges that many other chefs include (ie., trip charges, additional server/service charges, etc.). Not only did Max offer the best value, he and Austin were a real pleasure to be with arriving 3 hours before serving to cook and prepare the food and setting at our location. Max was very flexible with the diet restrictions/requests of a few family members. Each item served was prepared perfectly and incredibly delicious! A real impactful memory and experience for our family and I highly recommend Max!! Thank you Max!

I'm reluctant to leave a negative review for a small business, but it's hard not to when I've…read morereceived no response after several days to an inquiry on their "contact us" page on their website or to an iPhone test message that shows as blue and "received." Angela might be a great chef and might have a good reason for not responding, and my rating is based solely on the fact that she didn't respond and I need to move on and try to find someone else. I'm fine with someone being too busy or otherwise not available, but a response saying so is just common courtesy.

I don't usually do reviews but I noticed Angela needed a recent recommendation and I had to say how…read moregreat she is!! We had a larger sized group visiting the Big Island and we knew didn't want to cook every night or deal with the hassle of finding a reservation so we hired Angela for a couple meals on our visit. From start to finish she was so attentive to our dietary needs and likes and even came up with ideas that we wouldn't have thought of ourselves to help please our entire crowd. Angela and her crew and came and made us a couple of beautiful and delicious dinners-we were all wowed with how gorgeous her presentation was! She even made us a couple quiches for our mornings. She was such a delight to work with and made our trip so much more fun. My favs- ahi won ton nachos, her homemade sourdough bread, lilikoi cheesecake, Waimea filets with her purple potatoes- all were so yummy. We can't recommend her enough.

Lovely property, friendly couple who were gracious hosts. We did the tour & dinner…read more They offered a delicious option for vegetarians- mushroom based meatballs. Wine is only offered by the bottle - they have a $15 corkage fee so if you want a special bottle- it may pay to bring your own. Overall this was a nice experience at a family farm. *The ride to/from is a bit rugged and rough- unpaved. Must drive very slow.

Originally we were considering Starseed as a potential wedding venue with accommodations for our…read moreguests. While we ultimately had too many people to make that work, we knew from our first visit that we wanted this special property, and the wonderful people who steward it, to be part of our nuptial celebration. We ended up hosting our rehearsal dinner here in September 2022 and, my friends, it was absolutely magical. The property itself is stunning, with a gorgeous tree canopy and colorful blooms everywhere. There are plenty of great places for a golden hour photoshoot, which we took full advantage of! They waited patiently for us to finish our photos then ushered us to our tables, which were beautiful decorated with 'olena flowers from their garden. There were so many beautiful, special touches that went above and beyond our expectations. For example, when we arrived Chef Erika adorned my husband and I with ti leaf leis they had made for us. As we sat down for dinner Chef Erika gave a Hawaiian blessing and thanked the land for providing such a bounty for us to enjoy. The food, oh my goodness the food... it was SO GOOD!! I love that they source as much as possible from their own property and from other local farmers and ranchers. Everything was so fresh and prepared beautifully. Plus, they were able to accommodate my nephew's very severe nut and dairy allergy without any issues, which we all really appreciated. They let us bring our own wine for a very reasonable corkage fee and the bottle service was gracious and timely, with never an empty glass. They also nailed the timing of the dinner, we never felt rushed nor was there too much time between courses. It was just perfect! Everyone in our party was totally blown away. They were expecting the typical rehearsal dinner at a restaurant or something and this overdelivered in the best possible way. It felt so intimate and private, just what we wanted. We all still talk about what an amazing night it was. Jesse, Madeline, and Chef Erika were such wonderful hosts, and they were great to communicate with before the event via email too. The team here truly embodies the aloha spirit. We are so very grateful for the experience they curated for us on our special night. I highly recommend Starseed Ranch for any special occasion gathering you might be hosting!! Their property, their team, their food, their aloha, is second to none.

I booked Gabrielle to prepare two dinners for our group at our rental house and after the first, we…read morewere all incredibly excited for the second! Being a chef myself, I feel like I may have thrown down the gauntlet for her with asking her to create meals that were high end, telling a hawaiian story using local ingredients. Boy did she deliver! Everything she put out was visually and tastefully stunning and I feel like she really understood the assignment. Furthermore, the sense of ohana that she brought really was above and beyond and she really provided the luxury of feeling completely spoiled. You MUST try her Lillikoi Mouse!

Caution we paid for three meals and only got one. Communication was spotty. Here's the scoop:…read more I booked dinner for Monday 4/11, brunch Thursday 4/14 and dinner for the same day. I spoke with Gabrielle weeks before we arrived and we planned the meals. She emailed me a confirmation and I sent her 50% via Venmo. Big mistake! The day of the first meal I hadn't heard for from her so I text and called her and learned that she would be sending her sous chefs because she was overbooked. The meal was excellent, her sous chefs set the table beautifully, asked us details about about the meal such as food allergies and preferences. The food was delicious. It was great. The morning of the next two meals I couldn't reach her. No one showed up. I texted her and let her know that by my calculations she still owed me $600. She called and explained she had a personal emergency. I'm waiting for her to Venmo me. Update- After returning home we received a Venmo for the $600 so we are set.

Chef Paul was fantastic to work with for my sister's 50th birthday celebration. He was responsive…read moreand was able to accommodate her dietary restrictions (gluten free & vegetarian). He had a special lei made for her too! Food was delicious. It is scary to book someone, never meeting them in person, but I would highly recommend Chef Paul!

We had such a great experience with Chef Paul. He was friendly, professional, and knows his craft…read morewell. He delivered an incredible 6 course meal for our group of 6 and we loved every bite of it.