For Z's graduation party at Mom's house in Menlo Park on Saturday, May 24, 2024, we decided to hire…read moretaqueros. Through yelp search, I contacted several vendors one of whom was Tacos El Jefeson. Ricardo Camarena replied to me in less than 24 hours, providing the link to their form and telling me,
"TACO CATERING PRICE IS $15 PER-PERSON)( 50 PEOPLE MINIMUM)
I'll make sure to include a complementary side.
Anything over the minimum is okay."
Planning with Ricardo was straightforward and easy. He was very friendly and accommodating. Once we settled on the details, a system generated invoice was sent to me and a minimum $200 deposit to confirm the date was due. The $200 deposit went towards our service.
Below is what was served by Tacos El Jefeson:
Asada, Pollo and Al Pastor Without Pineapple Tacos for 65 People ($925.00) - Included in the price was a side of Rice & Beans (We requested for both Refried & Whole), a salsa bar with 2 salsas & Condiments such as Grilled onions , Grilled serranos, Radishes, Cilantro, diced limes and Tortilla chips. They also provided Napkins, plates, & plastic utensils. A very nice spread it was and the tacos were delish, served hot and fresh, straight from the grill with big smiles.
Cucumber pico de gallo (Monthly Promotion for $0.00) - This was the yummy complimentary side. The cucumbers were fresh with a nice crisp.
Watermelon Aqua Fresca ($100.00) - Initially, we were not going to order any agua fresca since my aunt was already making homemade horchata. At last minute, we added a 5-gallon order of Watermelon Agua Fresca. Glad that we did because the beverage was refreshingly delicious. I highly recommend serving this drink!
50 Cinnamon Churros ($150.00) - The churros were a big hit and were quickly gone within minutes. Next time, we will need to order more for sure!
We paid for two additional hours at $120.00 each, so $240.00 altogether. My family likes to party all day and all night, so the extra time was very much needed. Chef Ricardo and Antonio were the ones who came to set up, cook, serve, and clean up. They were punctual, organized, and were a delight to work with. At the end of their service period, they did start to pack up fifteen minutes early because it seemed that no one was approaching the grill for more tacos. We probably should have had them wait until the full extra two hours was up because as luck would have it, we had a few tardy attendees show up. We had plenty of leftovers, so we prepared their tacos ourselves after Ricardo and Antonio were gone.
In total, we had 6 hours of service; 2 Hours Of Preparation & Cooking from 12pm-2pm and 4 Hours Of Serving Time from 2pm-6pm.
Tacos El Jefeson's kitchen is based in Fremont, so we were charged a Travel fee of $40.00.
Heads-up - A 15% gratuity is automatically added to your invoice up front, but well worth it - Chef Ricardo & Antonio were extremely polite and friendly. Antonio even assisted mi abuela (my grandma) to get in the car when she was leaving. The Tacos El Jefeson team were awesome. We enjoyed their company so much that we invited them to stay and hang out and party with us (no working, of course).
If you prefer not to use cash, you can pay via credit card for a 4.2% credit card transaction fee.
For our next party with taquizas, we will mos def hit up Tacos El Jefeson again.