I · The Table
A private chef in New York, at your table
Upright
You sit down, the kitchen is handled, and the food tastes like the season it was bought in. Jess cooks the way she ran a restaurant line: everything mise en place, nothing rushed at the table, everything with care and intentionality, custom for your palate and preferences.
Reversed
The host who spends the evening at the oven, stressing over timelines and unknown recipes…who hears the conversation from the next room.
What a private chef evening looks like
- A short call about who is coming and what they cannot eat. Then a menu, usually 3 to 5 courses, written for you, for the table.
- Shopping the week-of, from the markets Jess already buys from; the seasons and the produce set the menu more than anything.
- Cooking in your kitchen, with our own knives and pans if yours are shy. Plates go out family-style or one course at a time, your call.
- The kitchen is left cleaner than it was found.
Weekly meal prep, the same care on a Tuesday
Before the restaurant years, Jess cooked customized weekly meals for five or six households at a time. Meal prep is still on the menu: a week of lunches and dinners, cooked in your kitchen, built around how you actually eat.
How Jess cooks
Seasonal and farm-to-table by habit, Southern-rooted with Mediterranean instinct and global influences. Her work is rooted in hospitality as a language…one that tells stories, creates belonging, and turns everyday moments into something considered and memorable.
From the table
This was our second time eating with Chef Jess in under a week. She doesn't disappoint. The four of us decided to go omakase and let her choose our dishes. It was all absolutely delicious. Chef Jess is a star!
K. Arutyunyan, customer
- I The fold Pasta shaped by hand, one twist at a time, the morning of the dinner.
- II The catch A whole fish, broken down at the board, beside what the market had that day.
- III The flame The pan catches, and the cook does not step back.
- IV The meadow A salad that looks like the field it came from.
- V The spiral Charred okra on red pepper sauce: the South, plated.
- XIII The line Bowls of soup, salad and toast, crowded at the pass and ready to go out.
Questions people ask
How much does hiring a private chef cost?
It depends on the number of guests, the number of courses, the ingredients, the location and whether you want us to handle wine and rentals. We quote every dinner as a single figure after a short call.
How do I hire a private chef for a family dinner party?
Tell us the date, the number of people, the allergies and the occasion. We propose a menu, you edit it, we cook it. For family tables we plan around the youngest and the pickiest first.
How far in advance should I book a private chef for a dinner party in NYC?
A few weeks out is comfortable, and holiday seasons go first. If the date is close, ask anyway; the calendar sometimes allows it.
- XIV The board A leek split lengthwise, the knife doing the quiet work.
- XV The mise Everything in its place before the first guest: trays, knives, corn in its husk.
- XVI The setting A table setting with citrus and greens.
- XVII The beet Beet soup with the grilled cheese.
- XVIII The lawn Plated salads at the outdoor event, guests on the lawn.
- XIX The verde Green soup in the scalloped bowl.
- XX The dinner The dinner table in the room, the buffet in front.
- XXI The sweet The dessert table.
- XXII The pass Jess laughing at the pass, the brass bell on the counter.
