Sample Menus

Menu #1

Coconut Lemongrass Soup

Seared Beef and Cucumber Salad
with Spicy Lime Vinaigrette

Baked Sweet Chili Fish
Stir-Fried Vegetables with Holy Basil
Steamed Jasmine Rice

Menu #2

Grilled Honey-Caper Shrimp

Individual Cashew Butter Hummus Platters
with Fresh Vegetables & Pita Chips

Harissa Lamb Chops
Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables
Cardamom Rice Pilaf

Menu #3

Wild Mushroom Soup

Fennel and Pear Salad with Sherry Vinaigrette

Roast Pork Loin with Honey-Dijon & Port Reduction
Roast Autumn Vegetables
Herbed Rice Pilaf

Menu #4

Creamy Potato and Leek Soup

Organic Baby Greens with Sliced Strawberries

Seared Filet Mignon with Brandy-Cognac Reduction
Roasted Rosemary Baby Potatoes
Fresh Garden Vegetables

Miso Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms

Shredded Jicama & Carrot with Shoyu Vinaigrette

Seared Ahi Tuna
Sesame-Ginger Vegetables
and Soba Noodles

Garlic Prawns in Creamy Tomato Sauce

Baby Romaine, Parmesan and Pancetta Salad

Fontina & Prosciutto Stuffed Chicken
Roast Asparagus
Lemon-Garlic Roast Potatoes

Alsatian Cheese & Onion Tart

Spinach and Orange Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

Roast Mustard Salmon with Lingonberry Sauce
Fresh Garden Vegetables
Creamy Potatoes

Steamed Mussels in a Dijon-Sherry Cream Sauce

Orange, Fennel & Olive Salad

Serrano Wrapped Trout with Lemon & Mint
Oven-Roasted Garlic Potatoes
Sauteed Spinach with Raisins

Desserts

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache & Raspberry Coulis

Lemon Tart

Poached Pears with Cardamom & Orange Red Wine Reduction

Individual Chocolate Fondue
with Fresh Fruit

Honey-Glazed Bananas
with Grand Marnier Cream

What better way to celebrate a special occasion or surprise someone! A memorable, in-home dining experience is something more and more people are enjoying as an alternative to going out.

Whether it's an intimate dinner for two, an interactive party for twelve, or a class/demonstration for a bachelorette party, Elaine takes the time to create with each client a customized event unique to their desire.

Adventure Meals | Interactive Dinners | Sample Menus | Testimonials

Fees | Gift Certificates

Adventure Meals

Traveling abroad introduces us to new and different cuisines and lucky for us, with the immigration of wonderful foreign chefs, many of those cuisines are now available at local restaurants.

Many clients want to learn how to prepare different cuisines at home, learning about specific ingredients or condiments and how to cook with them.

An Adventure Meal can be a simple introduction to new flavours and dishes of different cuisines Many clients like the meal to be interactive, starting their meal with a cooking class or being part of each course's preparation. It can incorporate a shopping tour so that clients can discover the markets where cuisine-specific items can be found.

Examples of Adventure Meal cuisines include: Thai, Indian, Cajun, Spanish and the Middle East.

Interactive Dinners

Part of my food mission is to get people excited about cooking and discover how accessible most cooking and most cuisines really are. I tell people that I get great pleasure from working myself out of a job - if clients starting cooking more and needing me less, that's a great thing!

Interactive parties are a terrific way to combine a cooking class with a dinner party. All or some of the guests can participate along the way, whether through a shopping tour, preparation or cooking of the meal, beforehand or course-by-course. For those who don't want to chop and prep, they are welcome to watch and ask questions.

Creating a dining experience that is both fun and delicious is important to clients and part of why hiring a personal chef is a terrific way to plan your evening.

Sample Menus

Dinner parties can be prepared either plated service or family style. Plated service is more formal as would be prepared in a restaurant, while family style is sometimes a better choice for larger parties or menus that are larger, for example Thai and Indian. The type of event, menu, timing and fee will determine which style of service is best for your party.

See the column to the left for sample plated menus. Family style menus generally have more dishes and sides as part of the entree.

These are only a small sampling of the menus that can be created for you. Please contact us to discuss more ideas.

Fees

Fees for dinner parties can vary from event to event, based on the cusine, type of meal wanted, number of guests and organic or other specific requirements. Please contact us to discuss your event.

Testimonials

"Our company wanted to hold a different kind of employee appreciation party, so we hired Elaine to give those who wanted a cooking class before she and her assistant took over to prepare and serve the meal. It was a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend time with our colleagues and friends. The meal was delicious and everyone talked about the evening for weeks afterward."

"Our friends like to have dinner parties and try new ethnic foods. This time, we hired Elaine and she took the wives on a shopping tour of Chinatown. The women loved the tour, learning so much about the different ingredients and condiments used in Thai cooking. When they got back, we all got involved in the preparation of the meal and I never knew what lemongrass was before, but now I prepare it and use it pretty regularly. Really great time we all had."

"We decided to change the venue of our annual company Christmas party from a restaurant to our home. Elaine prepared a delicious 5-course meal in our kitchen and the guests really enjoyed watching as she and her staff prepared it. From the appetizers to the soup to the filet mignon and prawn main course, everything was delicious. Elaine was friendly, flexible and accommodating. We'll definitely hire her again."

"For an engagement present, I received a gift certificate for Elaine Wilson's personal chef service. My fiancé and I immediately booked her to prepare a Thai dinner party for 8 people. It was simply amazing. Delicious doesn't even begin to describe it, and she explained each dish as it was served. We were so impressed, we immediately booked her services for our wedding reception!"

"Our children gave us a gift certificate for Christmas and it was such a delightful treat! We really appreciated Elaine's talents - the meal was delicious and our guests enjoyed the dinner party immensely."

Gift Certificates

Personal chef service is the gift that always fits because we can personalize the service to exactly what each client wants or needs. They're perfect for a birthday, anniversary, wedding, holiday, retirement, get well, baby shower, thank you, and company appreciation.

Contact us for more information. Credit cards accepted