FAQs

Who Is This Guy? 

At the age of 43 and after practicing law for 17 years, it was high time for me to have a midlife crisis. The beautiful wife already well in hand for the prior18 years, I bought a fast sail boat and quit my job.

Truth is, I’ve been cooking for years, and for several of those, people have been telling me I needed to pursue a culinary career (true story: at age 4 I was making pizzas with sugar on them; a few years later and I’d have been a visionary for creating dessert pizza…).. But the timing was never right. Of course, it never really is, is it? A few things fell into place at the right time, and off the cliff I jumped.

Now I just need a gold chain.

What Do You Offer?

Gourmet meals in your home for groups of 8-20. Everything from virtually turnkey operations to me staying until the last dish has been dried and put away. I’ll use your plates, etc., and maybe borrow a pan or two. You sit back, drink wine with your friends, and dinner magically appears from your kitchen. If you’re itching to be in the mix, that’s OK, too.

What Menus Do You Have?

I don’t do set menus. Basically, you tell me what you want to spend and what kind of food you are excited about, and I come back with some suggestions. If you like what you hear, we run with it. If you don’t, we figure out what you will like, and keep refining until we have a three to six-course meal in place.

Why 8-20?

Because, frankly, it’s a number that’s big enough for me to make a little money doing it, and small enough that I don’t have to hire full-time help.

I Want and Intimate Dinner for Two (or Four)!

OK…But I’m going to charge you a premium.

But I Want Hors d’Oeuvres for a Party I’m Throwing for 30 People!

We’ll talk.

How About 60?

We won’t talk that much.

What’s All This Personal Attention Going To Cost Me?

At the risk of being lawyerly…it depends, but generally $70-$100 a head for dinner, and $35 a head for lunch or brunch. A couple over-the-top menus will get to the mid $100s. 

Do You Sell Alcohol?

Nope. I’ll make some wine (or sometimes beer) recommendations for you, though. If you want, I may even pick it up, but I’ll charge you a convenience fee of about 20% for having to schlep all that glass around.

How About A Little Bartending?

I’ll need to know about this in advance, because if you want me to pour wine for your guests, I’ll need to get extra help.  If you’ve rented a venue that needs someone TABC certified, then I can cover that (depending on when you ask me, my certification may or may not have lapsed, so give me a bit of lead time so I can re-up it if necessary).

Are You On Facebook?

Sometimes… https://www.facebook.com/cuisinecounselor