Tasting Menu Private Chef in Chicago, IL
A restaurant-length tasting menu, prepared in your kitchen and brought to the dining table one course after another.
From Recent Menus
The Dining Room You Already Own
A tasting menu is mostly pacing: a small plate, a pause, a story, the next plate. At home there is no second seating to clear for and no car to call at eleven. Guests stay at the table as long as the conversation runs.
Plates, glassware and linens can come with the chef, or your own can be used. Either way the table is set before the doorbell rings.
- ✓Courses timed to the table
- ✓Explained by the chef who cooked them
- ✓Your glassware, or ours
Anniversaries, Proposals, One Quiet Table
Tastings for two run on Wednesday and Thursday nights, with the chef out of sight between courses. Send the date you have in mind.
A Supper Club That Outgrew the Apartment
Vantreese began in 2017 as a Friday supper club in a Logan Square apartment: nine courses for eight guests who mostly didn't know each other. The waiting list grew faster than the table did.
By the second winter, guests were asking whether the menu could come to their own dining rooms. It has traveled ever since, with one habit kept from the apartment days: a short story with every course.
Four Ways to Book the Menu
Seated tasting
Seven or nine courses at your dining table for up to twelve guests, served by the chef and one server.
Chef's counter
Two to six guests on stools at the kitchen island, watching each course being finished.
Tasting for two
An anniversary or a proposal, with the chef out of sight between courses.
Client dinners
A private tasting for colleagues or clients at a home or an office with a working kitchen.
Evenings That Ran Past Midnight
We have eaten at most of the tasting counters in this city. Having one at our own dining table, with the courses explained by the person who cooked them, was better than any of them.
My husband wanted to sit at the kitchen island and watch. Three hours went by, and we never once looked at our phones.
Clients still mention the duck course. It made a far better impression than another private room downtown.
What We Ask, and What We Bring
Your restrictions
Allergies and dislikes for every guest, two weeks ahead, so each course can be adjusted.
Your cellar
Tell us what you're opening. We'll suggest the order and which course each bottle suits.
Your kitchen
An oven and four burners are enough. Specialist equipment comes with us.
Our plates
Tasting plates and bowls in the sizes the menu needs, if your own won't do.
A server
One server for tables over six, to clear and pour while the chef plates.
A quiet exit
Kitchen cleaned and equipment packed while dessert is still on the table.
Booking a Tasting Menu at Home
How long does the evening last?
About three hours for seven courses and three and a half for nine. The pace follows the table, not a clock.
What's the largest table you cook for?
Two to twelve. Above twelve the courses lose their timing, and a seated dinner menu suits better.
Can the menu change for allergies?
Yes. Each guest's restrictions are planned into their courses. We can't promise a home kitchen has no trace of an allergen, so serious ones get a phone call first.
Do you provide wine?
No — the wine is yours. We'll suggest pairings from your cellar or a list to buy from your wine shop.
What does a tasting cost?
Priced per guest by course count, with a server added for larger tables. Groceries are included.
Where in Chicago do you cook?
The Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, River North, the West Loop and Streeterville, plus Evanston, Wilmette and Winnetka.
Request a Date
Send the date, the number of guests and the occasion. You'll hear back within a day with availability and this season's menu.