Private Chef

When I knew that my mother would be in town for her 72nd birthday I immediately sought out options for ways to celebrate her special day! My search lasted no longer than 10 minutes, as Chef V was not only available, but incredibly ready and willing to help me plan out a fabulous meal and help make my mama feel loved. From day one, Chef V was extremely helpful, as she provided several options for all courses so as to cater to my mother's vegetarian preferences. She took the time to ask questions pertaining to who my mother was and what her likes/dislikes were - beyond that of her dietary palette, but also, simply about her character. Chef V truly cares about those she cooks for and my goodness, did I feel this from the beginning. When Chef V arrived she barely needed any help navigating my kitchen. She appeared to work effortlessly, and not to mention quickly! My entire family was blown away by how efficient she was! My children even took the time to watch her as she gracefully flowed from one task to the next. Chef V was so well prepared when she arrived, before we knew it, dinner was served! It was plated elegantly, to match our own kitchen's motif as well! And the best part, she had created a beautiful menu that we have saved for our own personal memories. Chef V knew how important this meal was and she took the time to guarantee that it would be a night to remember. We all felt so cared for and loved. It was genuinely a pleasure to have Chef V in our home to curate such an artistic meal! We wish she could come every night!Absolutely 5,000 stars! I am still blown away by Chef V! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Our experience with Chef V was incredible! Her communication leading up to the event was great, she is responsive. She curates a micro dining experience and it truly is an experience. I recommend opting for the tablescape, it's very pretty. Chef V's food is delicious and she's flexible with the menu she prepares. She's a friendly person, wonderful chef and leaves the kitchen sparkling clean when she is done! Would love to dine with her again! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

I hired Chef V to cook for six of us visiting Joshua Tree to celebrate a friend's 30th. Chef V exceeded ALL expectations!  She was responsive, friendly and professional while planning for the dinner and very easy to work with . The dinner itself was AMAZING!  The ceviche and steak were especially phenomenal. We all had the best time and enjoyed meeting Chef V. I would recommend Chef V without any reservation and hope to get a chance to work with her again! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Chef V catered an incredible dinner for 12 of us for my bachelorette party this past weekend in Palm Springs. She created a delightful, seasonal and thoughtful menu of stuffed figs in blankets, INCREDIBLE eloté salad, and a grilled steak and vegetable platter. Separately, the vegan chocolate raspberry cake was my FAVORITE dessert of the entire weekend. Light but still incredibly chocolately, this was a real treat. We had a few people with dietary restrictions, dairy free and gluten free, and Vavine seamlessly accommodated these variations into the menu. Our dinner was memorable, the best meal we had all weekend, and Vavine was just a lovely person and presence in the kitchen. I know my dear friends who booked the dinner with her will have wonderful things to share about the process of building the menu, communications, etc., but in the meantime, I couldn't wait to make sure I could tell the world that Chef Vavine is the one you want planning a private meal for your event. Cheers, Vavine! More...

Reviewed on Yelp

Vavine put together a truly perfect 4-course outdoor reception dinner for our group of ~12 people for our tiny pandemic wedding in May 2021. She was extremely professional and pleasant to work with, from the early stages of contacting her to ask for a price quote several months before, to menu planning, to executing an amazing dinner for our group (which was hosted at the AirBnB we rented for the occasion). She set up some beautiful desert-themed table decor along with wonderful plating of each dish, and despite working out of a tiny kitchen (where I'm sure people were getting in her way) she was perfectly calm and very sweet while cooking and serving dinner. She also packed up 2 gorgeous charcuterie plates for us to bring to our ceremony site in JTNP (we planned on doing a champagne toast + charcuterie after our ceremony), and drove to our AirBnB to drop the plates off in the afternoon before the dinner - this was a lifesaver since we were all running around like idiot chickens trying to get ready the afternoon of the wedding :) We also ended up with TONS of amazing leftovers from dinner that fed our group really well for the remainder of our stay in Yucca Valley. Importantly, Vavine adhered to very safe COVID-related protocols the entire time she worked with us; although everyone in our group was vaccinated, we really appreciated these additional layers of precaution, especially since we had older family members present.It meant so much to us to have a wonderful dinner, not only to help celebrate our wedding, but because this was the first time our families had gotten together since 2019. Sharing a beautiful meal together was a much-needed moment of normalcy. If you're looking for a chef to handle a fantastic private dinner for any type of celebration, I can't recommend Vavine highly enough! She's a genuinely wonderful person to work with and we look forward to hiring her again for any future trips we do in the Yucca Valley/JTNP area. More...

Reviewed on Yelp