Farm-to-Table · Mendocino County, California
Private Chefs Who Come to You
Mendocino Chef cooks and hosts in your home, vacation rental, venue, or retreat — seasonal menus built from the coast’s farms, ranches, and boats. Dinner for two to a wedding for eighty.
Mendocino · Fort Bragg · Albion · Little River · Caspar · Elk · Anderson Valley
What We Do
Memorable food, cooked where you’re staying
Mendocino Chef is a private chef and event catering company on the Mendocino Coast. We cook in the house you’ve rented, the home you live in, or the venue, ranch or retreat center you’ve booked — seasonal menus built from the coast’s farms, ranches and boats, served at your table and cleared away afterwards.
The best table in the county is usually the one you’re already staying at — we bring dinner to it.
Private Dinners
A multi-course dinner cooked in your home or rental kitchen, for two guests or twelve. Menu written for your table, wine pairings on request, kitchen spotless when we leave.
Weddings & Celebrations
Welcome dinners, rehearsal suppers, receptions, and next-morning brunches. Family-style or plated, staffed and produced end to end so nobody in your family has to work the party.
Retreats & Group Getaways
Multi-day cooking for retreat centers and big rentals — breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and the snacks in between. Vegan, gluten-free, and protocol menus are a specialty, not a compromise.
Corporate & Offsites
Leadership offsites, team retreats, and client dinners, fed properly. We work with planners and EAs, track dietary needs per guest, and invoice like grown-ups.
Farm Dinners & Long Tables
One long table, food harvested steps from where it’s served, and a menu that exists only on that night. Open-fire cooking, outdoors, weather permitting and weather included.
Pop-Ups & Community Tables
Sliding-scale community dinners and public pop-ups around the coast, including year-round evenings with Caspar Bread & Wine. Our last one sold out — the mailing list hears first.
How Booking Works
Three steps, no mystery pricing
Step One
Tell us the date
Date, guest count, where you’re staying, and anything the table can’t eat. Two minutes on the inquiry form, or call and we’ll talk it through.
Step Two
We send a real menu
Within two business days: a proposed menu written for your event and an exact per-person quote. See two sample proposals we sent this season.
Step Three
We handle the rest
A 50% deposit holds the date. We shop, prep, cook, serve, and clean up. You pour the wine and stay at the table. See the FAQ for the fine print.
What It Costs
Published guide pricing
Guide prices, per person, by the meal we’re cooking — every event is quoted individually. All events have a $1,400 minimum.
Brunch
From $95 per person
Typically $115–145. Cooked and served — morning-after brunches and slow starts during a group stay.
Lunch
From $125 per person
Typically $145–175. A proper seated midday meal — retreat lunches and long afternoons.
Dinner
From $175 per person
Typically $195–245. Multi-course, cooked in your kitchen and served course by course.
The Wedding Itself
From $250 per person
Typically $275–350. The reception or microwedding itself — rehearsal and welcome dinners from $215, morning-after brunch from $95.
Tasting & Open-Fire Farm Dinners
From $275 per person
Typically $295–350. An extended tasting menu, or a long table cooked over open fire.
Retreats & Corporate
Custom quote
Multi-day programs priced per person per day, against your actual schedule.
Menu design, sourcing, cooking, service, and cleanup are all included. Travel beyond 15 miles of Mendocino, additional service staff ($275 per server), wine, rentals, and gratuity are billed separately.
Planning Something Specific?
We’ve cooked it before
Bachelorette parties · Bachelor parties · Birthday dinners · Anniversary dinners · Corporate events · Retreats · Wellness retreats · Yoga retreats · Farm dinners
Where We Cook
All across Mendocino County
We cook in private homes, vacation rentals, retreat centers, farms, and community halls from the coast to the valley: Mendocino, Fort Bragg, Albion, Little River, Caspar, Elk, Point Arena, Westport, Philo, Boonville, Ukiah, and Willits. Anderson Valley too. If your rental has a kitchen — or a fire pit and enough table — we can work with it.
Menus change with what’s actually good that week: produce from Mendocino County farms, fish off the local boats, foraged mushrooms and nettles in season, and bread and wine from neighbors down the road.
Who’s Cooking
Chef Chantelle Sookram & Chef Keith Kalmanowicz
Your dinner is cooked by the chefs whose names are on it — not a crew working from someone else’s recipes. Chantelle leads the kitchen; Keith produces the events and is usually the one who answers your inquiry.
The farm-to-table cuisine was exquisite; every bite was a delightful experience.
Emily S. — private dinner guest
As featured in Word of Mouth Mendo · Biscayne Times
Join the mailing list
Pop-up dinners sell out fast — be the first to hear when the next one drops.
Have a date in mind?
Tell us about your event — date, guests, and the occasion — and we’ll come back with a menu and a plan within two business days.