Sear142 Chefs. 3,800 Events.
Zero No-Shows.
Background-checked private chefs and line cooks, available for holiday dinners, restaurant emergencies, and one-night pop-ups. Every chef vetted. Every booking insured.
Every booking has a story.
These are three of our best.
Crisis. Match. Outcome. Read the case files. Then decide if you want to risk going without us.
A Tribeca couple's anniversary dinner — 22 guests, a curated wine list, and a caterer who cancelled via text 36 hours out. The menu had already been sent to guests. The panic was real.
Chef Marcus Webb
14 years · French-American technique · Available Friday
Marcus had spent seven years at a two-star brasserie in Lyon before returning to New York. His mise en place is legendary among the line cooks he's trained. Matched and confirmed in under four hours.
"The duck confit was better than anything we'd had in Paris. Our guests thought we'd been planning this for months. Marcus turned a crisis into the best dinner we've ever hosted."
— Priya & Daniel Okonkwo, Tribeca
A fintech firm's product launch at the Standard Hotel — 200 attendees, a passed-hors-d'oeuvres format, and their head chef walked out on a Thursday at 5pm citing a contract dispute. Event: Saturday noon.
Chef Adriana Reyes
12 years · Modern Mexican · Contemporary American · Available Saturday
Adriana had staged at Cosme and spent three seasons as sous chef at a Michelin-recognized tasting room in Hudson Valley. She assembled a crew of four from our network within six hours. Full menu rebuild by midnight.
"I've done 40 corporate events this year. This was the smoothest execution I've seen. Adriana ran that kitchen like she'd been prepping for it for weeks. We've already booked her for our Q1 summit."
— Sofia Marchetti, Director of Events, Fintech firm
A James Beard Foundation benefit dinner. The original culinary team had a scheduling conflict discovered eleven days out. 340 guests. $2,400 plates. The foundation's reputation on the line.
Chef Julian Park
19 years · Korean-American · Fine Dining · James Beard semifinalist
Julian had been a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star award and had helmed kitchens from Seoul to San Francisco. He brought two sous chefs from our vetted network. The five-course menu was designed, sourced, and rehearsed in nine days.
"Julian's tasting menu was the conversation of the evening. Three board members asked for his contact. The foundation called it one of the best benefit dinners in our twenty-year history."
— Thomas Whitfield, Executive Director, JBF
142 chefs.
All vetted. All insured.
Every chef on Sear has been background-checked, reference-verified, and carries $2M liability coverage. Filter by cuisine, availability, or event type.
Kenji Tanaka
Sushi Master · Omakase Specialist
Camille Fontaine
Pastry Chef · Tasting Menu
Darnell Hughes
Executive Chef · American Regional
Mei-Ling Zhou
Line Cook · Dim Sum Specialist
Rafael Santos
Private Chef · Mediterranean
Nadia Osei
Sous Chef · Plant-Based
The Host's Guide to
Hiring a Private Chef.
28 pages of genuine expertise distilled from 3,800 bookings. Not marketing copy — practical knowledge that makes the difference between a dinner your guests remember and one you're still apologizing for.
Tipping Etiquette
Industry-standard tipping for private chefs, line cooks, and culinary crews — by event type and scale.
Kitchen-Prep Checklist
23-point checklist to prepare your kitchen before a private chef arrives. Equipment, clearance, and mise en place.
Dietary Accommodation Templates
Pre-written guest questionnaires covering allergens, religious restrictions, and preference tiers.
Service Timeline Guide
Hour-by-hour breakdown for events from 8 to 200 guests — when to confirm, when to brief, when to step back.
Get the Guide
Enter your email and event date. We'll send the PDF immediately — no spam, no follow-up calls unless you request them.
28 PAGES · PDF · FREE · NO CREDIT CARD
What clients say — in their own words.
We needed a sushi specialist for a 120-person corporate gala in 72 hours. Sear sent us Kenji. The omakase was flawless. Three clients asked for his card.
Friday at 5pm, my sous chef walked out. By 7pm I had a replacement confirmed through Sear. By 9pm service was running. I still don't know how they did it.
Thanksgiving for twenty-two. I found Sear through a friend. Chef Rafael showed up with his own knives, his own mise en place kit, and a menu that made my mother-in-law cry. The good kind.