Private Chef - Authentic Japanese Fare - Sacramento

Michael

12 Jan 2025

Karen was a fantastic teacher. We did the tamale class and found it both informative and fun. Looking forward to putting my new cooking skills to work!

Jessica

11 Jan 2025

Chef Karen gave my friends and I, a great experience learning how to cook an Italian dinner from scratch. Everything was magnificent and Karen was so patient with us who were at most novice in cooking. Thanks for a wonderful experience and amazing performance singing happy birthday to the two birthday girls!

Stefanie

09 Jan 2025

Our team had a blast at Chef Karen's culinary team-building dinner! From start to finish, she made the evening fun and memorable for all 22 of us. Planning was a breeze thanks to Chef Karen. She nailed down all the details, considering everyone's dietary needs and preferences. Her communication was excellent, keeping us in the loop and making us feel involved. The dinner itself was a tasty adventure! Chef Karen created a menu that was both creative and easy to follow, so everyone could join in, no matter their cooking skills. Each dish looked and tasted amazing, showing her talent and love for food. What really stood out was how she brought us together as a team. With interactive cooking stations and group tasks, we learned to collaborate and support one another, making the whole experience fun and engaging. Overall, the evening was perfectly executed. Chef Karen's warmth and culinary skills created a welcoming atmosphere. We left feeling full and connected as a team. In short, Chef Karen's event was a huge hit! If you're looking for a fun way to bond while cooking, I highly recommend her services. Thanks, Chef Karen, for an awesome night!

Sonny

04 Jan 2025

Chef Karen was wonderful to have in our home. She has excellent skills as a chef and was very prepared. She is easy to work with and a positive person. I would strongly recommend her to anyone wanted to have a cooking class in their home. We choose to cook Thai food and it was honestly better than any Thai I have eaten at any restaurant in town. Thanks so much for a great day of cooking and eating!

Katy

04 Jan 2025

Chef Karen was wonderful! Chef Karen arrived on time and made the whole evening a absolute joy. She is energetic and truly understands how to make the learning experience fun. We will be reaching out to Chef Karen the next time we need a personal chef who travels.

Michelle

01 Jan 2025

Chef Karen is a sweetheart and excellent cook! We had some of the best fried chicken of our life paired with her family recipes and fresh lemonade! She was also very good at accommodating a diary allergy. Many thanks for wonderful evening.

Dave

29 Dec 2024

She was very nice and professional. Answered questions very well. Everyone really enjoyed her!!

Darren

11 Dec 2024

Chef Karen had great energy, she’s a real down to earth person. You’re a friend 10 minutes into meeting her. She’s also a great cook.

Christina

07 Dec 2024

Chef Karen was easy to work with, on time, prepared and a great teacher! She was warm and easy to learn from. The experience was joy from beginning to end. My husband i feel so confident in the skills she taught us that we now plan to make pasta from scratch for the family on Christmas!

Erin

22 Nov 2024

Such a delight to have Chef Karen provide a Creole meal for our work event. She was a great communicator throughout the planning process, arrived promptly as discussed, and the food was delicious! Our team will compare all Offsite meals to this one from now on!

Cindy

11 Nov 2024

Chef Karen came with lots of energy and made it a fun evening!

Suan Chew

07 Nov 2024

Our group requested deep dish pizza. As far as I know, deep dish does not have dough on top of the pizza. Chef said it's her first time making that. Description of class: "In this hands-on cooking class, Chef Karen will first guide you in kneading fresh dough before baking it to crispy perfection." Completely false. She brought dough that was premade from Winco! Class felt rushed too. She was out in two hours.

Lisa

07 Nov 2024

Class was great and Chef Karen brought not only her expertise in the kitchen but a love for creating a really fun and engaging environment for the group! It was just the afternoon our team needed to step away from the computer and have a lot of fun working together, eating, laughing and enjoying each others company. Thank you Chef Karen for making this happen!

Rick Wood

05 Nov 2024

Purchased dough? Outdated canned products? That is not the experience I paid for

Mi'Shaye Venerable

21 Oct 2024

Chef Karen had great energy HOWEVER this class was more physical labor than anticipated and not worth $125 per person. The kitchen space we used did not have running water so we had at least 2 of our guests rotating in the staff lounge washing dishes. One guest offered to run to the store to grab oil that was forgetten by the chef but was not reimbursed. Chef distributed food that we made to staff and customers in the space that we were using. Note: we were cooking in an appliance shop so random people were in a out so it didn’t seem like a private experience. + we onlyy spent about 10-15 minutes eating the meal because we needed to get out of the space. it didn’t feel like I learned from her professional culinary skills, she mentioned just at the end that it was her first time making this meal— which was beyond me because…. I can follow a recipe too and attempt to make this. I think it wouldve been helpful if she had an assistant helping clean and putting everything away instead delegating all those tasks to our guests.

Michael

18 Oct 2024

We took the Artisan Pizza 101 recently. I normally do not write LONG reviews. Pros: We got to get together with our friends and socialize a bit. Cons: -The chef asked to come a ½ hour early, which I assumed was to setup and make sure everything was ready for noon when our guests arrived. But no, I started chopping fruits and vegetables right away. -The chef forgot parsley for the pesto. She was going to go to the store to get it, but she already had marinara cooking on the cooktop. So, we called our friends to pick up 3 heads of parsley on their way to our home. The chef did not reimburse them. -My husband said he heard the chef barking orders at me to chop this and do that. Maybe that is OK in a restaurant kitchen, but not in our home. Please and thank you would be nice. -When my spouse was putting the cans of tomatoes and tomato sauce in the marinara, he noticed the cans were expired from 2020! -The course was advertised as making your own dough, kneading it and resting it which is one of the reasons we took the course. The chef brought PREMADE pizza dough from Winco! -We all chopped the fruits and veggies and did tasks the chef told us to do. She made the marinara, alfredo sauce and showed my spouse how to make the pesto. When I asked about this the chef said the recipes and how to make it, she said the recipes are online. I took the class to learn, not chop vegetables and fruits so she could make it and not teach us how to do it. -The class was supposed to be 3 hours long and the chef was out the door in 2. The class seemed rushed like the chef had somewhere else to be. Maybe the chef needed to get to her 6PM class in the Bay area of San Francisco. If the class were 3 hours and better organized, the chef could have taught us how to make, kneed and rest pizza dough properly and taught us how to MAKE the marinara, alfredo sauce and pest9. The class had absolutely no instruction. -I took the class to learn and learned nothing. I can roll out premade pizza dough, chop toppings and assemble a pizza. I do it at least once a month. We wanted instruction on how to make the components, not chop stuff and give it to her to make and had no idea how the chef made it. -When we have had other chefs come to the house for $100 per person, they come early and set up, cook everything, and educate us, and clean up the kitchen immaculately. The chef essentially told us to eat our pizza and start cleaning up and she was out the door shortly after. The kitchen was a total mess and took quite a while to clean up.

Pamela

04 Oct 2024

Chef Karen was great! We had fun cooking and eating out delicious Thai dinner!

Andrea

25 Sep 2024

Excellent experience! We will definitely do again. Chef Karen is the sweetest and made this birthday extra special!

Sydney

23 Sep 2024

Chef Karen was so fun and informative during our pizza making class. She brought joy into the kitchen and was very patient in guiding four people working on four separate tasks all at once. The three sauces we made from scratch were delicious and all worked so well together.

Aneesha

11 Sep 2024

Karen was amazing! We made so many dishes with her but never felt rushed. I appreciated her positive energy; she encouraged us when we were trying something new, and was fun to be around! The food was amazing too.

Shamaa

01 Sep 2024

We are so appreciative of Chef Karen for coming to our home and sharing her cooking skills. She made the experience so special, not only encouraging my husband and I along the way, but since we were doing this class for my husbands birthday, she brought flowers and a birthday candle. Thank you!

Laura

11 Aug 2024

Chef Karen was amazing! She made the experience very special and fun. And the food was delicious! We look forward to the next time.

Ashley

28 Jul 2024

Chef Karen exceeded our expectations! Such a fun time and a delicious meal. I would highly recommend her to anyone looking into this experience!

Oriana

26 Jul 2024

Lovely evening, thank you Karen!!

Pam

14 Jul 2024

Karen is upbeat and made it fun for four of us to cook together and enjoy a delicious meal. Thank you Karen, Please note I already gave Karen a tip and travel expenses and supplies for a restricted diet. Pam

Mark

14 Jul 2024

We really enjoyed our meal by Chef Karen! Great flavors, colorful details, and fragrant aromas were welcomed by all. Chef Karen is delightful and warm. Highly recommended!

Jen

12 Jul 2024

Chef Karen was great! I booked for a work team event (there were 7 of us) and we had a great time. We did the Italian course and learned how to make ravioli from scratch, veg, pesto and tiramisu. She knows how to keep people on task and we had a lot of fun along the way. Would highly recommend booking with Chef Karen!

Stephen

11 Jul 2024

Chef Karen is awesome!! We heartily encourage anyone to have a cooking class with her. She was fun, instructive and easy going. The food was terrific!

Yogesh

30 Jun 2024

Chef Karen was absolutely spectacular. She accommodated our special request for the date of our cooking class and did wonderfully with me, my wife, and our two little kids (4 & 6 years old) -- she even planned a little surprise for my wife birthday! The food was amazing, everyone was involved in the cooking, and it was such an enjoyable evening. Chef Karen is a such a warm hearted person and fully recommend her for your next cooking class!

Eric

12 Jun 2024

Chef Karen has this dialed in — from the food to her loving teaching style to the timing of pulling it all together. I’m still blown away at what we made in our own kitchen.

Kerryn

08 Jun 2024

Karen was a fabulous instructor. We had so much fun. She was very pleasant and brought a lot of positive energy food we made was delicious.

Glennis

07 Jun 2024

Chef Karen is the absolute BEST!! Every single bite of food was pure heaven! That would have been enough for us, but Chef Karen is also a wonderful person with an amazing and completely charming personality! We cannot wait to book with her again!

Karen

05 Jun 2024

Booked as a corporate team-building experience following internal offsite meetings and our teams are already thinking of ways we can book Chef Karen again. Every detail was perfectly tailored to our group and expertly delivered. Thank you, Chef!

Terance

05 May 2024

Chef Karen was awesome and taught me how to make a killer red gravy and Alfredo grave too!

Lilian

03 May 2024

She's sweet, fun, thoughtful, generous, and knows all the 80s music, so we sang together while cooking. We chose to tip her in cash

Fokke

03 May 2024

This was amazing and so much fun! Thank you Chef Karen. Definitely booking again.

David

25 Apr 2024

We just finished our class (Handcrafted Italian) with Chef Karen, which we had booked for date night because we had recently been given the gift of a pasta machine and wanted to learn how to use it. The class was a great learning experience and a lot of fun, and to top it off, we shared a delicious dinner after class was over! Communication prior to the our class (through Cozymeal's messaging system) was excellent. Karen showed up right on the dot despite the fact that she had traveled from pretty far away to get to our place in San Francisco. Karen is super-organized, and we could feel the experienced professional chef vibes from the moment she walked through the door. My husband and I are reasonably good home cooks and working together with Karen, we were able to put together this pretty complex meal in under two hours. We signed up for this class because I wanted to learn how to make pasta from scratch using the machine. She taught us how to make two types of pasta: ravioli stuffed with a nice mushroom filling and fettuccine. I think I'll be able to make both of those having had this class. The class also included making a pesto and alfredo sauce, making arancini, and making tiramisu. The sauces and dessert are easy enough for us. To be honest, we were not all that interested in making arancini, which I usually find a little uninteresting, but Karen had prepared (prior to the class) a superb vegetable risotto, and the arancini were sublime, better than any I'd had previously, including in Italy. Perfectly fried up by my husband, who had never deep-fried anything in his life prior to today! During the cooking class, Karen occasionally threw in tips here and there about how we could improve a few of our cooking techniques. For example, the arancini had a flour/egg/panko coating, similar to what you use when you make wienerschnitzel. I always make a mess of it, and I was making a mess of the panko used to finally coat the arancini. Karen showed me a better technique - to handle the arancini with one hand, and keep the other hand clean, so I could put the arancini ball in the panko and use the clean hand to coat the ball. This keeps the panko clean. I'll definitely put this technique to use in the future for a variety of things that I cook. Sure, I could have learned to make fresh pasta from some online video, and probably even gotten it right after a few tries, but it was so much more fun with Chef Karen, and we had a fabulous meal after class with a lot of leftovers. Thanks, Cozymeal and Karen, for a great experience!

Gina

23 Apr 2024

Chef Karen was wonderful! She’s so personable and she’s an excellent chef. We chose the creole menu, and, while it was all amazing, I’m still thinking about the honey friend chicken two weeks later.

Shelbi

19 Apr 2024

Super kind! Super helpful and thoughtful! Over all an amazing person and experience, she also makes her recipes easy to understand, super fun and hands on. Just an amazing chef and experience!!!!!!

Hannah

30 Mar 2024

Karen was a blast of good energy since she entered the house. We had so much fun with her. The food was really tasty, she guided us through cooking really well and thought us alot of new stuff. It was truly a memorable fun and yummy experience with her. I would really recommend getting her, she made Everything so fun and happy. She also left our kitchen spotless ! Thank you!!

Susan

26 Mar 2024

Karen was overall amazing! She communicated before coming over, was timely, prepared and organized. Her attitude and aura were so warming and friendly, we loved talking with her as she showed us what she was doing and let us participate (we requested this). The food was amazing... I've never had friend chicken so good in my life and her jambalaya was excellent as well! My husband and I would love cooking with her again in the future and highly recommend her!

Meghna

21 Mar 2024

We ABSOLUTELY LOVED having Chef Karen come over and help us make a delicious meal. She was so prepared and worked well with everything we already had in our kitchen. We not only enjoyed cooking and eating the delicious meal, but have so much great food leftover that we're enjoying throughout the week. She went above and beyond to make the experience special for us, bringing special candles, flowers, and singing so beautifully for my husband's birthday (Yes! She is a talented chef AND singer). Chef Karen was so generous, giving us her special seasoning and bringing us homemade lemonade. We had so much fun getting to know Chef Karen and will 100% reach back out for future occasions.

Swetha

10 Mar 2024

Me and my girlfriends celebrated Women’s day with a cooking class with Chef Karen. Chef Karen was super punctual and brought everything needed for the class. She was super fun and we learned a lot along the way. Highly recommend this experience!

Marcus

03 Mar 2024

Karen was fantastic. She has great energy and made this experience amazingly fun. She showed up prepared and let us know what to have ready when she arrived. Best part, getting to eat the food at the end. Additionally, she let us know where she got most of her ingredients so we can give this a go on another day.

Kimberly

24 Feb 2024

We had an amazing cooking experience with Chef Karen! Delicious food and a fun time:)

Wayne and Rachel

22 Feb 2024

Chef Karen was excellent. She was well prepared and showed us some great recipes! We enjoyed so much her company and eating the food that she created.

Austin

20 Feb 2024

Our evening with Chef Karen was an absolute delight! Not only did she bring and show us how to cook amazing food, she also brought incredible energy with her. We cannot recommend her class enough!

Holli

20 Feb 2024

Such a fun evening with Chef Karen! The food was amazing and learned a lot! Chef Karen is personable, fun and informative! Can’t wait to book with her again

Howard

15 Feb 2024

Chef Karen gave us an amazing Valentine's day experience with delicious food and an infectiously fun personality. It's clear she's passionate about her cooking and in sharing her love of it with her clients. I would absolutely recommend booking with Chef Karen!!

Stephen

10 Feb 2024

Please have someone call me regarding this cooking class. Steve

Erin Nicole

07 Feb 2024

Chef Karen was amazing!! Knowledgeable, friendly, timely and just a joy teaching us! The power went out in the middle of the class and she just kept things moving right along by candle and cell phone light without missing a beat! Great instruction, great company, delicious food!! THANK YOU CHEF KAREN ??

William

01 Feb 2024

My partner and I had a great meal experience with Chef Karen. She was prepared, professional, and punctual. We had a delicious, well-seasoned meal in her surf-and-turf and there's was a little left over from her prep work that she left in our fridge for us to enjoy the next day. I recommend Chef Karen to anyone reading this review!

Ranjitha

26 Jan 2024

The best cooking class ever! Had the best time with Karen and learned some incredible receipts. Thank you!

Zaynah

16 Jan 2024

Chef Karen was fantastic all around. Learned many tips and tricks in this pizza making class. Chef Karan has a great aura and makes the class very entertaining. Would definitely try again!

Jerri

16 Jan 2024

Chef Karen was terrific! A++++++

Michele

15 Jan 2024

Very fun class! It was a pleasure to meet Chef Karen and make a few tasty Chinese dishes!

Margie

05 Jan 2024

I booked Karen for my in laws to have a date night and gifted the experience as a Christmas present ! They had nothing but great things to say about chef Karen ! 100% will book again ! Thanks so much for making this a great gift.

Bella

05 Jan 2024

Thank you Chef Karen! We had tons of fun and learned some good cooking skills.

Kristi

22 Dec 2023

Great class!

Julie

18 Dec 2023

Karen came to our home and was so professional, on time and organized upon arrival we were immediately impressed. She has such an amazing way about her and her class, the food turned out amazing. Karen has a gift and natural skill of cooking and making it fun for all! We would absolutely have her do another class for us in the future.

Jeremy

15 Dec 2023

Chef Karen went above and beyond to make sure we had an exceptional experience. I recommend her as highly as possible, she is fantastic and the food is phenomenal.

Anthony

13 Dec 2023

My husband booked Chef Karen for our 1-year anniversary. It was a surprise and more than I could even imagine. Chef Karen showed up on time and fully prepared for our Japanese fusion anniversary date night. She even gifted us a small floral arrangement that complimented our dining room table for fall. She taught us both so much during our class such as little facts about key limes, slicing styles and how to a nice mango salsa. I truly enjoyed her professionalism and expertise and can't wait to have her over again.

Greg

05 Dec 2023

Chef Karen was wonderful. She was on time. Communication leading up to the experience was great. Also, her instruction during the experience was easy to understand and execute. Her personality is so great it made the cooking experience so much more fun! Her energy and love for cooking felt like it flowed from her to us and made the cooking experience so much better. Of course, the pizza was awesome and tasted so good. We learned a lot from her teachings! Thank you Chef Karen!

Rita

14 Nov 2023

Karen was very knowledgeable and we had fun learning. We enjoyed the class and she was great!

Mathew

29 Oct 2023

The experience with Chef Karen was incredible! She is extremely professional and so thoughtful when it came to our dietary restrictions. I would highly recommend her services for any in home cooking needs or classes. Looking forward to seeing her again in the future!

Heather Villamil

29 Oct 2023

Chef Karen is INCREDIBLE! Not only was the food beyond delicious, her fun personality and kindness made the whole experience that much better. She was very respectful of my dietary restrictions and made me feel so comfortable knowing I could eat all of her food without worry. I will be recommending Chef Karen to everyone I know, and asking my husband how soon we can do this again!

Rajan

26 Sep 2023

Chef Karen was amazing. She came with the basics prepared and then walked us through a multi course meal prep. The food was delicious and she was wonderful. The evening couldn’t have been more perfect. Don’t hesitate to work with her, you’ll be happy you did.

Nava

24 Sep 2023

What a magical experience! Chef Karen is truly a gem all around. From the unbelievable flavors of her dishes, down to her vibrant personality, Chef Karen truly made this a once in a lifetime experience. I wholeheartedly recommend booking with Chef Karen for any occasion. Not only did she personalize the experience for me and my boyfriend, but also made us feel included in the process of cooking as she explained all her tricks. What an absolute rockstar!

Kelly

15 Aug 2023

Fun evening with Chef Karen. Our experience was terrific including three young college students who are ready to take some new recipes back to school. Chef Karen provided great ingredients, energy and a very interactive experience. Highly recommend.

Geoff

08 Jul 2023

Karen was amazing! She was talented, warm and fun to talk with while she was cooking — and of course we loved the meal.

Michael

08 Jul 2023

Incredibly special private meal with surf and turf and 3 DELICIOUS courses. Loved the freshly made fruit pies. Chef Karen is so wonderful as a cook and also great to laugh and chat with. Cheers and thank you!!! -Geoff and Mike

J.

27 Jan 2023

You made my own recipes taste better

A.

27 Jan 2023

I lost 35 lbs. with your healthy cooking. Thanks Chef Karen

Tina M.

27 Jan 2023

You did a great job on our vegan options

Deanna D

27 Jan 2023

Your food made me want to learn from you.

Micheal

27 Jan 2023

I couldn't get enough of all the food items thanks so much for the extra plate.

Candace B

27 Jan 2023

YOU ROCKED EVERYTHING CHEF KAREN!!!!!!

Cynthia B.

27 Jan 2023

I Love your presentation! The food is Amazing and we loved your beautiful Smile.

Clifford J.

27 Jan 2023

The Food Spoke to us in a fabulous way. Keep on doing what you do Chef

Vijay

27 Jan 2023

Standing Ovation from my entire team! You are now a part of our family. Great Job Chef Karen!!!!

Indira

27 Jan 2023

Food presentation was adorable. Flavors absolutely Amazing Thanks Chef Karen