Yes, you should be having fun at your own party.

The Culinistas’ Ultimate Guide to Hosting

You’ll be slinging pies like a pizzaiolo in no time.

How to Make Pizza in the Oven

Don’t be intimidated: this Spanish classic can be conquered at home, even without a paella pan.

How to Make Paella at Home

Caramelized, juicy, and perfectly tender every time

How to Sear Steak Like a Chef

Consider these five factors, and you’ll never stress about the last course. 

How to Pick the Perfect Dinner Party Dessert

You bring the jazzy playlist. We’ll handle the rest.

This Steakhouse Menu Brings the Sizzle Home 

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, mangiamo!

Having an Italian Dinner Party? Here's What to Serve.

7 Postpartum-Friendly Dishes For Your Fourth Trimester

How Tos & Inspiration

Our booking policy is flexible, so don't worry if these details change. Our chef services are available in 

, though many Culinista® chefs are happy to travel. For services outside of these areas, 

Please enjoy $100 off gatherings of 12 people or more. Discount automatically applied. 

Gatherings

Meal Prep

A Season or Long Term

Cooking Classes

Chef Services Overview

The Culinistas is a resource that gives everyone the freedom and confidence to connect around a meal.

Our optional drinks service includes up to 2 drinks plus waitstaff who will arrive 1 hour before guests and provide 4 hours of service. Additional time will be billed at $60/hour. The Culinistas will provide ice and non-alcoholic ingredients. The host is responsible for providing alcohol.

Dairy

Eggs

Fish

Shellfish

Nuts

Gluten

Pork

Sesame

Beef

Alliums

Stop refreshing your reservation app and kickstart your day from the comfort of home with these cozy menus. We’re playing the hits with fluffy ricotta pancakes, veggie-laden frittatas, granola butter for your toast, and a Calabrian egg salad. Round up your sleepy-eyed friends or make it a family affair: we think these spreads will please any crowd. What’s better? Only waking up to a 

. Two hour wait time—we don’t do that anymore.

Set your Alarm for these 8 Brunch Menus 

Hosting a gathering is one thing, but doing so with ease and confidence is quite another. So how do you become the gracious host you always wanted to be? Don’t worry–whether you’re handling the cooking or 

, hosting at home is not hard; it takes guidance and a plan, which you will have when you finish reading this article!

A few key steps for planning, organizing, and moving through a gathering will help you lead with hospitality, have fun, and guide the flow. With a plan, you won’t ever feel lost at your own party.

Identify the Purpose

A theme—whether culinary-driven, celebratory, or otherwise—lightens the logistical load. We love Priya Parker’s book, 

 and we stand by her suggestion of themes for gatherings of all kinds. If there isn’t an obvious purpose, like a birthday, consider the small occurrences in life that can be beautiful and appreciated when memorialized: seasons shifting, testing a new grill, or a special night to hear about a family member’s vacation and see photos. Rely on this purpose to structure the flow of the night, your menu, the decor, and your party games (Play! Why not?).

A friend from college just moved to your city, and you want to host a gathering to introduce her to your friend group here. You decide on a Mexican-inspired menu, recalling all the amazing Mexican food you both ate in your college town. Because you went to school on the West Coast, you decorate with poppies and bring out the serving bowl you bought on the spring break trip you went on together. After the meal, you play a couple rounds of 

: one of the best games for learning about new people.

Dinner Party Equation

This equation will quickly become your trusted hosting formula. When deciding on a menu, follow this format:

To start, you’ll want something that can come together either easily or beautifully or in advance (or, all three) to keep yourself free to welcome your guests with a hug, a drink, or to take their coats (or, again, all three). Think build-your-own spreads like charcuterie boards, three ingredient canapés, or a dip that will hold up in the fridge.

The four main dishes should encompass a salad, protein, grain or starch, and a veggie side. Variety is key to ensuring there’s enough to go around and that your guests are satiated, but too much variety can be an overwhelming amount of flavor and choice. Guests overeating is not the goal. Keep your menu balanced by tethering it to flavor profiles that complement each other. If it grows together, it goes together. It’s no accident that fall salads headline earthy Brussels sprouts and tart apples, while winter’s feature citrus supremes and bitter radicchio. Eat seasonally, match dishes by region or culture, or support one bold dish with other simpler dishes.

Think of dessert as an extension of the meal, remembering the suggestions above. If your menu employs lemon throughout the cooking, you may want to keep dessert in the family with a lemony tart or zesty cookies. Alternatively, if your main menu is dairy-forward, consider passing on the ice cream and baking a berry galette or spiced cake in its place. Read more about how to pair your dessert with the rest of the meal 


Remember to gather your guests’ dietary restrictions before finalizing your menu. A good rule is to make sure two of your main dishes will be suitable, that a single ingredient snack following your guest’s requirements is on hand (like nuts, pretzels, crudité, etc), and that there’s a little fruit or cheese for dessert, depending on the needs.

We're All Family Here

Your guests may want to help. They likely know the stressors hosting brings and appreciate your hospitality. This starts with, “What can I bring?” Give your guests who ask straightforward, 101 assignments like fresh bread, pistachios, berries, or espresso beans. Single ingredients that you may not have time or have forgotten to get but that will add something special to the menu. Maybe a box of Maldon salt! Guests will feel useful and like an integral part of the night. Creating a hivemind camaraderie can start here. Another way to include your guests before they step through your front door is to ask them to add to a playlist. Your guests will take pride in knowing they helped set the tone, and it’ll make for great interstitial conversation throughout the night.

During your gathering, if anyone wants to help, assign the task of moving people to the snacks or to the dinner table so you can focus on moving the food. Assign someone to fill water pitchers. Guests succeed with tasks that do not require your oversight or for you to answer questions (such as “Where did you say you keep your box grater?”).

Between the meal and dessert, rather than accept help clearing dishes, which often disrupts the night, assign someone to help guide the conversation while you clear. Ask a friend to tell a specific story, ask the group to come up with their favorite movie of the season, or play a game (see 

Prep is Best

Here are the do-ahead tasks we never skip:

Assess your equipment to be sure you have everything you need to execute. If you’re doing the cooking yourself, map out your stovetop and oven use to make sure you won’t end up with a last-minute traffic jam. If you’re working with a Culinista chef, make sure you have everything on our 

Count your plates, flatware, and glasses to serve your guests. Do this a few days before in case you need to borrow (see: “What can I bring?” above). Plan out your serving vessels, too, so that you know where your dishes will be going once prepped.

Batch a cocktail or two a day ahead, slice citrus, and buy sparkling water and tonic.

If you’re handling the food, make anything that can be done in advance like a casserole or large-format dessert the night before or early in the morning. Do any prep work in advance that won’t wilt, discolor, or go bad (e.g. chopping, slicing, blanching, blending sauces).

Mise en Place

On the subject of prep work, the restaurant philosophy of mise en place (everything in its place) is a mantra among Culinista chefs. Once your do-ahead prep is done, set up your equipment and ingredients for day-of cooking. That means washing and chopping produce, making sauces or marinades, and even portioning out ingredients so they’re ready to go. This will save you time when you’re cooking and naturally encourage you to clean as you go, which is what will make you feel in control, calm, and on top of the evening.

Set the Tone and the Zones

Walk through the night in your home. Arrange your space to create the movement and momentum you envision. Three hours at the table can make any guest, and their host, antsy, so when it comes to pacing, consider the 30/60/90 rule: spend 30 minutes enjoying pre-dinner snacks and cocktails, 60 minutes at the table, and 90 minutes for dessert, games, and less structured chatter either at the table with the seating rearranged, in another room, on the patio, or around a coffee table.

Take Time to Toast

Before you dive into the feast, between standing cocktails and seated dinner, remember to toast to your shared purpose for gathering. Tell your guests why they are here, maybe what they will be eating, and perhaps what will be asked of them (reiterating the purpose). Then let yourself be present and pay full attention to your guests. A gathering you can actually be a part of? That’s the greatest party trick of all.

Games

We love games at gatherings because they’re a way for guests to connect and learn about each other in a structured but fun way. Games are especially great for introverts who might not otherwise join the conversation. Different games work for different types of gatherings and personalities. A creative bunch might thrive in a game of 

, while a more intellectual crowd may prefer 

, so think about what will enhance your evening best.

End Scene

This is your gathering, and your guests are relying on you to run it. When it’s time to end the night, you need to be the one to call it. If you’ve followed our guide, the only dishes to do should be the ones from the table, not from prepping the meal, and we suggest doing those after guests leave, not during the meal or with their help afterwards. (

, you won’t be doing any dishes at all.) End the night on a high note, even if it goes late into the evening, which we hope it does.

No place at the table for gluten? These menus are up for the challenge.

We are tired of gluten-free meals that fall flat. These menus reset the bar, relying on aromatics, spice combos, and creative substitutions so they don’t need gluten to stand on their own. Creamy dips and colorful crudités steal the show; herb-laden dressings take grain bowls to new heights, and desserts use alt flours to enhance textures. Try your hand or 

, but either way, you’re in the clear to invite your pickiest eaters and pasta-loving friends.

10 Gluten Free Menus That Everyone at the Table Will Love

Pick your next trip or reminisce about your most recent one with these menus. An expanded palate is a way to expand the mind so we collaborated with chefs whose regional expertise guided each dish. Unique ingredients, flavor combinations, and methods make themselves at home when cooked from your own kitchen, either by you or 

This is placeholder DEK copy for a menu listicle hero card.

10 Menus for Traveling the Globe Without Leaving Your Kitchen

, but you don’t know what to cook. Our menus go beyond the classics (though there’s nothing wrong with a roast chicken, and we’ve got a menu for that). Our goal is to make a gathering memorable by making the intangible element of delicious food completely tangible. We choose food by season, region, or culture to create a cohesive menu. We know how to balance flavors as well as the pacing of the night through the dishes we select and the dining format that we suggest. Get adventurous yourself, or 

 one of these lineups. Either way, these spreads are destined to impress and leave you and your guests dreaming of one more bite.

10 Totally Unique Dinner Party Menus

Menu Ideas

Gail Simmons

Top Chef

Dana Cowin

Food & Wine

Gwyneth Parltrow

Goop

Tiana Tenet & Jill Donenfeld

Founders

Chef Aaron

Culinista chef since 2019

Serving Platters & Bowls, corresponding to number of dishes and accompaniments.

Remember small dishes for sauces, dips, and spreads.

Serving Utensils, corresponding to number of dishes.

Remember small utensils for sauces, dips, and spreads.

Tablewares (Tablecloth, Placemats, Napkins)

Dishware (Salad Plates, Dinner Plates, Dessert Plates), corresponding to number of guests and courses.

Flatware, corresponding to number of guests and courses.

Grain-based salads are best if eaten at room temperature, but are also wonderful hot or cold

Meat dishes are prepared medium-rare, poultry dishes are fully cooked through, with sauce on the side

Oven: Transfer meat/poultry/fish and sauce in a covered oven-safe containers or wrapped in aluminum foil @ 375°F for 5-15 minutes depending on desired temperature and doneness

Stove: Reheat sauce over low heat, stirring every 30 seconds until heated to your desired temperature; pour over room temperature meat/poultry/fish

Pasta dishes are prepared al dente and soften in their sauces over time

Pasta dishes are best at room temperature or cold

Stove: Heat in pan over medium heat, adding water as needed so the sauce doesn’t reduce

Microwave: Partially cover the vessel and stir every 30 seconds

Cleaned base greens and salad accoutrements will be packaged separately; toss together in a medium to large bowl and add dressing to taste

Allow sauces, dressings, and vinaigrettes to come to room temperature so they can loosen

Cookies, brownies, bars & scones best eaten at room temperature

Muffins & load breads are best eaten at room temperature or reheated slightly

Slice, spread with butter or coconut oil, and toast butter side down on skillet over medium heat until golden brown

Fruit salads best eaten cold or at room temperature

Glassware (Wine, Cocktail, Rocks, Flutes, etc.)

Hearty vegetable salads are best if eaten at room temperature, but are also wonderful hot or cold

Oven: Transfer into a heatproof vessel @ 350°F until warmed through (5-10 minutes)

Our favorite full set of baking sheets & pans: 

All-Clad Pro-Release Nonstick Bakeware Set

 OXO Good Grips 2-Piece Plastic Cutting Board Set

OXO Good Grips 15-Piece Everyday Kitchen Utensil Set

Make sure the size you order fits in your oven!

All-Clad HA1 Hard Anodized Nonstick Cookware Set

Stove Top: Reheat over low heat, stirring every 30 seconds until heated to your desired temperature (4-8 minutes)

Reheating Guide

Equipment

Before your service, please read these helpful tips:

Empty the dishwasher and clear out the sink before the chef arrives.

Make sure you have olive oil, salt, pepper, tin foil & parchment paper for cooking. Plus, soaps, dish rags, trash bags, and a broom for clean up.

Double check our equipment list below, and make sure your kitchen is stocked.

Confirm that stove burners, oven, broiler, and dishwasher work; if something doesn't work, please let us know in advance.

Make sure someone is home to let in the chef at their scheduled time of arrival or that kitchen is accessible without guidance.

Familiarize your chef with the home (shoe policy, smoke alarms, pets, trash, recycling, wash rooms, etc.)

Leave fridge space for groceries, dishes and/or leftovers.

Communicate with your chef about children and furry friends' kitchen rules.

If your service was exceptional and you'd like to tip above the included 20% gratuity, please do so in cash.

Friendly Reminder for Weekly Meal Prep: Your chef(s) are there to cook for you, not set the table or serve you. 