Chef at Home by James Howe

James and Luke were our chefs for the evening, catering for a surprise party of 12 for a 60th birthday celebration.

Although there was initially a little confusion as to the amount of choices we had from the menu, this was quickly resolved. We settled on a three course meal from the summer menu which was absolutely magnificent. Every plate, every course, whether vegetarian or meat, were all beautiful. The presentation was lovely and every dish arrived at the same time, steaming hot and tasty. I must point out that this was a surprise dinner party for 6 of the guests and yet James had taken time to study each individual menu choice noting who had chosen what before serving us thus avoiding having to ask who had ordered what. Very professionally done.

Both James and Luke arrived two hours prior to our seating time and worked efficiently but quietly, creating our stunning meal and once we had finished they quietly washed and tidied away all of the dishes afterwards. You would never have known they had been there!

I cannot rate these guys highly enough. They were both so polite too and even left a lovely birthday card for the birthday boys before leaving.

Should an occasion arise when I needed a caterer, I would not hesitate in contacting James Howe again.

We booked for a family celebration at a holiday house. James and Luke provided a fantastic service. The food was delicious. They cleared up and left the kitchen spotless. Would definitely recommend. Thank you

An outstanding service provided by Luke, who served us a beautiful meal and couldn’t do enough to show us a fabulous evening. I would highly recommend and will be using them again!

We had an excellent meal prepared by James. The food was delicious, great quality and good sized portions. Everything was prepared, cooked and cleared without us needing to do anything. I would definitely recommend.

"I have no problem in recommending Chef at Home. James turned up and quietly and efficiently prepared the most delicious meal served to our table. When he left the kitchen was spotless and no trace of a meal having been prepared
I would certainly use his services again"

Excellent service, great food. Exactly what we expected. And cleaned up, spotless!

James arrived right on time despite some unexpected bad weather. Dinner was beautifully presented. Kitchen was spotless on his departure.

Really pleased and impressed with the service provided for my dinner party. The bespoke menu far exceeded my guests expectations & my kitchen was left spotless. I would happily recommend James for any event.

We hold an annual friends Christmas party. This was the first time we have used a private chef, and will definitely be doing so again. The choice of menu that was available was amazing, almost too difficult to choose, and the company was great to deal with in the lead up to the event. On the night James arrived promptly and after being shown where everything was, just gone on with the preparation of the meal. The food was delicious, the service great and at the end of the meal the kitchen was left spotless. I would definitely recommend Chef at Home by James Howe to others.

the chef didn't show up so not impressed. It was very difficult to make alternative arrangements on a Saturday night in the countryside for 10 people. Apparently the chef had a personal issue but didn't call to let anyone know. I have been trying for a week now to get a refund and am not having much luck. Overall an unprofessional service

James and his team made a fabulous meal for my party. Everyone had a wonderful time. It was beautifully cooked and presented. Would highly recommend

Food was fantastic! James and Jac did a brilliant job catering for our hen party of 19 ladies.

We hired James for an event in Cornwall - which he travelled six hours to cook for. Great three courses, all delicious and presented well. Would highly recommend!

The entire process was flawless! I cannot thank James and his team enough! The meal he prepared for my family was exceptional, despite his less than ideal cooking utensils ( the kitchen we provided him with is quite old and quirky) he went above and beyond, amazing presentation and flavor!!! I can't say enough good things about him! I would recommend him for any occasion big or small! Thanks!!!

"We hired a chef to cater for a dinner shared by 14 people as we stated in a rented holiday home. The food our chef made us with was delicious and generous portions. He left the kitchen spotless. He worked really hard from 2.15 until serving our dinner at 8 and after asking for a little rest between courses, we felt a little less rushed. Two or three of us were asked to help him serve the food once it was plated up and he made the Diane steak sauce once we asked for it.
Once he had remembered we were celebrating and needed to use the space a little too in order to prepare drinks etc he softened his manner and became more amenable.
Our only issue was over his brash attitude on arrival and thought that, although we appreciate he has been very busy, as he was ‘the face’ of your company he might want to be a little curt and seemingly cross with his customers and stay to clear the last plates away.
I have rated the whole experience a 4 asthe company on the whole were very helpful throughout the booking process, the menu was varied and food tasty. Our chef mellowed over the evening and all the guests thought it was value for money.
Thank you for helping us in organising the evening."

Amazing experience!

We were so impressed with our meal. We had a very large party of 18 adults and the food was of fantastic quality and quantity. Everything was beautifully presented and promptly served. So impressed, will definitely be using again!

Food and servers very good. Communication could be improved.

"The event was a 60th birthday dinner for 8 people. James arrived with plenty of time to prepare the courses which we had discussed online.
The food was wonderful!!! Each course was very pleasing on the eye and tasted delicious! The quality of the produce, especially the lamb was excellent. He left the kitchen in a very tidy state and all the washing up done!
None of us at dinner had used a private chef service before. High end restaurant food served in a setting of your choice is a terrific way to celebrate. Drinking your own wines and not needing taxis makes this a very economical way of treating yourself and friends. I shall be doing this again.
I heartily recommend Chef at Home by James Howe."

"Sorry but my experience was not a good one.

Chefs arrived late due to traffic issues. I run my own business and always assume things will go wrong on any journey so leave additional time in my schedule to ensure I arrive early. If I arrive late, I always offer a refund. None was offered to me.

I wanted an experienced bbq chef and made that clear. It was clear, at one point in the day, that the chefs I had were not as experienced as was made out. It was only due to a Club colleague of mine being on site that we did not end up with a situation where none of the bbq drums were hot enough to cook on!

On a positive note, the food was well cooked and nobody was left waiting for their order to be ready.

If you are looking to run a bbq, I would not recommend using this team. However, that is just based on this event. I have no experience on what else they offer so cannot comment on that."

Chef at home provided an excellent service for our family celebration. The food was produced professionally and at the time requested. James did particularly well providing a special meal for one guest who was vegetarian, glueten and dairy free. Carla his assistant did an fantastic job helping us relax and unwind, as well as providing service to the table. We highly recommend James as a home chef who provides high quality food and excellent service.

"The food was only average, I wouldn't be happy to recommend to future guests at the property.
We have used White Rose caterers at the property for over 6 years and they have produced and served amazing food, I was expecting something Similar, the price was around the same.
The Chef left his receipts and paperwork at the property, everything was purchased from a cheap cash and carry, I Would have at least expected that the steaks were from a butchers, The steaks were all cooked the same no one got asked if they wanted medium, rare or well done ? I felt disappointed as my guests were being polite as it was my birthday and I had organised it."

Benito was fantastic! He was incredibly efficient, the food was delicious and he left the kitchen cleaner than it's ever been! Amazing. My only quibble is that I told James it was a surprise and Benito needed to arrive at 6pm as a result and this didn't seem to have been communicated. Benito arrived at 5pm and very nearly ruined the surprise but luckily I caught him before my fiance saw. This was completely not his fault but a fault of communication and would have really annoyed me if it had ruined the surprise. Benito however was amazing.

James arrived very promptly and was good company while we were settling ourselves in to the cabin we had rented for the weekend. The kitchen was not very big at all, but James coped very well and was not fazed buy it in the slightest. He catered to a specific menu I requested for our party of 6 and delivered it perfectly. All 3 courses along with the canapes were very tasty and well cooked. I could not fault any of the food, and James left the kitchen cleaner than it was when we initially arrived at the cabin. Would highly recommend, great chef and great food!

We booked this company for a catered dinner for a hen party of 11 people. We were left with no chef, explanation or apology and have subsequently been ignored and blocked on social media after trying to leave reviews and make contact. We would have fully understood if something had cropped up and they needed to cancel (we were told 2 hours before the event that the chef had had an accident and another chef would be sent but would arrive later, which is awful for the injured party, however no one else turned up and we were unable to make contact with the company afterwards. To not even provide an explanation or assurances of a refund is despicable service.

"Dear James

I just wanted to say a big thank you for the meal you prepared for us on Saturday night.
The food was absolutely amazing and from me saying that I would like a Spanish themed meal, you prepared a superb menu selection and the food you served was even better. Everything about the night was straightforward, from run up to it to you leaving us with a kitchen that was left immaculate.

The service on the night was faultless and i would have no hesitation in recommending you to anyone and I already have done so. To have such an amazing personal service brought to your own home, for the same cost as a meal out at a good restaurant is a recommendation that is easy for me to make.

We will definitely ask you to cook for us again and are already looking forward to it.

Kind Regards

Louise Rolfe"