Hire Private Chef in Encinitas, California

Laura Madden

14 April 2026

★★★★★

"Chef Jene’e was super prepared and such a warm personally. Great experience!"

"John has cooked for us once before and we intentionally chose John to cook for us again. h..." e always does a great job

"the food was amazing, literally every dish. She was very professional & even helpful w..." ith my set up. Highly recommend & will definitely book again.

"I'll start by saying that I didn't download the app, and we won a silent auction..." for credit. I did find it difficult to find a chef in our area, and then when I did, the minimums were quite high. I had few choices, and I still had to pay some to meet the minimum after I found a menu that I knew my family would enjoy. I found it frustrating that I didn't get a notification that there was a chat from the chef, maybe having the app would solve that, and needing a code to sign in every time, argh!

"Chef Robert was a pleasure to work with! He took on my dinner party and custom menu with e..." ase, making my booking experience effortless. He arrived promptly on location and had every course served on schedule and with impeccable timing. He was courteous and personable to all guests. The food was spectacular - each dish he presented outdid the last! He accommodated every request and delivered an unforgettable experience! I recommend Chef Robert without hesitation and would book again!

"You're app needs some work and refinement. It works and I was able to go beginning to..." end, but it does seem like it's not coordinated (e.g. between texting, in-app messaging). Nothing horribly wrong, but it certainly doesn't seem "mature" at this point.

"Cooking Genie is an interesting concept. I can definitely see using it again in the future..." .

"Russell was wonderful and the food was delicious!!"

"Cooking Genie was a pleasure to work with. They helped me navigate through the process, a..." nswered all my questions and made the process very easy.

"LaPriste was amazing! We are already planning to book him again for another cabin trip or ..." family gathering. He was so warm and personable and was great with our little kids asking him questions - he even went out of his way to make them chicken tenders so they felt included in our evening! 10/10 experience he is fantastic! Food was delicious, looked and tasted great, great timing, so personable!

"Very easy to book and even easy and attentive when adjustments need to be made. I would d..." efinately use again!

"Jesse was an absolute gem. Each dish was a culinary masterpiece. The menu was exactly as..." planned but better than could be imagined. He was also a pleasure to have in our home. He is a guitar player and Beatles fan, so he sang in our sing along as he prepared our dinner. We had a lovely evening that no one will forget.

"Russell was excellent! He prepared a meal for a group of 10 ladies, and we loved all the d..." ishes! He hosted and engaged with us, while still giving us space to do our own thing. The charcuterie was delightful, and the highlight was short rib ragu. We loved tiramisu the next morning with our coffee! What a wonderful experience!

Yasir Drabu

03 March 2026

★★★★★

"The fresh charred poblano pepper crema… delicious!"

"Great way to have a delicious meal from the comfort of your own home! CookinGenie’s comm..." unication the entire pre-during-post was right on the mark!

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"very easy to use and communicate with chef on special requests!"

"We would definitely book again. Chef Warren and his assistants were all wonderful and the..." food incredible. The evening could not have better.

"Chef Harvey was EXCELLENT! friendly- food was scrumptious - cleaned up perfectly! A tota..." lly YUMMY night. We just loved it ❤️😋❤️

"I’m challenged when it comes to the computer and different platforms. The CookinGenie re..." sponded right away to walk me through.

"Ordered the Curry Goat and Banana Coffee Pudding for a private dinner and was delighted wi..." th Chef Kim's service! The Curry Goat was incredibly tender and flavorful and the Mac N Cheese side it came with had very generous portions which we were delighted by. All the food was plated beautifully and Chef Kim was great with communication, friendly, punctual, and left the kitchen even cleaner than when she came. She really delivered a luxurious experience beginning to end - highly recommend!

"Chef Russ's Four Courses in Appalachia was an absolute delicious, thoughtful meal fro..." m beginning to end and Russ was a delight to chat with while he prepared it for us!

"Professional and excellent experience"

"It was really nice to be able to have some friends over and enjoy just sitting around and ..." catching up while someone else cooked and cleaned up afterwards.

"Tinorris cooked me and my friends a delicious meal while we sat back and relaxed. He was v..." ery professional and friendly. Portions were very genenous and everything tasted great ( especially the sweet potatoes). He cleaned up the kithen well after he was done and even laid out the table for us beautifully! Highly recommend him for any special occasions you might have comimg up .... 🥰

"it was fairly easy to use. There was some issue with the gift card that we had, but it was..." solved fairly easily.

"He was extremely professional and explained his creations that made the food even more enj..." oyable. It was our first experience and will not be our last. He was fantastic!!!

"Jeffrey and team were wonderful and the food was exceptional. The communication kept us i..." nformed and ready for the deliciousness they were providing. Thank you again Jeffrey!

"Another wonderful experience with Chef!"

"For the money spent, we were expecting a much better experience. Toinette was a charming l..." ady, just didn't deliver last night.