Signature dish:
Challah Bread French Toast
Food had an early impact on my life. My fondest childhood memories include watching Food Network with my mom and seeing my dad slow cook Sunday dinners — nothing like smoked ribs on a summer’s day! My appreciation for all things culinary, led me to begin working in restaurants at the age of 18 and I immediately felt at home. I continued to work my way through the industry and have now spent the last 8 years running kitchens in your favorite NYC restaurants.
I realized I had a particular fondness for private catering when I started dating my wife. Together, we cooked dinner for her family every Friday; It was our thing. Inspired by the intimacy of the process, my ability to be creative with recipes and presentation and most of all, the way a great meal punctuates an unforgettable evening; I developed a desire to share this experience with others. Our thing became my thing, as I regularly began cooking for couples and small parties, in addition to being a full-time chef. As much as I enjoy the art of cooking, it’s really not about food. It’s about the experience. The food is just the gateway to the experience. That being said, I look forward to the opportunity to make your special evening unforgettable.
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Where to begin? From the start, Chef Raymond was the most attentive chef on Table at Home. We hired Chef Raymond to cook for my and my wife's family on the day of our wedding. He spent diligent time with us to make sure the menu was curated to our tastes as well as the taste and dietary restrictions for our whole family of 22. Chef Ray also spent time on his own before the event to taste test dishes from our menu to ensure they were top notch in both presentation and flavors.
On the day of the event, his team arrived and notified us that they were COVID-negative, so that made us feel comfortable in having them work around our family. We hired Chef Raymond for both brunch and dinner. When he got to the house, he spent some time with us walking around to see what space he had to work with and used creativity to take elements from the space to create a unique display and vibe for both experiences.
We can’t talk enough about how wonderful the food was. Chef Raymond and his team take crostini's to another level by creating interesting flavors that we haven’t come across before, such as beet hummus and avocado crostini’s and fresh fig and honey crostini’s. The French toast was every NYC bruncher’s dream and the crepe bar was the perfect decadent end to our brunch experience.
Dinner was a similar experience. Chef Raymond and his team took the time out to set up the cake cutting and champagne area so we didn’t have to think about it. As we toasted to our new union, his team passed around appetizers - the roasted grape crostini was a hit. Salads were innovatively served in a parmesan bowl and our families enjoyed both vegetarian and meat dishes for dinner - homemade butternut squash ravioli and pistachio crusted lamb chops. And like true professionals, they cleaned all the dishware and reset the whole home, and left it spotless.
If you’re looking to hire a creative and attentive chef for your small, intimate wedding, date night, or get together with friends, then Chef Raymond is your person!