Private Chef
Do you ever wish you could go out for supper without leaving the house? Well, you can when you use our Private Chef Service. Whether you have something special to celebrate or you just want to get together with friends or family, eating together is by far the best way to celebrate and socialise.
Give yourself a break with our Private Chef Service and let us bring the restaurant to you with your very own personal chef at home or at a venue of your choice.
Once the menu is all agreed, there’s nothing left to think about but relaxing and enjoying the company and the food. Perhaps it’s a dinner you’d like or a more informal party with canapés being served throughout the evening.
Based in Bristol, we provide the chef to produce restaurant quality food for you and your guests from your chosen menu, as well as waitress service to lay the table, serve and clear up – when your guests have left your kitchen will be left spotless. All you’ll have to do is relax and enjoy yourselves.
We have dinner menus for Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter and different packages to suit your budget – please take a look. If you’d like to book, call us on 0117 962 1770 or enquire via our contact form. We love talking food and we can devise a special menu just for you.
Buy Tara’s book!
To celebrate 10 years in business in 2020, Tara has written her first book! ‘10 Years of Food Fads‘ features 10 of Tara’s favourite ingredients and charts how cooking with them has changed over the years with 5 imaginative recipes for each.
Click here to order your copy
About Tara
Tara Clist is an award-winning chef and author who set up Bristol caterers Tara’s Table in 2010 after becoming disillusioned with 9-5 life. Tara started from the bottom up in top restaurant kitchens in Bristol, as well as Babington House in Somerset. She has been a Judge at The Taste of the West Awards and Tara’s Table has been awarded Luxury Caterer of the Year 2019 by Lux Magazine, as well as Caterer of the Year 2018 by The Luxury Travel Guide. Tara published her first book, 10 Years of Food Fads, in 2020 to celebrate 10 years in business.
During her time in restaurants, Tara featured in the The Good Food Guide and she also did various ‘stages’ at London’s renowned Moro & River Café restaurants, Rick Stein’s Seafood Restaurant in Padstow and the one and only Chez Panisse in California.
Provenance & Zero Waste
Based in the green city of Bristol, we are caterers committed to using only seasonal, responsibly sourced produce. We will never use meat or poultry that is mass produced in a factory somewhere; our fish comes from a sustainable source, our eggs are free range and our fruit and vegetables are always in season.
Of course, we can’t buy everything British, so things like lemons and olive oil normally come from Italy, Spain or Portugal. But we will never buy air freighted goods that come to us out of season, like apples from New Zealand when home grown stocks have run out… Which is why our menus for events and private parties change with the seasons.
We are fully committed to a Zero Food Waste Policy: naturally, the customer comes first so, whilst you can always be assured that there will be plenty of food for you and your guests at your event, (we know people very often like to come back for second helpings!), we aim to avoid unnecessary leftovers and waste wherever possible. We make all your food from scratch and we reduce as much food waste and spoilage as possible through careful handling and diligent storage at the preparation stage. We compost all our own veg waste on-site.
Where disposables have to be used at your event, we always use compostable packaging and disposables, like plates, cutlery & napkins and are ever mindful of plastics use, keeping this to a minimum.
Dietary Requirements & Allergens
Dietary Requirements & Allergens:
We are happy to cater for dietary requirements and can provide a full list of allergens in each dish on request.
Please tell us about your allergy and we will be happy to accommodate you.
F.A.Q.’s
Will you wash up?
Definitely, it’s one of our biggest selling points! We will agree what you would like to happen at the end of the evening as guests often stay later, but we will clear the table as much as possible and the kitchen will be left spotless, in fact, we often leave customers’ kitchens cleaner than we find them!
Will you be able to work in our kitchen? It’s a bit on the small side!
Yes! We have cooked in several kitchens over the years, of varying shapes & sizes so don’t worry, you’d be surprised what can be achieved in a small space with careful organisation and years of experience.
Do you mind if we are still feeding the kids when you arrive?
Absolutely no problem, we will just slot in and get on with our work, we’re very adaptable.
What time will your team be at my house/venue on the day?
For a private dinner, we aim to arrive about one hour before you want to eat, so if you are planning on sitting down at 8.00pm, we will be with you by 7.00pm. Arrival times vary for larger events, depending on the planning but this can all be discussed beforehand.
Can we meet you in person to discuss our event?
Yes of course. It’s a great idea to meet at the venue, be that your home or a hired venue, by arrangement, to see the set up and layout and discuss how you would like things to happen on the day. We will come to you, there is no charge for this service.
What happens then?
After our meeting, we will send you a thorough email with prices, agreed menu and recap of everything we discussed, then we’ll get a firm date in the diary and take it from there.
When do we need to confirm final numbers and menu choices?
We work on initial numbers after a meeting/discussion and we’ll need confirmed numbers no later than 2 weeks prior to the event.
Can we tweak the menu if we don’t like some garnishes, or accompaniments, etc.?
Yes, of course. Our menus are just a guide/pointer to whet your appetite and get things started. However, we do cook seasonally, with ingredients that are at their best, so no asparagus from Peru in mid-January! If you have a special theme or style of food in mind, we are only too happy to help.
Do you cater for dietary requirements and allergies?
Yes, we are very happy to cater for diverse dietary requirements and we provide full allergen information with our food deliveries. We make all the food from scratch so rest assured, we know exactly what is in everything.
We want to order from your Private Chef menu, can everyone choose a different dish?
We are delighted to cater for various dietary requirements. As our Private Chef Service differs from a restaurant setting and the food is made from scratch, it’s not always practical to make very small portions of each dish. This depends on the number of guests and we can discuss options. In our experience, many customers choose the same menu for everyone.
What do your waiting staff wear?
Our waiting staff are always clean and smart. They wear black trousers and a black or white shirt with a Tara’s Table apron.
What if we don’t have enough crockery, cutlery, etc?
For a private dinner held in your home, we normally use your crockery, cutlery, etc. On occasion, people also borrow from neighbours or friends to fill gaps. For larger dinner, we can hire from our third party supplier who deliver and collect the equipment dirty after the event. In this case, our staff will stack it all and put it to one side at the end of your event.
Can we taste your food before we book?
No, we do not offer tastings or samples. We have been in busines since 2010 and we have plenty of wonderful testimonials from very satisfied customers, which we think speak for themselves. We encourage you to take a few moments to read these if you have any doubts about booking us.
How far will you travel?
We work within a 30 mile radius of Bristol. We charge mileage at 45p per mile for journeys that are outside Bristol.
Do you provide wine?
Yes, we work with a reputable wine merchant to provide wines for our Platinum package with wine flight.
