Just back:Chefs De France, Brown Derby, Personal Chef , Illuminations Dessert Party

[Puffy2]

Any questions? Chefs De France and Brown Derby were both wonderful, but the Gourmet Meal prepared by our Personal Chef (Brenda Beaty of Creative Kitchens) was by far the best meal of the entire trip. See link for her info: Creative Kitchens - the Illuminations Dessert Party gave a great view and it was nice to meet a few folks from here at the dis , but I personally was not impressed with the dessert offerings (too sweet in most cases for me- it might be better if they offered some standards like cake (we did have some great birthday type cake - that was the best part) , maybe a pie, etc... as opposed to those mini desserts that look pretty but taste way too rich. Anyway, I figure we were paying for the reserved "view" - not the food. It was nice to have a hot cup of coffee on a cool night.

Our gourment meal was prepared in our villa at the Board Walk. It was outstanding! It was also fun interacting with the chef (Brenda). Plus, she brought so much food that we refrigerated a lot of it and had it again the next day for lunch AND dinner (and my friend even had the salad for "breakfast"). Over all the cost was only $175.00 for two people (I think this is her minimum that she charges) - I came home way under my food budget this time because of this. Can't recommend Brenda enough - we had a blast.

Any questions?

 

[patsal]

What did your personal chef prepare for you? This sounds like a really wonderful experience.

 

[Puffy2]

This is the menu we had:

Tray of assorted appetizers (one was the most delicious tomato, garlic, onion, etc... topper that went on small pieces of bread - sorry I'm not very good at describing these things but I could have eaten an entire dinner of that stuff)

Warm Sea Scallops with Apricot Horseradish Cream

Southern Fried Chicken

Roasted Garlic and Wild Mushroom Risotto

Southern Green Beans

Raspberry Creme Brulee for dessert

We also had wine and coffee with dinner

Other more elborate menus were offered but I specifically asked for a "normal meal" since we eat so much "froo froo food" when we travel and often I'm begging for a plain old baked potato by the end of a trip. Other menus offered included Roast Pork Loin with Cabernet/Rosemary Sauce, Plantain Crusted Grouper with Mango Chutney and more. She can cook fancy or plain but everything was delicious.

Next time, if we have a villa again, I'm going to try her "prepared meals service" where she will deliver fully prepared meals, already packaged and ready to bake or microwave - to store in the frig and have at your leasuire after you return from the parks.

There is another personal chef that also advertises on the same site this lady does but I haven't tried them yet - Brenda said she knows the other chef (they are friends) and sometimes they share work loads - his name is Daniel and I think his business is Thyme to Cook.

 

[SamSam]

This sounds like a wonderful alternative to eating out! You mentioned you had wine and coffee with your meal; was that included in the price?
I'm definitely making note of this for future trips. Thanks.

 

[Puffy2]

We had brought our own wine. Depending on what type of wine you want, it may or may not be included in her price.

I forgot, we also had a "seasonal salad" which was really good (the dressing was outstanding) - I enjoyed it, but my friend LOVED it (she had it again for breakfast the next morning).