One of my unofficial New Year’s resolutions is to do more entertaining. I love having people over, but I tend to buy too much food and stress out over the menu. Luckily, there’s Table at Home, a new local DC business that makes hosting a dinner party super easy and fun.
Table At Home Brings a Gourmet Chef Directly Into Your Home
Table at Home is a new private chef service that allows you to curate a gourmet in-home dining experience on your own terms. The best part about it is how easy and customizable it is. You set your own budget, choose the number of guests you’ll have and the type of meal you want. After submitting your request, you get proposals from chefs who want to create the perfect meal for you in your home. If you get stuck, there’s also an inspiration page that will definitely make you hungry and ready to host an epic dinner party.
We had specific goals in mind. While we love a beautiful dinner out, getting the motivation to leave the house in the dead of winter is a real struggle (bomb cyclone anyone?). So we wanted to create a four-course meal for two of our friends that would feel like a true fine-dining experience. After submitting our requirements, we got several proposals in a matter of days. Each chef’s menu was enticing, but ultimately we settled on Chef Randall as his food sounded right up our alley and right on budget.
After settling on a chef, all we had to do was stock up on wine for the night and set the table. I can’t imagine a more relaxed way of hosting friends!
Chef Randall arrived right on time, got acclimated to our kitchen and started preparing the dishes. Our guests arrived shortly thereafter, and we enjoyed sparkling wine while talking with the chef about various cooking techniques and his culinary background. We loved this one-on-one interaction, which reminded us of the popular chef’s table setup so many restaurants offer these days.
A Little Table at Home Background
This brand new company launched about four months ago in DC, founded by Daniel Swift and Sabina Sequeira. The pair left their jobs to spend a year sailing around Europe when they came up with the idea. While they both love entertaining, they found that by the time they planned the menu and purchased all the ingredients it wasn’t all that much cheaper than going out to eat. They thought it would be cool to provide a service that matches local foodies with a selection of chefs. Their dream has come to fruition with Table at Home, which is available throughout the DMV. They’re also now in Connecticut and hope to expand even further in the near future.
Not only is this service great for food lovers, it’s great for chefs as well. Table at Home hires both professional and amateur chefs who are looking may be looking for a side project, or a change from the typical restaurant experience. It’s a win win for everyone!
Our Table at Home Dinner
Of course, every Table at Home dinner will be completely different and customized to your needs. But our delicious meal will give you an idea of the caliber of food you can expect from your personalized experience.
Grilled persimmon tart with mascarpone, prosciutto and a Fuji apple gastrique
Squid ink tagliatele with gulf shrimp, tomato sugo and fennel fronds
Butter-basted ribeye with turnip gratin, smoky mushrooms and a red wine sauce
White chocolate semi freddo with “instant” brownie, raspberry and sea salt
This meal really blew us away. Our favorite the persimmon tart, which I want to eat at every meal from now until forever. But each dish was delicious. As a picky seafood eater, I was nervous about the squid ink pasta, but I polished off that plate in a matter of minutes.
How to Make Table at Home Work for You
I know what you may be thinking. This sounds great and all, but it looks pretty expensive? The best thing about Table at Home is that you’re completely in charge of your budget. There is also no obligation to book a meal once you put out a request. You can do something as simple as a comforting pasta dinner for two, or go all out with a huge dinner party.
An idea I love is getting a group of friends together to split the cost once a month, with everyone getting a chance to host their own dinner. When it’s all said and done, it would be comparable to a regular night out with friends at a restaurant. There are options for certain themes, i.e. pizza night, dim sum brunch or even cooking classes – the possibilities are endless!
If you’re looking to shake up your hosting routine in 2018, or trying a new-to-you cuisine, I definitely recommend considering Table at Home for a completely unique and unforgettable experience.
We were offered a free dining experience from Table at Home in exchange for our honest review.
What a cool concept and fun night for you and your friends! I love the idea of splitting the cost and rotating who hosts the dinner. I’m going to see if something like this (or this!) exists in Chicago!
I know right? So fun! They’re planning to expand so hopefully they’ll make it to Chicago!
Yes, something like this does exist in Chicago! It’s called Sidecook and they have chefs nationwide!