Please enjoy $100 off gatherings of 12 people or more. Discount automatically applied. 

Gatherings

Meal Prep

A Season or Long Term

Cooking Classes

Chef Services Overview

Our booking policy is flexible, so don't worry if these details change. Our chef services are available in 

, though many Culinista® chefs are happy to travel. For services outside of these areas, 

The Culinistas is a resource that gives everyone the freedom and confidence to connect around a meal.

Our optional drinks service includes up to 2 drinks plus waitstaff who will arrive 1 hour before guests and provide 4 hours of service. Additional time will be billed at $60/hour. The Culinistas will provide ice and non-alcoholic ingredients. The host is responsible for providing alcohol.

Dairy

Eggs

Fish

Shellfish

Nuts

Gluten

Pork

Sesame

Beef

Alliums

You bring the jazzy playlist. We’ll handle the rest.

This Steakhouse Menu Brings the Sizzle Home 

Consider these five factors, and you’ll never stress about the last course. 

How to Pick the Perfect Dinner Party Dessert

7 Postpartum-Friendly Dishes For Your Fourth Trimester

Stop refreshing your reservation app and kickstart your day from the comfort of home with these cozy menus. We’re playing the hits with fluffy ricotta pancakes, veggie-laden frittatas, granola butter for your toast, and a Calabrian egg salad. Round up your sleepy-eyed friends or make it a family affair: we think these spreads will please any crowd. What’s better? Only waking up to a 

. Two hour wait time—we don’t do that anymore.

Set your Alarm for these 8 Brunch Menus 

Yes, you should be having fun at your own party.

The Culinistas’ Ultimate Guide to Hosting

No place at the table for gluten? These menus are up for the challenge.

We are tired of gluten-free meals that fall flat. These menus reset the bar, relying on aromatics, spice combos, and creative substitutions so they don’t need gluten to stand on their own. Creamy dips and colorful crudités steal the show; herb-laden dressings take grain bowls to new heights, and desserts use alt flours to enhance textures. Try your hand or 

, but either way, you’re in the clear to invite your pickiest eaters and pasta-loving friends.

10 Gluten Free Menus That Everyone at the Table Will Love

Pick your next trip or reminisce about your most recent one with these menus. An expanded palate is a way to expand the mind so we collaborated with chefs whose regional expertise guided each dish. Unique ingredients, flavor combinations, and methods make themselves at home when cooked from your own kitchen, either by you or 

This is placeholder DEK copy for a menu listicle hero card.

10 Menus for Traveling the Globe Without Leaving Your Kitchen

Don’t be intimidated: this Spanish classic can be conquered at home, even without a paella pan.

How to Make Paella at Home

, but you don’t know what to cook. Our menus go beyond the classics (though there’s nothing wrong with a roast chicken, and we’ve got a menu for that). Our goal is to make a gathering memorable by making the intangible element of delicious food completely tangible. We choose food by season, region, or culture to create a cohesive menu. We know how to balance flavors as well as the pacing of the night through the dishes we select and the dining format that we suggest. Get adventurous yourself, or 

 one of these lineups. Either way, these spreads are destined to impress and leave you and your guests dreaming of one more bite.

10 Totally Unique Dinner Party Menus

You’ll be slinging pies like a pizzaiolo in no time.

How to Make Pizza in the Oven

Caramelized, juicy, and perfectly tender every time

How to Sear Steak Like a Chef

This Italian dinner party menu will conjure rolling hills lined with cypress trees, terracotta roofs parallel to cobblestone streets, overflowing carafes of table wine (but better, because it’s from your reserve), pizza, pasta and more pasta. 

, it’s brimming with dishes found in local bars, traditional trattorias, and includes some Classics Redone because it’s YOUR dinner after all.

Roman Pizzette

Meet pizzette, the fast-casual snack of Rome that is the ideal kickoff dish at your Italian dinner party because it is flavorful, three ingredients, easy to prep in advance, light enough not to ruin one’s appetite for the meal, but will absorb a G&T. Our pizzettes are 2-3 bites each of tomato-sauced, marinated artichokes on a mini dough round. We use a Single Ingredient Multiple Ways by mixing the seasoned artichoke brine into tomato paste for a quick, perfectly seasoned sauce, and we use the tart hearts as a topping. With flaky dough, it is a Flavor Trifecta. We love sliced mozzarella bocconcini, anchovies, and cubed pancetta as extra toppers if you want to prepare a variety.

Arugula & Pickled Shallots

Our insalata mista is a billowing bowl of crisp greens adorned with jewel-toned shallots that, in between bites of hearty pasta and piccata, cleanses the palate by offering an acidic punch. The shallots are Quick Pickled in red wine vinegar and sweetened with honey and the mista? Peppery arugula and sharp radicchio offset with sweetness. A meal like this needs a salad, so keep it simple with this one.


Veal Piccata

Often found on restaurant menus in Italy as Scaloppine di Vitello, Veal Piccata consists of thinly sliced, pounded, and lightly breaded pieces of veal. These cutlets get gently sautéed in olive oil, rendering a golden-brown finished product with locked-in juices—an unbeatable combination that guarantees a tender cutlet every time. White wine, lemon juice, and capers get added post-sauté, then reduced until thickened and spooned on top of the veal.

Bucatini all’Amatriciana

Bucatini all'Amatriciana is a full-of-flavor Italian classic, both simple and fun to eat. The sauce is tomato-based and made with guanciale, a cured pork cheek, that adds a smoky flavor. Just like the base of many prized Italian dishes, onion and roasted garlic start the dish with an Aromatic Foundation. And while Bucatini all’Amatriciana is finished with freshly grated parmesan, the rind of the cheese is first cut away and simmered in the sauce to impart its super savory flavor profile throughout. No rules on how much cheese to add on top; the limit does not exist!

Cacio e Pepe Broccolini

Cacio e Pepe is a classic dish from the Lazio region of Italy (the same as Bucatini all'Amatriciana); this preparation riffs on the classic. We roast crowns of broccolini until tender and slightly crisped, then toss them with citrus, pecorino, toasted pine nuts, cracked pink peppercorns, and freshly ground black pepper. We make our cacio e pepe sauce green by using broc stems puréed with lemon juice, olive oil, and pecorino.

Coffee Hazelnut Trifle

The finale dish for this ultimate Italian dinner party is a combination of two beloved Italian sweets: Tiramisu and Maritozzi. For this Classics Redone, thick slices of brioche are toasted until golden then combined with an espresso syrup made from sugar, cocoa powder, and espresso. The espresso-soaked brioche is then layered with mocha mascarpone (a combination of mascarpone cheese, sugar, cocoa powder, and more espresso) and a simple whipped cream. The three components are layered in a trifle dish, dusted with cocoa powder, and garnished with deeply toasted hazelnuts.

Ready to throw a dreamy Italian dinner party? Read our 

 for all the tips, tricks, and strategies you'll need. 


When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, mangiamo!

Having an Italian Dinner Party? Here's What to Serve.

Menu Ideas

How Tos & Inspiration

Gail Simmons

Top Chef

Dana Cowin

Food & Wine

Gwyneth Parltrow

Goop

Paella Party

Pizza Party

Steak Night

Low Carb

Low Sugar

High Protein

Vegetarian

Vegan

Gluten Free

Dairy Free

Low Fat

High Fat

Meatballs Marinara

Negroni Bar

Pears with Currants

Fall & Winter Sangria Bar

Panna Cotta

Mustard Pork with Mushrooms

Couscous & Apples

Spritz Bar (Special Occasion)

Roasted Veggies

Fall & Winter Garden Risotto

Cauliflower Steaks with Pomegranate

Pomegranate Salmon

Country Club Kale

Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad

Brussels & Pancetta

Mashed Potatoes ($)

Wild Rice with Mushrooms

Arranged Crudités

Bread for the Table

Chocolate Covered Fruits & Nuts

Dried Fruits & Toasted Nuts

Marinated Mediterranean Classics

Pickled Vegetables & Mustard

Seasonal Fruit

Selection of Tinned Fish

Selection of Cheese

Selection of Charcuterie

Baked Mushroom & Kale Pasta

Squash Panzanella

Beet Hummus & Crudités

Ricotta & Roasted Fruit

Sautéed Greens

Roasted Squash with Pomegranate

Vinegar Braised Chicken

Lentil-Stuffed Squid

Currant & Hazelnut Brussels Sprouts

Crimson Quinoa

Mushroom Grains Bowl

Date Crumble Bar

Butternut Soup

Autumn Burrata Bar ($)

Healthy Chicken Tenders

Honey Apple Cake with Spiced Whip ($)

Chocolate Fudge Brownies (GF)

Apple Cranberry Cake with Spiced Cream

Pork Tenderloin with Apples

Charcuterie & Cheese Board ($)

Think Pink Salad

Braised Short Ribs

Tarragon Chicken

Arugula & Macadamia Salad

Honey-Lime Arctic Char

Spinach & Cauliflower Salad

Root Vegetable Pilaf

Braised Lamb with Carrots

Mushroom Stuffed Shells

Steak with Onion Date Sauce

Cauliflower & Quinoa

Berry Bowl

Seared Scallops with Hazelnut Gremolata

Eggplant Caponata

Delicata Kale Salad

Ginger Almond Cookies

RGC (Roasted Garlic Chicken)

Fennel Chard Salad

Braised Kale Stracciatella

Romesco Romanesco

Scallop Toast ($)

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Apple Tarte Tatin with Whipped Cream ($)

Think Pinker Salad

Chocolate Pudding

Simmer Down

Big Brood

Hivemind

Devils On Horseback

Apple Ricotta Toast

Tuna Tapenade

Chocolate Olive Oil Cake

Apple Toddy

Apple Pear Crisp with Ice Cream

Almond Tahini Cake 

Purples & Greens

Sea Bass with Leeks & Spinach ($)

Mustard Seed Salmon

Parsnip Kale Quinoa

New York Strip with Spinach & Broccolini

Kale & Parsnip Farro

Seared Polenta & Mushrooms 

White Bean Hummus & Crudités

Pumpkin Maple Muffins

Pumpkin Rigatoni

White Ragù Pappardelle

Cauliflower Steaks with Salsa Verde

Coconut Chai Cake

Mushroom Pot Pie

Butternut Squash Schnitzel 

Creamed Kale 

Morning Glories

Fig Pochette

Prosciutto & Melon Skewers

Caprese Skewer

Pears with Prosciutto & Bleu Cheese

Truffled Mousse & Pear Crostini

Mushroom Pâté Cracker

Chicken Liver Mousse & Jam

Gorgonzola Grapes

Lemony Pasta Fagioli

Winter Vegetable Cobb

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Brussels Sprout & Apple Salad

Beets & Sweets Gratin

New York Strip & Peppers

Black Pepper Pork Chop

Oysters on the Half Shell

Ricotta Gnudi with Sage Brown Butter

Roasted Carrots & Turnips

Spritz O'Clock

Grazing Table

Tuna Tapenade

Burrata Bar

Prosciutto & Melon Skewers

Selection of Charcuterie

Selection of Cheese

Marinated Mediterranean Classics

Drinks

Spritz Bar

Hosting made easy with a Culinista chef.

Choose your Menu

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Sit Back and Relax

Culinista chefs hail from top restaurants around the country. They help celebrate our culinary methods and approach to hospitality.

Party Like a Culinista

Our services also include chefs for weekly meal prep, cooking classes, and seasonal & long term needs.