When it comes to making a lasting impression, allow the professionals to create an experience to remember. At Chef By Request, we realize how important the event planning process is and how overwhelming it can be to make so many decisions when it comes to your special event. We are here to help and pride ourselves in making each event we cater unique to your vision.
View our Trendy Chef Action stations, Midwest Alfresco Buffet to table dining or 14 Authentic Theme Menus. Chef's all inspiring appetizer selections offer an array of flavors and presentations that make a lasting impression. No matter what unique style of catering you desire, Chef By Request offers full event coordination, bringing your party to life with inspiring food, creative atmosphere and unforgettable memories to last a lifetime!
View our Trendy Chef Action stations, Midwest Alfresco Buffet to table dining or 14 Authentic Theme Menus. Chef's all inspiring appetizer selections offer an array of flavors and presentations that make a lasting impression. No matter what unique style of catering you desire, Chef By Request offers full event coordination, bringing your party to life with inspiring food, creative atmosphere and unforgettable memories to last a lifetime!
Services
Whatever the event size or scale, Chef By Request can accommodate. As a full-service provider, Chef By Request prides itself on tending to its client's every need. Apart from its culinary creation, Chef By Request offers complete event planning services, including assistance with floral, photographers, invitations, entertainment, and more.
Allow Chef By Request to create an atmosphere of unforgettable elegance to complement the most memorable event of your lifetime, one you will treasure forever. Chef by Request's contributions resulted in winning episode of TLC's "Four Weddings" in 2012. Please visit our Venues and Associations page for a list of fine establishments we proudly work with.
Exquisite cuisine, first-class presentation and impeccable service are the essential ingredients we combine to exceed your highest expectations. Decadent formal tastings and custom menus are presented to assist in fulfilling your every desire. Chef by Request's contributions resulted in winning episode of TLC's "Four Weddings" in 2012.
Entertaining guests in the comfort of your own home couldn't be easier. We believe that it is our responsibility to provide you with the peace of mind that allows you to be a guest at your own gathering. And for those celebrations requiring a large establishment, we work closely with our affiliates to bring you the same peace of mind.
Please fill out our employment application and fax it to 630.493.4558 or send us an e-mail for all positions. Off-premise catering is unique in so many ways - and so are the people we choose to work with. Because we are held to uncompromising standards and deadlines, we choose people who are versatile and can act with a sense of urgency and accuracy.
Reviews (29)
Alejandra Diaz
Dec 31, 2021
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Positive:Â Quality
Our church used this catering service for a retirement party and may I say that the food was delicious. I had quesadillas, pulled pork sandwich, sliders and chocolate dessert. All of the food I had was flavorful. I went for seconds as well. The chocolate desserts were all different but so good.
Our church used this catering service for a retirement party and may I say that the food was delicious. I had quesadillas, pulled pork sandwich, sliders and chocolate dessert. All of the food I had was flavorful. I went for seconds as well. The chocolate desserts were all different but so good.
Matt W.
Dec 30, 2021
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Carrie Orlando
Oct 19, 2021
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There is not enough space to expound on what a wonderful event Chef by Request catered for us! It was a second wedding for both of us and we really just wanted to have a celebration that was not traditional but still elegant. Amanda, who unfortunately I never had the pleasure of meeting, handled everything by email and somehow was able to nail EXACTLY what we were looking for. We had rented a VRBO for the party after the ceremony and had an open house. We choose a very eclectic menu to please all tastes and it all came together perfectly. We LOVED the staff and Chef Elena was perfect. Wonderful
Amber Stefanski
Sep 28, 2021
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Positive:Â Quality
Can't say enough great things about the Chef By Request experience we had for a catered dinner in Chicago. Amanda and Al were FANTASTIC to work worth from start to finish for our event. The attendees raved about the food and presentation. We will continue using them for our events!
Can't say enough great things about the Chef By Request experience we had for a catered dinner in Chicago. Amanda and Al were FANTASTIC to work worth from start to finish for our event. The attendees raved about the food and presentation. We will continue using them for our events!
Liisa G.
Sep 22, 2021
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Judy Bottino
Sep 03, 2021
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S. K.
Sep 01, 2021
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Chef by Request provided catering services for our wedding. Of all the vendor services we had to find, this was the most challenging. Our venue does not host frequent events. It was important that we found an organization capable and willing to take great care in leaving the space and equipment in the manner in which they found it. I can honestly say that Chef by Request delivered in that regard. The food was good. The service staff was sufficient. Our captain made sure we were satisfied before leaving. Amanda was our contact for planning. She was excellent and her responses were helpful and timely
Layla Bejanpour
Aug 14, 2021
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Amanda is amazing! She was super responsive and helpful throughout the whole proposal through final contract process. The food was great, and they even set aside an app plate during cocktail hour to make sure we (bride & groom) ate the food we selected for our guests! They worked directly with the venue on all the logistics, and it was honestly a pretty easy process for us, all we had to do was the tasting and select what we liked!
Crystal Wohead
Aug 03, 2021
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Amanda was amazing to work with from start to finish, and worked with my budget to help bring our vision to life without over extending ourselves. From first interaction, to the tasting, to the wedding itself I cannot say enough how pleased we were with the service, quality, and professionalism from Chef By Request. We got sooooo many compliments on how great the food was at our wedding (apps, buffet dinner, and late night snacks)! My only regret is not eating more :D Stop looking, Chef By Request is where it's at!
A. A.
Jul 21, 2021
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Recently, Amanda & her crew provided the buffet for a memorial for a family member. I could not have been more pleased! Amanda is easy to work with, knowledgeable & readily responds. Her staff are kind & helpful. Many compliments were heard about the food. which is always appreciated as the host.
I HIGHLY recommend Chef by Request.
I HIGHLY recommend Chef by Request.
Sharie Behnke
Jul 21, 2021
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Karen K.
Feb 20, 2020
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WOW, double WOW Chef by Request Catering has done it again! Every time I order from Chef by Request I am amazed at how smoothly everything goes and how delicious their food is! Owner Dave Miller hires only the best and he buys the best quality food which is the key to his long running success! I couldn't be happier and special kudos to Brittany Carroll who helped me plan a perfect corporate event for 125 people. Thank you! KK
Kc K.
Nov 10, 2019
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Mortified. They knew my order was coming for days and decided to mess me after we had been emailing back and forth for days. Then suddenly they said the needed to know in an hour my final order, mind you they had still not answered my questions. THEN they went within 2 min from an hour deadline to suddenly a 20 min deadline, saying they needed it before kitchen close, for the Holiday. (which makes no sense as they aren't making the food for a week) So I sent it in 3 not 20 minutes later. Amanda who works there chose not to check her email knowing an order was coming for 45 minutes after saying
Tscale
Nov 08, 2019
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Jen F.
Nov 06, 2018
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Had such a fabulous experience Chef by Request Catering! Used Chef by Request Catering for my moms surprise 60th birthday and they really went above and beyond from the booking of the event... then assistance from ordering the food... they were on time to the minute for the surprise party (which is really important!), they had to move all the food twice because she was coming in from another door and would have spoiled the surprise (and they did it with a smile on their face). They were cool, calm and collected and helped me relax that they had their part under control. During the party they were
Leslie M.
Nov 06, 2018
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James E.
Aug 27, 2018
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Amanda Ingle coordinated our dinner and wine event and she and the team made it easy and wonderful. From selecting the date to menu selection, my wife and I were so surprised at how stress free it all was. On the night of our party, the chef and service team arrived promptly and professionally. They were super easy to work with and came fully prepared. We enjoyed our evening with our guests and left everything in their hands. The food was excellent, our kitchen was left spotless and, as Chef Chad said, the whole point was to finish the event and never know they'd been there. I'd recommend
Kristin B.
Jun 20, 2018
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Chef by Request courts clients very well. HOWEVER, they turn our poor product and service, and blatantly pulled a 'bait and switch' on us.
We had a wonderful tasting in their office and loved the food. We raved about it to family and friends for months up to our wedding. At our wedding, a fatty beef was served (my guests said they would chew and had to spit out fat pieces into a napkin), and bone-in light and dark meat chicken was served, when we had tasted a chicken breast earlier.
When I delivered this feedback, they requested pictures of the food from the wedding or tasting. Who
We had a wonderful tasting in their office and loved the food. We raved about it to family and friends for months up to our wedding. At our wedding, a fatty beef was served (my guests said they would chew and had to spit out fat pieces into a napkin), and bone-in light and dark meat chicken was served, when we had tasted a chicken breast earlier.
When I delivered this feedback, they requested pictures of the food from the wedding or tasting. Who
Elizabeth S.
May 22, 2018
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Isabela H.
Mar 22, 2018
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I just received my meals now and I am very disappointed with the service and packaging of Chef by Request. All the boxes were leaking and most of the food was out of the containers. There was barely anything left to eat that wasn't leaking out of the boxes. Besides the condition of the food, all these meals arrived days late. I'm traveling for a week tomorrow so the food will go to waste because i was expecting the delivery to be done on Saturday.
Isabela
Isabela
Kate S.
Aug 29, 2017
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Nancy M.
Jun 13, 2017
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I worked with Amanda and she was prompt and professional. I was pleased with her suggestions and patience. The baby shower we gave was small but I was treated wonderfully. The salad bar was great. The server, Jackie, was calm, collected and confident throughout the event. I liked her and she made me calmer! They did a great job for me and I highly recommend them.
Carlie J.
Feb 26, 2017
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We were considering Chef by Request as our wedding caterer for our wedding in June. We attended a tasting and were told we would receive an updated proposal with our menu choices. After approximately a month of waiting and a follow-up e-mail on my part, I received a response. We reached back out on several occasions over the next month, in an attempt to finalize the contact, but we never heard back from Katie. It is now over 7 months later, and I still never received a response. Obviously, we went with a different caterer, but I wanted to write this as a warning to others. If efficient communication
Brigette G.
Sep 07, 2016
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I had contacted chef by request for a consultation for an event for 150 people. After some perseverance, i was finally able to make a consultation appointment in June. After consultation, we were told we would be receiving a proposal. I never received a proposal. I sent a couple of emails asking again for the proposal. It is now september. I still never received the proposal. I decided to hire another caterer. If this is how they do business, I dont think I would like their business at all! I will keep this in mind for future events. Way to drop the ball chef by request!
Update: one year after
Update: one year after
Jess F.
Nov 17, 2015
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We love CBR! We've used them so many times for different things; graduation parties, birthdays, anniversary parties, and even one Christmas when we just had way too many people coming over to cook. Always fantastic, but they really outdid themselves for my wedding! I had a multitude of guests tell me it was the best wedding food they ever had. The Sicilian chicken and garlic smashed potatoes were the favorites among guests and the duck quesadilla they served during our cocktail hour was fabulous. Always a great choice to go with CBR!
Bonnie S.
Mar 11, 2015
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We are planning our daughter's wedding in Chicago , to be held at A New Leaf. They have a list of caterers they exclusively use. I have had no luck getting feedback from a few of these caterers. Katie Merkle from Chef by Request Catering, however, has bent over backwards with menu suggestions, ways to cut costs, etc., without even knowing if A New Leaf will allow them to cater our wedding. A wedding planner in Chicago raved about Chef by Request, saying she would choose them over any of the city caterers, with both fantastic food, service and affordability. If Chef by Request's food is
Robert D.
Nov 11, 2013
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I was at an event this weekend that was catered by this company and it was awful. The steaks were all over the map. My wife's was well done, mine was medium, my uncle's was rare on the boarder of raw. All of them had huge slabs of fat. They should have been trimmed before they cooked them off site.
Twice baked potatoes were gray bland no seasoning. The Shrimp Dijon was so salty no-one could eat it. The shrimps were like eating salty rubber bullets. The servers were good. The did a great job. I feel bad for the hosts. They did not get their money's worth. I would not use them.
Twice baked potatoes were gray bland no seasoning. The Shrimp Dijon was so salty no-one could eat it. The shrimps were like eating salty rubber bullets. The servers were good. The did a great job. I feel bad for the hosts. They did not get their money's worth. I would not use them.
Julia Y.
Jan 28, 2011
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I requested a quote from Chef by Request for my wedding, and did not receive any type of response or reply for 2 weeks. I emailed again to follow up, and thought maybe my email got lost and give them the benefit of the doubt. I received a generic response saying the wedding coordinator, Danielle Guzman would be in touch that day. She did not get in touch with me that day.
A few days past, and Danielle said she would get the quote out to me that morning, but I did not see anything all day. Finally, the following evening I contacted her and a few hours afterwards I had received a quote. This was
A few days past, and Danielle said she would get the quote out to me that morning, but I did not see anything all day. Finally, the following evening I contacted her and a few hours afterwards I had received a quote. This was
Ronald U.
Dec 28, 2010
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We had a corporate luncheon for the holidays and this was the caterer.
I had some pretty good food, but this was by far the best catering I have had.
Very professional presentative, and tasted exquisite.
If I ever need a caterer I will be calling them first and I recommend them for any event!
Thank you Katie Merkle who was the event specialist
I had some pretty good food, but this was by far the best catering I have had.
Very professional presentative, and tasted exquisite.
If I ever need a caterer I will be calling them first and I recommend them for any event!
Thank you Katie Merkle who was the event specialist
