Chef Zaida

We hired Chef Zaida to come cook a private dinner for our team. She made a 3-course surf and turf meal for us, and let me tell you, her food was PHENOMENAL. It was beautiful. She created the perfect menu for us. The vinaigrette dressing for the salad was literally out of this world. The boys on our team aren't much for salads, but they devoured this one. We saved the dressing to use it all up on other things later that week! Also, her chimichurri sauce was pure perfection. Just the perfect amount of spice. The meat was cooked perfectly. And her unique dessert (chocolate avocado mousse) was soooo gooood. I'm literally drooling writing this.She is communicative, easy to work with and creative in the right ways!I have since hired her to cook for a private retreat I am offering separate from our work here at Balancing Paws.We are looking forward to having her back as often as possible. We highly recommend her!!

I recently found Chef Zaida as I was looking for a chef to provide meals for my parents in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. After several unsuccessfultrials with other chefs/delivery services, I finally found Chef Zaida and my parents want to work with her for life!!! My parents feedback:1) Every dish she makes is THE BEST EVER. We mean ever! She makes it so easy for us to simply reheat every meal, but they are still full of flavor and fresh! 2) Communication is amazing. Very responsive, proactive, trustworthy, reliable. Excellent through email or text.3) Professional. 4) Easy payment transactions and transparency of price for groceries and service. I feel so lucky to have found her through Yelp myself! I can't recommend her highly enough and anyone would be fortunate to have her delicious, convenient meals. My parents were constantly ordering out for lunch and dinner...not the healthiest choices nor cost effective. The few delivery services they tried were complicated for them to navigate on apps and even when they got meals they weren't their favorite. Other chefs they worked with kept making the same meals (boring!) and they were dry or bland when reheating. Now my parents can open the fridge and reheat a delicious, healthy meal of their choosing. Chef Zaida provides great meal planning options while also listening to my parents feedback and incorporating some of their favorite dishes. She listens and truly cares about her clients! She checks every box! I wish I had her services near me in the Bay Area!

When our schedules get nuts, we hire Chef Heather every now and then to prepare our weekly meals. She asks what we feel like, then does the shopping, comes to the house and prepares the meals, and they're there waiting for us when we return from our hectic days. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner in nice glass containers all neatly labeled.If you're on a low fat, low carb, high fat, vegan, fish-only, or you-name-it diet, she can accommodate. She asks for your weekly request and then like magic, there it is.I'm looking forward to the holidays when we can have some dinner parties and have Chef Heather over for the meal preparation, because I know whatever the menu, it will be fantastic.

Chef Zaida created a wonderful evening for our family celebrating a birthday! From the initial consult to the fabulous meal, she was a joy to work with. I requested an Artisanal Mexican food theme and she delivered a creative menu that was absolutely delicious and beautiful! An added bonus was how patient & wonderful she was our children who loved watching her work. A great chef and kind person all around!

Chef Heather came into my home and served us a beautiful and DELICIOUS meal for our anniversary. She quietly and masterfully prepped, chopped, cooked and cleaned her way through four courses supplying everything from the groceries to the dishes. When she left our bellies were full and my kitchen was immaculate. It was such a fun and memorable night! We'd love to have her again!

I was searching for a chef to come and prepare meals on location for a film project in San Diego in 2016. I searched several culinary websites and reviews on yelp, FB and other places. I narrowed it down to 3 chefs but I knew in my gut that Chef Zaida was going to be the final pick. She immediately saw vision for my project. She understood it and it was immediately in tune to the entire project and all the days and meals involved. We settled on pricing and a meal plan. She was easy to work with and highly accommodating but that was just the beginning.Chef Zaida and her assistant arrived the first evening well in advance of prep time to ensue everything would go as planned. The 5 star meal was amazing and we were blown away. The following days (I am certain) were a challenge for Chef Zaida as all of our plans were changed due to the filming locations and needs. She was now having to work under major constraints, changes with limitations and still managed to execute BEAUTIFUL and SCRUMPTIOUS meals for our guests, our film crew and our team. Her sensitivity to our project was above and beyond what I could have imagined or expected for anyone in her position. She excelled all expectations. AS A MATTER OF FACT... I had some items that I needed from the store but did not have a vehicle. She did some personal shopping for me. #wowLastly, what it all came down to... the meals, the service, the attitude of both she and her assistant were incredible. They prepared meals for up to 15 people at a time and did so with ease. We are so grateful that we will be hiring her on a regular basis for all future projects in the San Diego area. I highly recommend Chef Zaida for ANY occasion!! You will not be disappointed.OH! And I almost forgot!! What Chef gives you their recipes?? This one. She overheard some of our guests and team raving about certain meals and she sent us those recipes for them to take home!! #awesomeJust last week, one year after originally hiring Chef Zaida, our organization hosted it's first ever women's retreat in San Diego and naturally after last year's experience we hired her again. She is always one step above herself. Her culinary preparations are loved by all and she goes above and beyond to work with you and your needs whether it be for a personal or corporate experience. I highly recommend Chef Heather Zaida!

Wonderfully delicious!! Chef Zaida prepared all our meals for a beach weekend with family. We were so lucky to have her prepare all our meals for 3 days. Breakfast, Lunch & dinner were tasty beyond our expectation!! All dining experience was a flavorful explosion and presentation. Chef Zaida was very quick to reply back and very easy to work with. At the last minute I changed the menu for a special request which she very graciously accepted. We had one vegan in the group, Chef Zaida made a special plate each meal for them. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND her for a delicious private chef experience!

Chef Zaida trained in NYC and LOVES making food for all! A very talented chef! Her food is DELICIOUS.

We hired Chef Zaida for a night during a bachelorette trip to Scottsdale. For the entire 1.5 months and countless emails leading up to the event, she was so helpful and friendly. We had some serious allergies that needed to be accommodated for, and Chef was still able to come up with a fun and tasty menu. As the person who usually cooks, it was a pleasure for me and the group to be able to relax and not worry about dinner. Thank you!

I met Chef Zaida through mutual friends. I hired her to create a unique but home-style menu for an early Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner for my daughter that is now stationed out of the country. Chef Zaida and her assistant went above and beyond all expectations with an incredible 3 course meal that everyone enjoyed immensely!