Cardamom & Sage

Katerina is not only a talented chef but a very attentive business owner. From the minute I booked Katerina, she stayed in touch with me. Because the dinner went I hired her for was a very important event to me, this communication was very reassuring.The day of the event, Katerina came to my house to do all of the food prep and cooking. She also cleaned up thoroughly after she was done. She was very helpful with the reheating instructions and walked me through the process for roasting the leg of lamb. She also left me written instructions and sent a reassuring text after she left.The menu she and I planned was delicious: a butternut squash soup with creme fraiche and parmesan "cookies"; Mediterranean ground beef skewers with a garlic, yogurt dip; garlic mashed potatoes and a gorgeous leg of lamb with roasted carrots and parsnips. I had one guest who didn't like lamb, so Katerina prepared a Cornish hen for her.First, there was so much food that I was able to freeze some of it for another time. I had days and days of lamb, even after serving 7 people. My guests loved all of the food and hiring Katerina meant I was able to focus on my guests instead of hiding out in the kitchen.Katerina, thank you for making my mother's 75th birthday party an event that will be remembered and talked about for years.

I hired Katerina to do meal prep and nutritional coaching for me because I'm trying to get back in shape. It was super convenient and she left the kitchen spotless. I asked for some high protein, high fat, low carb meals and she prepped out enough food for 7 days. I don't write reviews, so I'm not really sure what else to say, but I have to mention the keto zucchini cupcakes that she made was bomb! I haven't had anything sweet in awhile so it was perfect.

After a two year hiatus, my husband, Dave and I decided to have our annual family Easter Brunch this past Saturday. We usually get a crowd, and as much as we love having everyone at our home, it is a lot of work. I was so happy to find Katerina Balagian on Yelp. After a few telephone conversations, we both thought that this was going to work. Kat then came to my home about a month before our brunch so she could see our kitchen and talk some more about our expectations. I pulled out some casserole recipes that we had used in the past at the brunch. My husband also has a potatoes au gratin recipe that he is very precise about making. I gave her that recipe. We agreed that she would make the casseroles the night before and then would make the potato recipe at our home before the party started. Several days before the event, Kat and I started texting to work out all the details. I also asked her to make a dozen deviled eggs which she said was no problem. Kat showed up at our home right on time. She is so easy going and always has a smile on her face. I think that it helped settle down everyone else who was helping. Not only did she make the casserole recipes, she enhanced them so that they were much more delicious and pretty to look at. She arranged some other dishes for us including some prawns with cocktail sauce and lemons and limes. Her presentation was gorgeous! As my husband said, she is an artist! While we were setting up to have our 33 guests eat, Kat was scrubbing pans and cleaning what she could in the kitchen. What an incredible help! What an incredible find! She is worth every penny. Thank you, Katerina Balagian of Cardamom & Sage!!!!