The Practical Chef

Craig is a true professional that you can trust. He takes pride in his work and will go above and beyond to make sure your event exceeds your expectation and impresses your guests.I hired Craig and his team to cater my wedding, which took place at a remote venue about 2 hours outside of Tucson. The event was a challenge because not only was it remote, but I was also planning the event from the other side of the country. That meant I didn't have the benefit of meeting with caterers in person, trying food in advance, and undertaking all the traditional steps of finding vendors for a wedding. I knew I had found the right person to handle the event from the very first call. He was cordial, asked the right questions, clearly communicated his requirements, and was honest. He didn't disappear or go radio silent after I signed the contract and he was communicative all the way through the planning process and leading up to the event.About two months before the event, he graciously drove the two hours out to the venue to conduct a property walk-through with me when I was in town for the holidays. He refused additional reimbursement for his time or gas money to get out to the venue.In the last month leading up to the event, I communicated to Craig that a few of my guests had some allergies, and one was vegan. This was a quaint wedding of only about 20 people, so that meant coming up with some original alternatives for those few individuals. Furthermore, I hired him to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner the day of the wedding, which exasperated those challenges. On the day of the event, he had a custom vegan-friendly dish prepared for all three meals and took extraordinary precautions to prevent allergen cross-contamination.Every single meal was punctual, artfully presented, and delicious. This is not your standard wedding food or copy-and-paste banquet meal. Craig is extraordinarily talented and was continuously present throughout each meal to greet guests and present his dishes. Every guest was impressed and raving about the food.In addition to the tremendous food, Craig also helped to arrange servers for the event and even helped bring additional tables for the event.Craig is just a genuinely good person and you cannot do better than hiring him for your next event.

Craig is fantastic. Incredibly versatile - we worked together on some fairly high pressure corporate events with some high maintenance, perfectionist and picky executives. He never flinched, not even once, even though I tossed him some wacky curveballs from time to time. He never even showed that he was stressed - a consummate professional and one of my favorite vendors to work with. Everything Craig has ever done for me has come out fantastic and gets rave reviews. Highly, highly recommend.

Chef Craig creates the most beautiful cheese boards and party platters ever! His in-home cooking classes are also fun for parties and get togethers. I was just thinking about the holidays the other day. Chef Craig will go to your home and teach "how to cook the best holiday dinner ever". It'd be a fun at-home class/pre-holiday party with friends who also want to learn how to wow their friends and families. Or, I could always get a private lesson and take the credit for myself ; ).

Craig was our private chef for a 3-day business retreat for 15 people. He served us breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus everything in between.Summary: AWESOMEThe food was just great. Thoroughly enjoyed (and devoured) by all guests. Highlights included a fantastic Mexican chicken salad, incredible homemade potato chips, and some great hearty sandwiches that even the biggest eaters couldn't finish. He is a magician with fish! Where Craig probably best excelled was reading the mood of the crowd. Everyone always congregates in the kitchen, and he was great at adding to the conversation and knew when to step away as well. Though we laid out a thorough menu plan, he continuously gauged the mood and appetite of the group to modify what and when we served. He was tremendously flexible in modifying the menu and how he served it (both casual and formal meals), which couldn't have been easy with a big crowd and working 12 hours day to keep us fed. He was also very cost conscious and came in exactly where he said he would, with few leftovers and no one ever going hungry.The service was stupendous, and somehow the kitchen was always spotless. No one ever washed a single dish. Craig and his team also did a great job handling those with dietary restrictions, whipping up great creations many of the meat-eaters started to crave as well.We had a tremendously successful event, and the Practical Chef was a huge contribution factor to things going so well. A+ job! Thanks Craig!

Chef Craig is AWESOME...I just got back from a 3 day retreat in which I must have gained 5+ pounds - I simply couldn't stop eating the Food (it was that good). Normally I'm a REALLY picky eater - but Chef Craig customized almost everything when requested, his talent and ability to delight the taste buds is superb. From southwestern gourmet quesadillas or fresh crab salad appetizers, to homemade burger sliders or pulled pork sammies, or my FAV the SW Ceasar Salad :)...can't forget dessert, like the chocolate ganache cookie + homemade mini chilled milkshake shots - THE FOOD IS SIMPLY FANTASTIC!Honestly, if I am ever in the Tuscon, Scottsdale, or in the STATE and need any catering or Personal Chef needs - Chef Craig and his Staff at The Practical Chef are my #1 choice.Thanks You for such a great experience - it was unforgettable!-Jeremy

I googled "personal chef tucson" to find someone as a Christmas gift for my Mom and her boyfriend and found Chef Craig. We emailed, got it set up. You never know what you're going to get on the internet... Craig & Sous Chef Mike did the dinner for mom & 6 guests. When she called the next day she couldn't stop gushing. "Unbelievable" she said. The food was better than she's had in the top restaurants in Tucson, Craig and Mike were both friendly and professional at the same time, the whole experience was, as she put it, "just tops". By the end of the night Mom's guests were impressed, happy, and full. So this seems like a "home run" to me. Thanks Craig! You've given Mom something to talk about for years. P.S. I'd say the whole thing was very reasonably priced, especially for what they got.

Big praise for The Practical Chef! Our whole family (14) was visiting Tucson over the weekend and my brother hired him for a family party last night and it was fantastic! Every detail was covered from set up to clean up - and the FOOD! WOW...the food was simply perfect...from appetizers to dessert. We're all still talking about it today and will be for a long time to come for sure. We are from Seattle so all arrangements were made over phone/email, and every detail was as expected and better. Highly recommend Chef Craig and his fabulous sous chef!!

Craig catered my daughter's baby shower and he did a spectacular job! All the food was delicious. We had several appetizers passed around and then a great variety of main dishes. In addition, Craig took care of all the cleanup. Altogether, he helped make it a perfect event!

Awesome! We hired Chef Craig and his crew for a birthday dinner party for 10. He and his team are true professionals. Everything was perfect. Food was incredible (we had southwest chicken salad, sea bass, prime filet, asparagus, and quite possibly the best mashed potatoes I've ever had). In addition to the main meal, we had lobster quesadillas, shrimp cocktail and a signature margarita to start with. All the clean up was taken care of. Will definitely be working with him again.

Awesome Experience!! Can't wait to do it again!Chef Craig and his Sous Chef, Mike were amazing!! We had a party of 11 and everyone was blown away! Chef Craig came in and took care of everything, the service and food was impeccable! Plus the the kitchen was even cleaner at the end than when they started! Chef Craig is very knowledgeable, personable and the food was delicious! Highly Recommend! I can't wait to not only do it again, but to do some in home cooking lessons with a group of friends.. how fun!Thank you Chef Craig for making our party such a great experience!!