GIVEAWAY: KITCHENSURFING personal chef experience, Dinner for four
How much would you pay someone to come to your house to cook dinner on a random night of the week?
Okay, let’s say this person was a professional chef, did all the grocery shopping, brought all their own kitchen supplies (including pots and pans), cooked the meal, served the table, cleaned up and was in and out of your house in under a half hour?
Forget what you would pay— what would you guess a service like this costs?
A few weekends ago, Mike and I had plans with another couple, Emily and Matt. The plan was to go out to dinner, but their babysitter fell through the day before. I was planning on testing out a new same-day, weeknight dinner service called Kitchensurfing, so rather than canceling, I suggested we have a Kitchensurfing chef come over to cook at their place. That way, the kids could play and we could still hang out drinking wine in the living room while someone else had the burden of cooking.
They agreed and we exchanged funny text messages about our personal chef and what was on the menu.
“What time do you guys want to come over?”
“I’m not sure. Let me check with the chef.”
That kind of thing.
Emily kept asking what she needed to prepare for the night.
“I don’t think anything.”
“Are you sure?”
“I think the chef brings everything himself.”
“What about staples and spices? Does he need any specific cookware or supplies?”
“I think he brings that too.”
“Are you sure?”
“I guess we will see…”
We all acted like this event was super fancy and privileged and made us sound like spoiled Manhattanites who could afford to have a personal chef in our home for no real occasion except a canceled babysitter and the desire to hang out outside of the kitchen.
“This is how the Rockefellers do it!”
“And the Van der Plumps!”
Since I was reviewing Kitchensurfing for my blog, I wasn’t paying for it and I did not check the price. I just counted myself lucky that I get to have experiences like this for free.
Chef Chris arrived at the door with a big smile on his face and a huge backpack full of all the supplies.
As the kids ran around the apartment (they had eaten earlier although we could have included them), Mike, Matt, Emily and I drank wine in the living room. Sometimes we wandered into the kitchen to take pictures, ask questions and see what exactly was going on.
Chef Chris chopped, fried, tossed and happily answered any questions about Kitchensurfing and his experiences. He told us about some of the smaller kitchens he’s cooked in, some of the weirder situations he’s been in and said he loves getting a little glimpse into different people’s lives in Manhattan. When you get to the door, you never really know what you will find, but said everyone always seems happy about the end result.
When we sat down for our meal (served family style), less than a half hour after Chris arrived (as the website promised), we could have eaten anything and been satisfied with the service. But instead, we were greeted with three dishes, one more delicious than the next.
The Cuban-style skirt steak was marinated with chile and spices, seared until caramelized and served with a sour orange mojo sauce.
On the side, we had roasted corn with Parmesan, mayonnaise and cayenne pepper and a watercress salad with pineapple and avocado.
Emily and Mike are both cooks and therefore harsh critics and they were both shocked that they had nothing to complain about. Everything was hot, the dishes were creative and restaurant quality or better.
There was plenty to eat and nobody skimped on the avocado in the corn salad which is the thing I would definitely complain about in a restaurant.
“How much does this cost?” Matt wondered aloud.
“I have no idea. I got it for free.”
We all guessed that something involving this level of personal service, plus the food and labor would probably go for about $100 a person, meaning that number wouldn’t surprise us but wouldn’t be within our means on a normal night.
Chef Chris overheard us and came into the dining room to inform us that the service was $25 per person.
“It’s $25 per person?”
“Seriously? That’s less than it would cost to go out!”
“That’s less than it would cost to order in!”
“Plus, you don’t have to pay for a sitter.”
We all agreed that we would TOTALLY do this again.
In fact, the next day, I got a text from Matt and Emily. “We signed up for Kitchensurfing.”
There is no greater testament than that.
GIVEAWAY:
Today, I am giving away one same-day dinner (available on weeknights only) for four to one lucky reader!
While Kitchensurfing is available in several cities (check out their website to see if it’s available in yours), their same-day dinner service is currently only available in Manhattan below 116th Street, so you must live here to enter. Just leave a comment below for the chance to win! One winner will be announced on Monday, August 10th — good luck!
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WINNER UPDATE:
And the winner is…
Lauren… Congrats! Please email abby@mommshorts.com to claim your prize.
SPECIAL OFFER:
For $25 off their first booking, first-time Kitchensurfing users can use the code MOMMYSHORTS at checkout. Redeem here.
This post was sponsored by Kitchensurfing, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard of. And absolutely incredible for the price. This is the first thing that makes me think I would want to live in the city! 😉
So jealous!! Sounds amazing! Although, you got us hooked to Blue Apron, so thanks for that!!
Long time reader, but first time commenter. I love reading your blog, but as a twenty-something manhattanite with no children, I often don’t have any value added comments. Your babies are adorable and your writing is hilarious and heartfelt. My friends and I frequently go out to NYC restaurants, which albeit fun, is as you know, a strain on our budgets! I would love to experience Kitchensurfing. 🙂
Love this idea! A friend of mine recently tried it and had a great experience. Would be a fun way for my husband and I to enjoy a meal without having to break the bank getting a sitter etc! Thanks for sharing the love!
I’m not looking to join the competition as I don’t even live in the States let alone Manhattan but I wish they had Kitchensurfing in Malaysia! This is an amazing idea and the dinner looks fabulous.
This sounds amazing! Would love to try!!!
Sounds amazing!!!
Sounds great!
This sounds magical. I would love to try this out – what a nice way to go out without leaving the home! It also seems like a fantastic gift idea for new parents.
Sounds so awesome. My husband and I haven’t been out on a nighttime date since before the baby was born 16 months ago because of the babysitter thing. This would be a huge upgrade from seamless and cold Chinese food!
They aren’t in my area yet, but are in Seattle, so I would love to gift this to my cousin, who has a 11 mo old baby and works full time. If I had known about it when Alice was born, I would have sent her a meal (since it’s hard to send her my usual “dinners for new moms” package.) Side note, I do use Blue Apron and love their service!!
This sounds great!
This is a dream service! You get to stay at home (no $ for a babysitter), not cook so actually get to socialize, have a delicious meal and not have to order takeout. Sounds perfect to me!
You and Emme look awesome, you hot mamas!
This is amazing — I hate paying for a babysitter on top of the expense of eating out, so this sounds like a perfect solution!
This is an absolutely amazing idea. I SO wish they had this is Dallas, TX. I can’t tell you how many times we have the same conversation over and over.
Hubby: What’s for dinner?
Me: I don’t know, but I don’t feel like cooking.
Hubby: Going out is too expensive
Me: You can cook then
Hubby: What do you want for dinner?
Me: I still don’t know. UGH! Why do I always have to pick what’s for dinner…
Or the kids complain – You are making spaghetti AGAIN? We just had that four months ago…
I live on 116th, so barely make the cut. It is a great idea for families with kids.
I don’t mind cooking for your family. 6465281204
We’ve been dying to find something like this!!
Try me and won’t regret it.
That sounds super awesome. Better than getting fast food, getting a healthy meal for the same price basically. Would love to try this out one day.
Try me and you won’t regret it.
It would be such a treat for our family to have a personalized meal cooked in our apartment, not by me!
Yes please! I know just the couple that would love to join us. So hard planning a date night without the kiddos.
OMG……this would be so wonderful on nights that i just had too much to get done.
Who wouldn’t love this? Such a treat!
Wow! This sounds too good to be true! I just moved into a new apt with a real size kitchen and I’d love to try this out. Plus I could use my wedding china that has been in packed up for the past seven years….
I love this! Such a great idea and so happy you got to enjoy your time with friends, even after a canceled sitter! I want to kitchen surf!!
As a die hard blue apron user this sounds like a nice change! Sometimes you just don’t have the energy when you get home from work to cook and its hard to beat $25/person in NYC!
WHOA!!
THIS IS BEYOND EXCITING – WE LOVE STAYING IN BUT WANT TO HAVE HIGH QUALITY FOOD WITH LUXURY SERVICE – THIS IS IT. CAN’T WAIT TO TRY THIS.