private chef services and premium catering in Barrington Hills, Illinois
private dining in Barrington Hills
For when your gathering deserve more than catering.
Barrington Hills is Chicago's horse country. Thirty-five miles northwest of the city, with a minimum five-acre zoning requirement that has been in place since 1963, this is a village that was deliberately designed to feel nothing like a suburb. Rolling hills, equestrian farms, private ponds, and estates set so far back from the road that you could spend a lifetime driving past and never know what's there. The Barrington Hills Country Club has anchored the community since 1921. The trails that wind through 3,800 acres of forest preserve connect neighbors who occasionally visit one another on horseback. This is a very specific kind of wealth — private, land-oriented, and entirely unbothered.
For generous leaders balancing demanding careers with meaningful relationships, we bring a complete Michelin-caliber dining ecosystem directly to your home. Our private dining services include personalized menu curation, complete restaurant infrastructure, and NDA-protected staff — so you reclaim time and stay fully present without lifting a finger. For those who take their cellar seriously, our sommelier services extend to wine pairings, cellar curation, and bespoke beverage programs tailored to your collection and your guests. This is private dining in Barrington Hills the way it should be: effortless, exceptional, and entirely yours.
From intimate estate dinners in Barrington Hills' landmark properties to grand celebrations on private grounds along the Fox River corridor, we offer private dining, sommelier-led wine service, licensed craft bar programs, and canapé service — a complete culinary experience that arrives at your door and disappears without a trace.
private chef services
A chef-driven journey through 5 to 12 seasonally inspired courses, plated with precision, and presented with passion and elite hospitality. Every detail is provided — curated plateware, Riedel glassware, silverware, and linen napkins — so you never need to worry about having the right amount of anything. Each menu is custom-designed for you and yours, never repeated, always unforgettable — as unhurried and as considered and unhurried as an evening in Barrington Hills itself.
From cellar curation to night-of pairings, our certified sommeliers and licensed craft bartenders bring the full beverage experience to your event. Choose from our rotating seasonal cocktail menu, a premium open bar, or three tiers of wine pairings. Every pour is intentional, every cocktail crafted.
Canapés & Grazing tables
Elegant, fresh, high level bites designed for effortless entertaining. From the drawing room to the garden, our canapé service sets the tone from the first moment guests arrive and keeps the energy alive all evening long,
buffet dining
Abundant, beautifully composed, and anything but ordinary. Our buffet presentations bring the same Michelin-caliber ingredients and plating philosophy to a format that flows naturally for open houses, cocktail receptions, and events where conversation moves as freely as the food
What Sets Us Apart for catering in Barrington Hills
MICHELIN-TRAINED PEDIGREE
Chef Francis Pascal trained in some of Chicago's most celebrated kitchens: Japonais by Morimoto, Momotaro, and Roister of The Alinea Group. That foundation of elite technique and exacting standards travels with us to every table we set in Barrington Hills.
A COMPLETE FINE DINING ECOSYSTEM
We don't arrive with trays and chafing dishes. Vendador brings an entire restaurant brigade to your home — Michelin-trained chefs, sommeliers, mixologists, servers, and every piece of plateware, glassware, and linen your table requires. Nothing is missing. Nothing is left behind.
NDA-PROTECTED DISCRETION
Barrington Hills' most cherished gatherings thrive on privacy and so do we. Every member of our team operates under a non-disclosure agreement, so your guests, your conversations, and your home remain exactly that — yours.
FARM-TO-TABLE SOURCING
Chef Francis grew up in Albania with direct relationships to the people growing his food. That same philosophy drives Vendador today. We source from trusted farms and purveyors whose ingredients grace the menus of the country's top Michelin-starred restaurants.
BUILT FOR YOUR TABLE, NOT THE MASSES
Vendador is a boutique operation by design. We do not run multiple events simultaneously or hand your evening to a junior team. When you book Vendador, you get Vendador, fully present, fully committed, from the first course to the final mignardise.
“Chef Francis and his entire team were absolutely incredible! If there was a rating higher than 5 stars, they would deserve it!
We hosted a kitchen counter dinner for 10, and it was truly a unique and beautiful experience. Chef was able to curate the perfect plant forward menu, that even the meat eaters couldn’t stop raving about. All his ingredients were hand selected, seasonal, and locally sourced, and you could taste the freshness in his food.
We loved being front and center, seeing the artistic presentation and the detail that went into each dish first hand. Our sommelier was so knowledgeable and was able to perfectly pair wine or whiskey with each course, and provided such beautiful insight into every tasting she provided. Chef Francis and his entire staff were so kind and wonderful, we really enjoyed getting to spend this special evening with them and we cannot wait to have them over again!”
- Sahar E., client in Barrington Hills
why we love cooking in Barrington Hills
Cooking in Barrington Hills feels different from anywhere else in the Chicago area. The estates here are not on a street — they are on land. The kitchens are serious. The dining rooms are built for long evenings. The grounds open up in ways that no North Shore lot or city brownstone ever could. And the people who live here have chosen a life that is deliberately set apart from the pace and density of everything else around Chicago.
The hosts here entertain with a particular kind of ease. They have the space, the staff, and the infrastructure to host well — and they want a culinary experience that matches the scale and intention of the setting. A seated dinner for forty on a terrace overlooking private grounds. A summer celebration that begins at the stables and ends long after midnight in a dining room with cathedral ceilings. A corporate evening where the countryside setting does more for the relationship than any city venue ever could.
Vendador has had the privilege of serving some of Barrington Hills' most meaningful occasions. Farm-to-table tasting menus where the ingredients arrived that morning from farms not far from the property. Holiday gatherings in homes with the kind of square footage that lets every guest find their own corner of the evening. Anniversary dinners in estate dining rooms built for exactly this kind of night. And intimate milestone celebrations where the land itself felt like part of the occasion.
These are not events. They are the evenings Barrington Hills families talk about for years. And we are honored to be the ones in the kitchen when they happen.
FAQs for vendador private dining
What is the smallest and largest event size you do?
We design culinary experiences for groups of 2 to 200. Our flexibility is dependent on the style of dining and we are open to discussions about events larger than 200 guests. Our culinary support goes beyond individually plated fine dining experiences, and Chef Francis loves to get creative to personalize your event with canapé service, happy hours, food stations, grazing tables, buffets, open bar, seasonal cocktails, and more.
do you accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions?
Yes, we are happy accommodate all allergies and dietary restrictions. We love to design menus based on your preferences. We require all clients to ask their guests about allergies and dietary restrictions so we can personalize menus for certain dietary needs.
What does the day-of timeline look like?
We will arrive approximately 2 hours before your guests to set up. We prepare all elements of your meal from scratch at our commercial kitchen space, and cook everything in your home. We have cooked in all kinds of kitchens, and bring everything we need to execute your menu out of your home. Once we arrive, you can sit back, relax, and enjoy the feeling of being a guest at your own party. After the event concludes, we work efficiently to pack up and clean, leaving your kitchen more spotless than when we arrived.
do you bring plateware and silverware?
We provide all the plateware, silverware, glassware, serviceware, cooking equipment, and linen napkins for your dining experience. Our goal is that you never have to lift a finger, and part of that means providing enough dishes and flatware for every course. We love working with our inventory of hand selected ceramics and high quality stemware. For specific plate styles outside of our collection, we can arrange rentals from a local company on your bej for a procurement fee.
do you only do formal dinners?
Your options for enjoying high quality cuisine are not limited to a sit down dinner! We provide food for all occasions and styles of dining are flexible based on the needs of your event. We offer elevated buffet service, food stations, raw bars, and passed canapés for events of all sizes, including corporate lunches. We also offer wine and cocktail classes or cooking demos as an add-on experience before your meal. If you have something special in mind, reach out! We love to make it happen.
Do you teach cooking classes?
In lieu of cooking classes, we offer cooking demonstrations as an add-on to your dining experience. We are happy to demo the techniques and process to the dish of your choice, whether that be how to make fresh pasta, how to cook the perfect steak, how to pipe and roll agnolotti, how to shuck oysters, etc. If there is something you’ve always wanted to see the process of, ask during your consultation! Sharing our knowledge is a vital part of Vendador.
do you bring DECOR for the table?
Though we do not personally provide decor and styling for events, we often collaborate with local florists and event stylists. We have a trusted network of vendors who we would be happy to connect with on your behalf to design your table or pick up simple floral arrangements.
what is the cost of a Private chef experience?
Our commitment to excellence extends beyond the plate, encompassing a comprehensive and personalized luxury event service. We operate with an event minimum of $1500 and tasting menu experiences begin at $325 per person.
Since no two events are alike, the final price is curated jointly through a consultation.
These prices are for private dining experiences and are not relevant for corporate lunches and catering packages..You can learn more about corporate catering here.