Private Chef Services and Premium Catering at Home in Chicago’s North Shore
Our Philosophy
Hospitality is not a service. It is devotion.
In our experience, the North Shore hosts who hire us are not shopping for catering. They are looking for a team that can bring a Michelin-quality restaurant into their dining room without losing the warmth and ease that makes a great evening feel like home.
That gap is what we built Vendador to close.
Here is what that means in practice:
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Chef Francis trained at Japonais by Morimoto, was on the opening team Momotaro, and was Sous Chef at Roister of the Alinea Group. Every chef and sommelier we send into your home brings that same level of fine dining experience. We never use staffing agencies.
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Every member of our team signs an NDA before stepping into your residence. Discretion is non-negotiable when serving public figures, executives, and high-profile families on the North Shore.
where Vendador also calls home
The North Shore is where we work most.
From Wilmette to Lake Bluff, the homes along this stretch represent the highest concentration of considered hosting in the Chicago region. The dinners here are invitations to the people who matter, made by hosts whose schedules rarely allow for the in-the-kitchen attention a great evening deserves.
That is what we are built for. Vendador is a Chicago-based private dining company that imports a Michelin-level restaurant directly to your home: chefs, sommeliers, service staff, plateware, glassware, and an NDA-protected team who treat your guests and your residence with the discretion you expect. You step away from the planning. We handle the night.
Our work concentrates in the same handful of zip codes year after year: Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Forest, and Lake Bluff. The North Shore host asks for a level of execution that few catering operations are designed to deliver. Ours is. Every detail of an evening, from the first canapé to the last pour, is built to disappear into the experience of the night.
What Sets Vendador Apart
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We bring the entire restaurant to you. Riedel stemware, ceramic plateware, silverware, linens, and a professional service team. Our team understands how to translate the precision of a restaurant kitchen into your residential space, with the care your marble, stone, and custom finishes deserve.
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Every menu is carefully built from scratch with you, your guests, your dietary needs, and the occasion in mind. Allergies and restrictions are integrated into the experience without compromise. We do not use sample menus or catering packages.
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Vendador has three tiers of curated wine pairings, plus cellar consultation, and beverage programs designed around your collection or sourced from ours for the evening.
Read more about our fully licensed beverage program.
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Since 2021, Vendador has grown to over 400 clients and 265+ five-star Google reviews entirely through word-of-mouth. Our work speaks for itself, and the people we have served continue to send us into the homes of their friends.
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.
From intimate tasting menus for six to lavish estate gatherings for eighty, 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.
Canapés & Food Stations
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 by experts.
Elegant, high level bites designed for 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.
Not sure which format fits your event? Tell us what you're planning. We'll build something just for you.
Buffet Dining
Abundant, beautifully composed, and anything but ordinary. Our buffet presentations bring the same Michelin-caliber ingredients and philosophy to a format that flows naturally for open houses, cocktail receptions, and events where conversation moves as freely as the food.
5 stars & 265 Google reviews
“Not to be dramatic, but one of the best evenings of my life as a parent to young kids was an at-home dining experience we hired Francis for. The way he cares so deeply about both the cuisine AND your experience is incredible. We laughed and talked and cried and celebrated milestones all while Francis and his team attended to everything."
— Jennifer V., Glencoe Resident
"I've hosted about 10 events with Chef Francis and team over the last two years and they keep getting better and better. From small 4 person dinners to 100+ people events, this team is the best."
— Mike G., Highland Park Resident
“Chef Francis and his team create Michelin star quality food for my private events and dinners, and my guests are consistently blown away. He has brought to our smaller dinners exquisite 5 course meals that you would find at the best 3 star Michelin restaurants around the world in the intimacy and comfort of my own home, as well as beautifully crafted larger scale family style meals for larger events.”
— Heiji B., Kenilworth Resident
The Towns We Serve on the North Shore
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Wilmette sits at the southern end of our North Shore service area. The community blends historic lakefront homes with newer family residences inland, and the hosting culture here tends to be warm, family-centered, and unpretentious. The dinners we cook in Wilmette often gather multiple generations around one table.
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Kenilworth is one of the smallest and most private communities on the North Shore. Designed by Joseph Sears in 1889 as a planned village, the homes here were built for considered hosting, and the families inside them value discretion at the center of every evening they host.
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Winnetka is, in many ways, the heart of the North Shore. The estates along Sheridan Road and through Hubbard Woods have hosted generations of important dinners. The hosts we serve in Winnetka entertain with a fluency that comes from doing it well for a long time.
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Glencoe carries a slightly different rhythm than its neighbors, with a cultural and lakefront character shaped by proximity to the Chicago Botanic Garden and Ravinia Festival. The hosts we work with in Glencoe often build their evenings around the season, the lake, or a performance the same weekend.
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Highland Park is the largest of the North Shore communities we serve, and the variety of dinners we cook here reflects that. Lakefront homes, summer terraces, and the cultural pull of Ravinia all factor into how this community entertains.
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Lake Forest is home to some of the largest estates on the North Shore, and the hosting culture here often reflects that scale. The dinners we serve in Lake Forest tend to honor the formality these grounds invite while still feeling personal.
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Lake Bluff is the smallest and arguably the most personal of the North Shore towns we serve. The dinners here have a different rhythm, more village than estate, and we love the warmth that defines our work in this community.
Occasions We Cater on the North Shore
Across the seven towns, we cook for anniversary dinners, milestone birthdays, intimate weddings, holiday gatherings, family reunions, corporate evenings hosted at home, graduation celebrations, and the quiet weeknight dinners that simply deserve something more memorable.
FAQs for Vendador private dining
What is the smallest and largest event size you accommodate?
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. We serve seated dinners to a maximum of 120 guests. Beyond plated fine dining, we offer canapé service, food stations, grazing tables, buffets, open bar service, seasonal cocktails, and more.
Do you travel to the North Shore from Chicago?
Yes. The North Shore is one of the regions we serve most often. Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka, Glencoe, Highland Park, Lake Forest, and Lake Bluff are all within our standard service area, and we work in homes across these communities throughout the year.
What does the day-of timeline look like?
We arrive approximately two hours before your guests to set up. All menu elements are prepped in our commercial kitchen and finished in your home. Once we arrive, you become a guest at your own event. After service, we pack up and clean efficiently, leaving your kitchen more spotless than when we arrived.
Do you bring plateware and silverware?
Yes. We provide all plateware, silverware, serviceware, cooking equipment, and linen napkins for your dining experience. Our inventory includes hand-selected ceramics and Riedel stemware if purchasing a beverage package. For specific plate styles outside of our collection, we can arrange rentals from a local company on your behalf for a procurement fee.
Do you only do formal dinners?
No. We serve elevated buffet service, food stations, raw bars, passed canapés, and corporate lunches alongside seated tasting menus. We also offer wine and cocktail classes or cooking demonstrations as an add-on experience before your meal.
Is there a travel fee for North Shore events?
Travel is included for events that meet our event minimum within the North Shore. For events at our minimum threshold or for larger gatherings, there is no additional travel charge for these communities. Specific pricing is confirmed during your consultation.
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. We can order and pick up simple floral arrangements and add them to your invoice.
What is the cost of a private chef experience?
We operate with an event minimum of $1,500, and tasting menu experiences begin at $325 per person. Final pricing is curated jointly during your consultation, since no two events are alike. These figures apply to private dining experiences and are separate from our corporate catering packages, which are detailed on our corporate catering page.