where Vendador also calls home
The North Shore is where we work most.
Our Philosophy
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.
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.
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.
Reserve a tasting menu
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.
Explore bar & sommelier services
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.
Explore canapés & food stations
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.
Explore buffet diningNot sure which format fits your event? Tell us what you’re planning. We’ll build something just for you.
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.
Most catering companies operate on volume. Vendador was built on the opposite principle. Hover or tap the red markers to explore.
Chef Francis trained at Japonais by Morimoto, joined the opening team at Momotaro, and was Sous Chef at Roister of the Alinea Group. That training carries through every member of the team, because we never source from staffing agencies.
Every staff member who walks into your home has signed an NDA before the booking is confirmed. Our core team is small and consistent, so repeat clients work with people who already know their home.
Cookware, plateware, Riedel glassware, silverware, linen napkins, and the cleaning tools to put your kitchen back together arrive with our team. We protect your surfaces and leave the space exactly as we found it.
Every menu starts from scratch: the arc of the evening, the people at your table, the season we are cooking in. The final version is printed on handcrafted menus for the night.
Three wine pairing tiers, custom pairings built around your existing cellar, and seasonal cocktail programs from our award-winning bartenders. Certified sommeliers and licensed bartenders, never third-party staff.
Since 2021, Vendador has grown to more than 400 clients and over 300 five-star Google reviews, entirely through word-of-mouth. If you are reading this page, it is likely because someone you know already hosts us.
Word of Mouth
five stars & over 300 reviews on Google
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
Wilmette · Kenilworth · Winnetka · Glencoe · Highland Park · Lake Forest · Lake Bluff
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 weeknight dinners that simply deserve something more memorable.
Dine With VendadorWe 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We operate with an event minimum of $2,000, and tasting menu experiences begin at $300 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.