The Flavor Chef

Chef Lance is absolutely amazing! The food is delicious, presentation is beautiful, and his infectious personality is the icing on the cake or shall I say marshmallows on our smores bites! Yum!
As a corporate party planner I would definitely work with the Flavor Chef again. He made food that looked great, tasted great, and he accommodated all the dietary restrictions including vegans. He even mixed the salad and topped off some of the food while onsite so everything would be fresh and crisp! Our staff truly enjoyed the holiday buffet he provided for our holiday luncheon.
P.S — He even brought aluminum trays for us to keep the leftovers. Nice touch! Thanks Chef Lance!

Chef Lance has been delighting the minds & taste buds of my corporate audiences for 2 years and everyone wants him back. The delicious healing broths & amazing spread reflect his credo, «Love is the ultimate Spice»

Lance and his crew catered my husband’s 50^th surprise party and the food was delicious! The grilled veggies were ah-​mazing! Both he and Jennifer in the office were very accommodating and great to work with. Thanks Flavor Chef!

LOVED every bite! Delicious food! Phenomenal and friendly staff. The cookies at the end of the meal were absolutely delicious and kept me wanting more and more. Highly recommend!!!

I really cannot say enough about the Flavor Chef and all of his staff. Where to begin… From the very beginning Jennifer, our point of contact, was extremely responsive, timely and abundantly helpful. The private tasting was absolutely wonderful with one on one service from Jennifer and Chef Lance. The day of wedding, there was not a single glitch in working with the Flavor Chef– the food was fabulous, fresh and local bought. We have no regrets about using them for our special day. you can stop your search here! In addition to all of the food being fabulous on the wedding day… The Chef spoke with our guests throughout the cocktail hour and dinner service to check in and see if there were any allergies or request. At this time he was told about several wheat allergies and happily proceeded to make specially accommodations for gluten-​free crab cakes for two of our guests… This was above and beyond! We received many complements from our guests on the service and food. I am confident you will have the same experience if you choose The Flavor Chef. A special thanks to Lance and all his employees for making our day perfect!

I recently planned a reception for ~25 people and being from out of the area I had to rely on Unilocal for recommendations. After contacting four catering companies, The Flavor Chef being one of them, it was obvious after the first encounter they would be great for the task at hand. I worked with Kimberly Morris who was very helpful in coming up with a menu for a heavy reception (not quite dinner, but heavier than a few appetizers). We had specific dietary needs and all requests regarding that matter were met. Each time I called or emailed my questions were answered in a very timely manner. The follow up was top notch!
On the event day, our guests raved about the food. The quality of food was also noticeable. Fresh vegetables, everything made from scratch, and displayed very processionally. The onsite chefs/​servers were very friendly and professional. They cleaned up and packed up all the leftover food, which we enjoyed later that evening. The cookies and brownies are amazing!
I would highly recommend The Flavor Chef and felt that their professionalism was what steered me in the direction of hiring them. The food quality and reasonable cost is what also earns them 5 stars as well.

Can’t believe how good the gluten free Mac and cheese is. I love gluten-​filled foods so I was skeptical before I tried it but it is some of the best Mac and cheese i’be ever had. They also make some delicious and healthy bone broths.

I am a multi-​repeat customer and have never been disappointed and always very pleased. The food, as others have reported, is fresh and delicious. The service is also amazing. I created a custom menu that was divine. One of my favorites is the almond flour chocolate chip cookies. Incredible. Pricing is always reasonable. I like that they always ask «how much do you want to spend per person?» then set a menu with options that can work within the budget. I will use them again in my home and at Rotary events.

The Flavor Chef catered a baby shower in Carlsbad and the food was incredible. The mixture of flavors compliment each other. From the crab cake and cheeses of the appetizer selection to the salad, grilled vegetables, gluten free pasta and stuffed chicken. Brownies for dessert and a great, friendly staff. Seldom do you have friendly staff and outstanding food. They are tops on my list!

I decided to use flavor chef after interviewing 3 other companies for my husbands 50^th birthday party. From the beginning they were a pleasure to work with. They were also the only ones willing to work with my budget! The day of the party they were on time they were all very helpful and the food was amazing! After the food service was complete they cleaned up perfectly and had all the left overs organized with packaging for to-​go containers. Thanks for making my party a success!

Chef Lance, The Flavor Chef, made a fabulous Holiday dinner for me to serve to my extended family of 10 (which included 3 children under the age of 7). I’ve eaten at the best restaurants in LA, SF, NY, Paris and London. The food was some of the best I’ve eaten anywhere and that was agreed upon by everyone present. Great chef, great service, reasonably priced and delicious. Plus, there were ample left-​overs. What more can I say?
–Robin M, Carlsbad

Lance hosted a private dinner party at our home for 11 people. Five stars are not enough for the food and service. He prepared 3 fresh seafood appetizers, we had to have the mac & cheese and the beef tenderloin melted in your mouth. The desert was chocolate mousse, we ate everything and all my guest left asking for Lance’s card. That says it all! I would not hesitate to refer Lance to anyone!

WOW! What a truly wonderful experience… Both the Chef and the server were incredible. They arrived on time, set up the food and provided everything we had asked for. The food is extraordinarily delicious and very healthy. All of our guests for our Christmas holiday party were MORE than pleased with the food. We kept getting asked if more soup was coming out, if there were more yummy appetizers and if there were any more cookies. Overall, we were beyond satisfied with the Chef and the food served to our guests. We will certainly be using the Flavor Chef again in the near future.

Lance and his crew did a great job tonight for our annual holiday party. His team circulated wonderful appetizers and served the best salmon I have had in years. I highly recommend his catering service.

The team at The Flavor Chef is fantastic.
This was probably one of the more tricky events I have had to plan and this was the first time I have used The Flavor Chef. They overcame any obstacle I threw at them! From revising my head count to the tricky logistics this team never let me break a sweat or become the least bit nervous.
As for the food itself? Incredible. Our menu consisted of bacon wrapped dates and scallions, cheese board, fruit platter, stuffed mushrooms, beef & brie canapés, mini pizzas & the endive leaf salad. All of it delicious and there was not a crumb left.
I highly recommend The Flavor Chef and I look forward to using them again!

I have a mobile bar service and I have had the pleasure of working with The Flavor Chef at various events from small intimate dinners in La Jolla to weddings that are 200+ guests at the San Diego Botanical Gardens. Chef Lance is very passionate about his work. Every time I see him, he shows up to his events with a smile on his face and I’m ready to work attitude. I can’t say anything bad about The Flavor Chef. By the way, his fig appetizers are absolutely amazing.
At one wedding, I asked him about his prices and I was blown away. In my opinion he does not charge enough. His food is by far some of the best food I have had. I tell all my clients about how good his food and service is. Keep up the great work, Chef.

I’ve used Lance and the entire Flavor Chef team for two training events that I ran for up to 150 people. Lance and his entire team were prompt, courteous, and most importantly the food was delicious. I appreciate his ability to work with me to get the price right, and prepare the perfect menu for my guests. I also very much appreciate his staff who all go above and beyond to make sure food service goes off without a hitch. They also clean up everything after the event, which is fantastic. Thanks!

PArt of my job includes a lot of corporate event planning, and I have built up a pretty solid roster of vendors that are local to me. But as my company grows, I have to expand my borders so off to Unilocal I went to get a good recommendation for a caterer close to my Carlsbad office.
Thank you Unilocalers, once again, for not steering me in the wrong direction. Everyone knows that the food is the star of any party, and Lance & his team did not disappoint. I called him with the idea of doing a «Build you own Mashed Potato Martini Bar» and he went with it keeping my budget in mind the entire time.
He was there early, oversaw the entire event along with his very hardworking and personable assistant — the plates were never empty. In addition to the mashed potato bar, we had ordered a cheese platter, zuchinni mini pizzas and bacon wrapped dates. YOU MUST ORDER THE DATES!
Looking forward to working with Lance and his team again soon!

Wow, is all I can say. We attended a party last night catered by The Flavor Chef. Lance and his staff were professional, personable and incredibly talented, The appetizers and food served were some of the best I’ve ever tasted. Judging from the comments from the other guests, I know I’m not alone in my praise of this awesome food. My husband and I came away with a new found respect for a truly talented Chef. We are busy searching for a date to have a party, so that we can include the Flavor Chef and his delicious food in our home.

This caterer made our event (volunteer appreciation dinner for Rancho Coastal Humane Society) an «over-​the-​top» success. His appetizers were amazing, the meal delicious, and dessert mouth watering!
Everything was beautifully prepared. The service was excellent. Working with the chef was easy and the amount of food delivered for our guests was perfect. Best of all, they willingly worked with our budget.