Jesse Miner, Vegan Personal Chef

My wife Emily and I recently took a cooking lesson with Jesse, that Emily had arranged for my birthday. It was an amazing experience!
Jesse came to our house, with ingredients for the meal we would prepare, multiple copies of the recipes we’d be using, so that we could each have a copy to read, as well as equipment, in case we needed it. (Most of the equipment stayed in the car, since we had adequate kitchen equipment on hand.)
The menu Jesse prepared was incredible. We’d been cooking vegan basics already — tofu /​veggie stir-​fries, lentil soup, kale salads, pastas. We provided some basic parameters — information about our skill level in the kitchen, and what we like, don’t like, and are curious about, and Jesse put together a menu with a few different foods that he thought we might enjoy.
Our lesson with Jesse introduced us to some great new foods:
— Korean food. This is a specialty of Jesse’s, and something I never ate as an omnivore, and haven’t even come across as a vegan. Turns out it’s incredible!
— Gochujang. This is a specialty Korean ingredient — a fermented chili paste. Jesse brought some, and let us keep it afterward. I’d never come across this before, and I’ve been experimenting with using it in other dishes since. It turns out it’s not hard to find. It turns out that the nearest Asian grocery store to us carries it.
— Soy curls. I’d bought some ages ago after hearing people rave about them, but I’d never gotten around to making them. They’re great in Korean food! I’ve bought a bunch more since then.
— Japanese sweet potatoes. These are amazing, and we’ve made them a bunch of times since. They have a whitish yellowish flesh, and are very sweet.
These foods were real eye-​openers. In the two weeks since our lesson, we’ve made the Korean barbecue soy-​curl wraps twice (until we ran out of soy curls), as well as a whole bunch of Japanese sweet potatoes. These are some of our favorite foods to cook at home now, and we’re so grateful that Jesse introduced us to them.
Our cooking lesson was a great experience, has expanded our kitchen repertoire, and has deepened our appreciation of great homemade vegan food. Very highly recommended!

Jesse is an incredible chef. He loves people and he loves food and this is immediately evident when he meets you and shares his food, his cooking tips, or just his warm personality.
He is 100% a pro: helpful, organised, and respectful to you and your house.

I found Jessie on Unilocal when I was looking for someone to cook healthy, vegan, oil-​free for my mother who was recovering from surgery. When I saw his Unilocal reviews I had a hard time believing that anyone could be so good. After working with him and tasting his food, all I can say is: believe the hype.
Jessie is professional, courteous, and very accommodating to the dietary needs of his customers. He is clean and organized in the kitchen, and clear and prompt in communication. The produce and ingredients he brings is fresh and tasty-​looking. Most importantly his food is delicious! I have enjoyed all his cooking, but a few of his vegan oil free dishes that stand out to me are his potato salad, handmade vegan burgers, and his mind-​blowing dressings (particularly Caesar).
I am very thankful to Jessie for his work in helping my mother, and to Unilocal for leading me to Jessie.

Jesse prepared a 4-​course meal for a dinner party we hosted for 9 people, and it was wonderful! Most of our guests are not vegan, but they all raved about the food.
What I love about his food is that it’s simple but elegant, healthy and delicious, vegan and creative. And Jesse is just a really, really nice person, professional but personable, someone I’d want to work with many times.
I’m still dreaming of the food.

Jesse prepared a healthy and delicious dinner for my husband’s birthday celebration. Eight of the ten guests were meat eaters, but everyone loved the meal! He was easy to work with throughout the process, created a menu that met our picky requirements, and left our kitchen spotless. What’s more, he was kind enough to entertain all of our eight-year-old’s questions in the kitchen! We are still talking about the carrot dip and the white bean tomato simmer, and looking forward to having him cater our next party.

A 5-​star chef for a creative dinner party that will land 5-​star reviews from your friends! That’s my experience of Jesse Miner.
We had Jessie over to prepare, educate, and join in the fun of dinner for 4 at our home. Jessie called me up to discuss menu ideas and we had fun thinking of what dishes would be both enjoyable to make and eat, while also being a reasonable challenge for guest to make at home on their own.
The fact that our meal contained no animal parts or products left more room for lots of fresh veggies, herbs and flavorful sauces. I highly recommend Jesse; ok… that’s pretty clear by now!

My partner and I were invited to a friend’s place for dinner. What a pleasant and yummy surprise to see that Jesse was their personal chef for the evening. Not only did we enjoy some of the most delicious vegan dishes, including a Vietnamese spring roll with a peanut sauce that really WOWed us, but also we learned how to make all of the items on the menu.
Jesse, thank you for the enjoyable and educational night!
If you are looking for a creative way to spend time with friends and learn alot about how to cook yummy vegan foods, I highly recommend him!

My husband and I received a gift certificate for a cooking class from Jesse as a wedding gift, and we are very happy we did!
Jesse was prompt, patient, and very enthusiastic about the food we were making. We chose a Southeast Asian theme and the meal was phenomenal!
We would recommend him.

Short answer: Jesse is great, you need to try and get on his calendar ASAP!
Details: I hired Jesse recently for a personal vegan cooking lesson in my apt, and my wife and I LOVED the experience. He took plenty of time beforehand to hear what I wanted to learn, and the menu we cooked was seriously delicious. The sauteed onion and mushroom enchiladas with cashew cream are officially a weekly staple, and he turned my wife around 180 degrees on bok choy, thanks in part to a fantastic spicy peanut sauce.
Bonus points for being a really great guy and for being very reasonably priced. I learned a ton, and will def hire him again. You should, also.

Jesse’s character really makes his wonderful dishes even more delightful. Personable and attentive, he observes and asks great questions to best fit the meals and service to your needs. The dishes are always well flavored with great presentation. He’s always happy to share his knowlege.

I recently hired Jesse to make a vegan dinner for 17 people, only one of which was vegan. Many non-​vegans were skeptical, including myself, that we’d be eating bland veggies but Jesse’s cuisine is full of flavor, texture, and creative combinations. He served a tasty ceaser with smoked tofu that tasted like it had bacon in it and for the entrée he whipped up a hearty roasted squash stuffed with lentils and other goodies. And the finale was a delectable silky chocolate pie that left us reeling. As a non-​vegan myself I was impressed and amazed that vegan cuisine could be so tasty and filling. I was hoping Jesse could become our personal chef full-​time but like anything fabulous, he’s in high demand. I’m gladly waiting in line.

Jesse is awesome. We had him come into our office and cook for us weekly for a few months before we moved somewhere with no kitchen. We all miss him terribly. The food he cooked was delicious and he totally opened our eyes to the fact that healthy food doesn’t have to be boring.
He’s a very friendly guy, all happy to chat about anything while he cooks, from food to tech to anything. One thing I really liked is that he educated us about what he was serving. Rather than just plopping it down and telling us to enjoy, he would go through all the dishes explaining all the intricacies of what we were eating.

I have been working so much– just opened a hair salon– we are in the middle of construction on the house– I was too freak’n tierd to cook. So I thought about treating my husband and I to a chef. I was not sure what I was looking for but when I happen to see Jesse’s website I thought wow this will be great, but was unsure what my husband would think about going vegan 3 nights a week. By the way 3 nights of food last much longer which is great for me because I am taking the rest for lunch!
We had Jesse over and I was blown away, the food tasted unbelievable!!! And my husband could not get enough– he gets so excited when I tell him Jesse is coming over– I guess my cooking is out– but good for me that I don’t have to cook as much ;)
I also want to mention that when we do eat his food I sware that I lose a few pounds– his food is NOT proccessed– everything is fresh and I think this makes a huge difference!
Thanks Jesse can’t wait to see you soon!!!

Today, my boyfriend Shawn and I had Jesse over for the first week of meals. I was totally apprehensive as I couldn’t fathom the idea of eating anything without dairy or meat. I figured Shawn would eat most of the food and I’d just be left with eating frozen dinners and picking at whatever we have left in the refrigerator.
Sure enough, as soon as we walked back into a sparkling kitchen, we opened the fridge to find everything packed away neatly and smelling delicious. My boyfriend quickly started plating one of the meals and as soon as he offered me a bite, out came a second plate. I was delightfully surprised with how great everything tasted. I’m really happy that my Shawn decided to go Vegan. Jesse’s food does not have me missing meat or dairy.
So far, I’m in love with the Margarita-​like cole slaw. I never liked cole slaw but this spicy, lime slaw has me imagining that I’m lying by a pool drinking a cool Margarita. Jesse’s squash spaghetti is certainly a treat as well. I can’t wait to keep trying more!
Thanks Jesse!!! :D

Jesse was my personal chef for over a year and I’m not even vegan! He came to my house while I was at work and made amazing vegan meals that I came home to and was able to eat all week long. They were absolutely delicious and perfect for transporting to/​from work. He listened to all of my feedback and custom tailored an entire menu for me that had everything I liked.
I would still have Jesse as my chef if it were not for my crazy travel and busy lifestyle that lands me in different locations every week.
I’ve gifted Jesse’s services to friends and have hired him for private events.
Just amazing and lets not even get started on his desserts. All I can say are vegan cookies and chocolate pie. mmmm.

He’s so awesome! I threw my boyfriend a birthday party during the summer and had Chef Jesse cater the soirée. Half the attendees were vegan (including the bf), half weren’t — and everyone LOVED the food. He makes it so easy — great communication from the get-​go, awesome ideas to cater towards all kinds of palettes (sometimes you’re into the funky, weird spices and vegetables, sometimes you’re not), and he provides pretty much everything but a stove.
We ended up having black-​bean veggie burgers with chipotle bbq sauce, coleslaw (my bf LOVES coleslaw but can never order it anywhere), sweet potato fries, and delicious chocolate pie. He even threw in a very tasty carrot-​hummus type dip that was ravaged immediately. You know the food is good when half an hour passes by without anyone taking, because we’re all eating! Two months later, people are still talking about how good his food is.
Chef Jesse is also very quick and efficient with his time. He loves using local produce which is just one of the reasons the food is so good. And the best part? When he left, my kitchen was honestly cleaner than it was before he started!

I’m a vegetarian, and occasionally will have a «vegan day,» but Jesse Miner makes every day vegan day! When I needed to find a vegetarian-​focused cooking class for my boyfriend’s birthday, I found classes that either weren’t timely or not a cuisine we wanted to explore or focused on ingredients we were not fond of… additionally, they were pricey for what you got.
Then Chef Jesse’s name came up in a Google search and I began working with him on something suitable for the occasion. I was first impressed with the value of the service, given that I could customize the menu to our tastes and technical goals, and could have other friends join us!
I was impressed with Chef Jesse’s professionalism and commitment to flavorful, balanced and healthy foods – he even wore his chef jacket in my kitchen! He showed us some new skills, regardless of our skillsets, like working with specific tools or vegetables and fruits.
What’s great about Chef Jesse’s class was that there was little that I had to do – he brings all the equipment and all of the beautiful food, which is organic and fresh from a local market. He’ll also answer general questions about cooking and give tips on which equipment works best for tasks, as well as how to best prepare various grains and fruits.
Lastly, you don’t have to take notes on the recipes you make – Chef Jesse provided all of us with a booklet of all the recipes we made that night. He has been living a vegan lifestyle for a long while now, and has a genuine joy for food and eagerness to share his knowledge and expertise with others.

I met Jesse nearly eight years ago. That was back in the day when I was eating Doritos and chocolate ice cream for dinner. Mmm. Those were the days.
Jesse took me under his vegan wing and fed me my first vegan Thanksgiving meal. I had no idea you could still have that holiday without turkey!
And, because we didn’t gorge ourselves on sleep-​inducing bird, we had enough energy later to actually sit up and talk to one another, instead of lying around like slugs watching football.
Five stars for Jesse! He makes vegan-​hood easy, social, and delicious.

I will always jump at a chance to dine if Jesse’s cooking. Yes, I’m a friend of many years, and have been a blessed and eager recipient of his multitudes of tasty vegan dishes, brunches, assorted baked goods, dinners, etc.
He’s interned at the best vegan restaurant in the city — Millennium — and can seriously make you forget about meat with his amazing creations.

I have been lucky enough to taste many Jesse Miner meals and every time I am amazed by the unbelievably high quality, tastiness and variety. Add to this that the food is very consistent and that Jesse is so sweet — and eager to match your tastes — and you have the makings of a wonderful meal!
It’s also been really fun to have Jesse cook for people who usually eat meat (myself included) and find that they are blown away by the flavor and by how satisfied they feel at the end of the meal. One of my friends who’s usually a vegetable avoider eagerly devours anything Jesse cooks!