Cooked to Perfection

I wanted to do something special for my husband for the holidays. I decided to hire Cooked to Perfection to cater a romantic Christmas dinner for two after attending a birthday party for a friend they catered a month earlier. I let Karin know our tastes and she gave us a number of different choices for each course. Every suggestion sounded great, and I liked that she really put thought into the menu.
We started with two appetizers — roasted tomato crostini and caramelized onion tartlets with crème fraîche. The salad was arugula, asparagus and prosciutto with shaved parmesan. For the main course we had a wonderful braciole in a spicy red sauce. I’m a red sauce snob (I don’t care how good an Italian place is supposed to be, if their red sauce is bad, I’m not going) and Karin’s sauce is honestly the best I’ve ever had. I paid for a meal for 2, but what we got could have easily fed 4 or more! We ate it again the next night and enjoyed it just as much.
The food was absolutely outstanding and wonderfully presented! I will be hiring Cooked to Perfection again!

Cooked to Perfection catered a birthday party I attended. The food, drinks and décor were amazing. The team did a great job preparing for the event and in making sure everyone always had a drink or enough food. No one left the party hungry. My favorite foods were the homemade Queso, salsa and chips and bacon cheddar pizza! Yum. I am definitely hiring them for my next party!

I wanted to throw my husband a surprise party for his 40^th birthday. The venue I selected, Las Manos Gallery (Andersonville), is an event planner’s dream… an open space where one can go wild with creativity. The problem is that I am not an event planner! Unfortunately, this thought didn’t occur to me until after I put down a non-​refundable deposit.
After researching several Chicago-​based caterers, I selected «Cooked to Perfection,» which is owned by Karin Peterson, professional chef. She agreed to meet me at the gallery several weeks before the event to come up with a plan.
She started by asking me what theme I had in mind. I told her that I didn’t have anything to offer other than «Surprise 40^th Birthday Party,» which admittedly isn’t much to go on. Karin was a source of unlimited ideas. She asked me a series of questions to identify what kind of vibe I wanted the party to have. She helped me plan a color scheme and determine how to best utilize the space in terms of tables, food preparation and presentation, bar set-​up, etc.
We then got to the really fun part — menu planning! Karin’s suggestions were creative, surprising yet still comfortable, and she did an excellent job of keeping my budget and personal preferences in mind.
Shortly after our meeting, Karin sent me a proposal. No detail was left unchecked. I felt completely confident in her abilities to plan and execute an amazing party.
As we got closer to the event date, Karin sent me a suggested timeline of how the evening should progress, from when the savory hors d’oeuvres should commence to when the desserts and singing of «Happy Birthday» should take place.
A couple of hours before the event, I stopped by the gallery to drop off a few things. I heard Karin discussing the menu with the gallery staff. They were practically drooling!
About 30 people attended the event and I received so many compliments about the food! I heard comments like, «This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,» to «Everything tastes amazing!» I also received tons of compliments related to the flow of the room, the décor, etc.
I cannot recommend Karin Peterson and Cooked to Perfection highly enough! She made a potentially stressful situation a lot of fun. The party was a huge success thanks to Karin and her staff.