Be Your Own Guest

Mary Ellen is fabulous. I hosted a dinner party for 12 and I don’t cook so Mary Ellen saved the day. Her communication ahead of time was great and she was helpful in suggesting a menu. On the day of the event, she and her assistant showed up right on time, cooked a fabulous meal, served and then cleaned up afterward. I would highly recommend her.

Mary Ellen and her crew helped me with my 30^th birthday party with about 35 guests. She had great suggestions for not only food, but for the logistics of the whole party including rentals, what kind of drinks to buy and how many, etc. They cooked right in our kitchen, and left is spotless at the end of the night. The guests raved about the food, which was mango quesadillas, chicken piccata, salmon, and veggies to name a few. Mary Ellen and her crew were friendly, professional, and very easy to work with — I would not hesitate to hire them again in the future.

We hosted a dinner party for 18 and with Mary Ellen’s help, we truly enjoyed the night. Mary Ellen is a fantastic cook. She cooked the filet to perfection and the sauce was amazing. The scallops with bacon appetizer were the best I have ever had. In addition, her team was very professional and polished, especially the bartender. We will definitely use Mary Ellen again!

I’ve had Mary Ellen help me with three — four dinner parties in my home over the past ten years. What I like best is that she is very flexible. When desired, she helped me plan a menu, bought groceries came early and prepped the food, cooked the meal, all the way from appetizers through dessert. The kitchen was always left clean and organized. She did what I needed when I needed it. The last party was a grad party for my daughter. Mary Ellen was so helpful in planning the buffet which was in constant flux. I really enjoyed interacting with Mary Ellen. She was very patient. I’d hire her again tomorrow if inviting more than ten for dinner, well maybe 8, or 7…

Mary Ellen is great — we had met her at a friend’s birthday party where she helped out, and then hired her to cater my husband’s 40^th birthday party this summer for 40 people. What I really liked is that the food she makes is not too fussy, but delicious — all of our friends kept complimenting us, and it really was *as if* we’d made the dinner ourselves (without all the work!) She had a lot of suggestions, and also took input from us on recipe ideas. She is also very affordable, and really willing to work with you on menu design to meet your budget. (Unlike some places I checked out which were snobby and expensive!) There were two others assisting her that night — one even helped with bar-​tending — and all of them were completely professional, friendly, and got everything done on time and to specification. I highly recommend her and will definitely use her again. She really did allow us to «be our own guests» and we swore that we’d never go back to self-​catering again.

Mary Ellen is incredible — she has worked at two of my kids’ bar mitzvahs (doing set-​up, tear down, and passing challah and wine after the ceremony in a rented room at the local community center) and we will definitely be working with her for the third. She is prompt, as professional as it gets, has tons of suggestions and resources (she recommended an awesome party rental place — together with a 10% discount!), and goes way above and beyond the parameters of her job. She arrives early, leaves late, and is unbelievably meticulous (in setting up, she measured the distance between rows of chairs with a tape measure to make sure everything was symmetrically, and perfectly, arranged). There is nothing she can’t do – set up a sound system, get wine and challah to a roomful of people in no time flat, and be exactly the kind of calming, competent, and reassuring presence that you need amid the whirlwind of a big event. She knows what you need before you do, and will get it before you even have a chance to realize something was missing or out of place. Having now seen her at work twice, all I can say is wow. Just wow. She is awesome.