Chef Berk

I had a semi-​surprise birthday party for my husband’s 50^th birthday! Chef Berk was amazing. He responded quickly to all of my emails and worked with me to set up the perfect 6-​course meal that worked with the theme of my party. Everything was absolutely delicious. We all kept debating our favorite dish, but we could never select just one. In addition to all the amazing food, Chef Berk offered to help cut the tallest cake I have ever seen bought from a local bakery. We can add «expert cake slicer» to his résumé. That would have been a disaster without him. His relaxed and kind interaction with all the guests was fantastic as well. Now, I’m just trying to come up with another event to have him cater! Thanks again Chef Berk for an amazing birthday celebration. The guest of honor is still discussing his grand birthday.

I needed a last minute catering job for a staff party I managed to avoid planning until the last minute. I contacted Chef Berk who was totally cool about taking the job and very willing to work within the dietary, monetary and temporal confines presented. When he arrived with the meal I was certain he had misunderstood our budget as the spread was beyond ample. More importantly, it was delicious! I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or hire Chef Berk again.

Had an 8 course meal with Chef Berk last night. AMAZING! Check out the pics!

I hired Chef Berk to come to our house for my wife’s birthday. He responded quickly to my initial email and communication stayed strong throughout the whole process. I identified ingredients that my wife loves (salt, garlic, steak, etc) and he proposed dishes that incorporated those elements.
The actual meal itself greatly exceeded expectations. Although my wife is not a foodie and we kept the courses fairly simple, everything was cooked and prepared expertly. In each bite, all of the elements worked together harmoniously while maintaining their unique qualities. At the same time there is no arrogance in his dishes. I have eaten in expensive restaurants many times in my life and Chef Berk’s meal for us is in my top three all time. A great chef at a restaurant can’t compete with the precision and quality of a great chef cooking a tailored meal for just two people.
Go for it.

Chef Berk came to our home to help us celebrate our 33^rd wedding anniversary. He was fantastic. Berk was great to work with from the first contact, working through menu suggestions and preferences with great options and flexibility, finalizing our five course meal and the timing for the dinner. We had a great time talking with Berk while he prepared our meal as he educated us on the different ingredients and how they worked together. As we finished our delicious meal and dessert, Berk had left us with an immaculate kitchen so we could enjoy the rest of our evening. A fantastic experience I would recommend to anyone looking for great cuisine, excellent preparation and a wonderful partner to share your event.

Chef Berk was amazing! Exceeded my expectations and I will be using him again and again. He catered an intimate 10 person dinner paired with wine and all involved were thrilled with the presentation and the excellent cuisine.

I was planning a surprise birthday party for my mom’s 65^th and we really wanted to make it special. She’s a tough lady to please and has pretty specific tastes so we needed to make sure and find the absolute best. I read tons of reviews and spoke to a bunch of chefs and can truly say we made the absolute best decision having Chef Berk. He already has great reviews, and he honestly deserves every single one of them. Specifically he was very easy to work with — had great menu ideas but also let us really shape and plan the meal with him so it felt personal. He was so personable and easy to work with — helped us pace out the meal, worked with our schedule, and left our house and kitchen completely clean and organized. Last but not least — the food was absolutely incredible! Everyone was raving about it and the evening felt so decadent and special. I truly couldn’t have asked for more and our party all felt the same way. In the future, we will be calling on Chef Berk for any other parties!

I hired Chef Berk for my husband and my 30^th anniversary. It was a surprise for my husband to have someone come to our home and prepare a 6 course dinner for the two of us. To say that Berk is an amazing chef is not enough! He is phenomenal!!! It was all such a great experience from the moment I contacted him to the moment he left our home. He was always very responsive and he sent me a couple of choices for each course. I had questions about some things and he was quick to answer and he was very easy to work with. This is what I chose:
1^st «everything bagel» mozzarella and tomato salad with sweet onion marmalade
2^nd beef meatball soup with peas, sprouts, cilantro
3^rd shrimp and grits (real grits not instant!!)
4^th crispy pancetta, arugula, peach and house ranch
5^th lamb with heirloom red peas, eggplant, carrot purée and rosemary butter
6^th berry upside down cake, spiced hazelnuts, fresh whipped cream and shots of lemon infused vodka
It was all so very delicious!!! My husband was surprised and thrilled with all of the wonderful food. And Berk is a great guy to talk with too! We just sat at our bar and enjoyed his company and food for 3 hours. I would highly recommend Chef Berk to anyone looking for a great experience!

I cannot say enough good things about Chef Berk. He catered out wedding on 7÷5÷2015 and everything was awesome. We struggled to find a caterer that really captured the spirit of local Pacific Northwest cuisine while still having a price point we could afford until a friend recommended Berk. He was friendly and professional from start to finish and super quick to respond to all my questions and communications. Berk and his crew also handled all of the rentals for plates/​utensils/​glassware/​linens which saved me a lot of work. I have heard from many couples that they never got to eat any of the food at their own wedding because they were so busy socializing but that was not the case for us; Berk made us special plates with a little of everything (including the appetizers we missed during the photos) and he thoroughly wrapped all the left-​overs for us to take home. All night long our guests talked about how amazing the food was and wanted to know his name.
Here is the menu we chose:
Apps
–radishes and miso butter
–heirloom rice fritters w/​romesco
–bacon wrapped dates stuffed with almonds
Meats
–marinated shoulder tender steak w/​scallion butter sauce
–poached sides of salmon w/​assorted sauces, garnished (Whole salmon, so cool!)
Sides
–Israeli cous cous w/​seasonal veggies, manchego
–pickled strawberries w/​greens, walnut, black pepper, red onion
–seared peaches w/​mozzarella, onion oil, benne seeds
–seasonal veggie flatbread
Also, Berk has mad knife skills and Berk cut up and served our cake in no time flat. It seemed like everyone had a pretty plated piece of cake in their hand by the time my husband I were done sharing our first slice.
The next time we need a caterer, we will definitely call Berk.

I had a small group of friends in town for my birthday this past month, and we were trying to figure out something unique to do for dinner. Fortunately, my friend found Chef Berk. His online reviews highly recommended him, so we booked him for my birthday dinner, and I can tell you this — he deserves every single star of this review!
This was one of the most enjoyable dining experiences I have had a long time! We selected a six course meal, and every single course was amazing. Prior to the dinner, we sent over what we were looking for in the dinner, described any dietary restrictions/​preferences (we had none — we eat everything!), and settled on the number of courses. Chef Berk arrived about 30 minutes prior to the dinner with all the prep work done and we had an amazing 3 hour birthday dinner that was paced perfectly. I found the dishes to be innovative, unique, and most importantly, extremely delicious, and I would not hesitate to hire Chef Berk again.
An added bonus — the day before our dinner with Chef Berk, we visited several wineries and bought a variety of wines we enjoyed. Having the dinner at home allowed us to enjoy cocktails/​wine throughout the night knowing we didn’t have to drive (or cleanup afterwards!). It was a relaxing, leisurely pace without the rush you often feel in a restaurant to settle the tab and turn the table over to the next guests.

Chef Berk’s services were professional, personal, and he delivered exactly what he promised. Great food with a mindfulness that shared our love of Korean cuisine, good ‘ol South Carolina flair, and PDX freshness. Extremely self-​sufficient, he arrived prepared and ready to serve 10 adults and 8 children in less than an hour. His remarkable service truly made my event memorable and carefree. He’ll be my first to call for my next event!

Chef burke made my us the most amazing 7 course birthday dinner last week. Just a few dishes on the menu included shoulder tender steak w/​creamy turnips, fried greens, seared asparagus w/​hazelnuts, blood orange-​onion jam, and olive oil cake w/​chocolate sauce, whipped cream. He was able to accommodate all of our needs including several vegetarians. He was so easy to communicate with and I am so grateful we found him!

Chef Berk is absolutely amazing. I had a grand scheme to surprise my boyfriend with a Valentine’s day scavenger hunt that ended at my home with a private dinner for two. I contacted Berk Sunday and he agreed to set up 4 courses that Tuesday-​unbelievably flexible and accommodating but also upfront about pricing (which was more than fair) and menu choices. I knew what I was getting and was more than happy with communication leading up to the evening.
That evening he arrived early and ready to go. He’s a lovely guy to hang out with which made a real difference in the night. With two lovebirds hanging all over each other, it could be awkward to just stand there and cook and watch us eat. Berk handled this with grace, busying himself when we got close and engaging with awesome culinary stories when the opportunity presented. He’s very knowledgeable and clearly made an exceptional effort to cater the menu to us and create something special.
Overall, this experience was top of the line. The food was amazing. The steak a perfect medium rare; the salmon roulade melted like butter.
I don’t know if I can go back to dining in restaurants after this. Thanks, Berk!

Chef Berk has catered several events for me. He is prompt and professional and the food is always fabulous. Last year he was out of town but coordinated another chef to cater my party without a hiccup. He will always be my first call when I need a caterer.

I had a very small dinner party and needed to stay inside a reasonable budget. Berk did a great job with designing the menu, and creating interesting and tasty dishes that my guests loved. He was on top of his email communication, which I appreciated, and showed up right on time. I would definitely recommend his services and would use him again.

Chef Berk is an awesome caterer. Just read my «tip». This guy put our wedding completely over the topl and he didn’t bend us over. I can’t speak highly enough about our experience with him.

Chef Berk catered a party for us recently and not only created a beautiful, delicious meal, but made it look effortless. He’s amazing.

Berkeley has catered three events for us: my husband’s birthday dinner, our rehearsal dinner, and our wedding. He was wonderful to work with, and despite our very modest budget, provided phenomenal meals. He is also very flexible and calm; when our oven stopped working mid-​way through his preparation, he improvised and made everything work so well that nobody even noticed. I would highly recommend him!

Great food, great service, very unique and fresh offerings. Will work within budgets and has also come to the rescue on short notice for me on several occasions. Uses local farms whenever possible and the people that I’ve used his catering services for appreciate the unique twist and healthy dishes he offers.