From the Garden – Vegan Chef

We hired Kyle and his team to cater a private event and he surpassed expectations! Not only was everyone working the event professional, friendly, and organized, but the food was beautiful and delicious (especially the chocolate peanut butter dessert bites). I would highly recommend From the Garden to anyone looking to make their next event or meal a success!

just planned a weekend destination party with chef kyle and sous chef cori, and i must say it was a great experience. we had non-​vegan, children and picky eaters but chef kyle managed to please everyone with his well thought out and planned dinner. his vibe is cool and calm, and it definitely transferred over to the dinner for us to have a very relaxing and enjoyable evening. he also created a breakfast menu with a lot of non-​vegans asking «what is the recipe for the the tofu scramble?» for the first timers, i wanted them to feel that vegan eating is clean, filling and tasty. chef kyle accomplished all this with a nod and a smile.

Chef Kyle and Ashley are amazing! I had the pleasure of attending one of their brunches and one of their dinners at their lovely greenhouse and I’m still dreaming about it to this day! The table setting was beautiful and their food was so delicious and tasty. Definitely a treat for my eyes and taste buds. It was so good the entire table gave a round of applause after each course. I can’t wait to attend their next greenhouse event!

A meal at the greenhouse makes the day truly special. The atmosphere is warm, (literally and figuratively) and Kyle and Ashley are gracious hosts for a whole tableful of interesting guests (many of whom have succumbed to the urge to snap pictures of each gorgeous plate). Oh, and that’s to say nothing of the food its self. Really, every course is unexpected and miraculously tasty. I am not a vegan, but if all vegan food were as rich and flavorful as Kyle and Ashley’s, I would convert in a heartbeat.

I ordered 3 Thanksgiving boxes. They arrived the evening before, exactly when Kyle said they’d be there. The food was FANTASTIC. So tasty. All really delicious. I can’t imagine a better Thanksgiving meal. And we felt so taken care of with such wonderful energy; he was like a Thanksgiving angel, giving me the luxury of being taken care of with GREAT VEGAN FOOD. I thought that $ 30 per person was a reasonable price. Thank you, Kyle! I’ll definitely order from him again.

Unilocal friends… lend me your ears! Or eyes, rather. I can honestly say that this is some of the FINEST food I have ever had the pleasure of tasting! Kyle and Ashley are the sweetest folks. And their food is the tastiest.
I had the pleasure of attending a very exclusive sit-​down meal in their Greenhouse in Berkeley. What an extravagant experience. By far, this was the most epic brunch I’ve ever had.
Our tasting menu included four courses, with darling palate-​cleansing drinks in between each one.
BLOODY MARY
Tomatillo, celery, lime, black pepper sake
FIRST
Southern Fried Green Heirloom Tomato, red onion chutney, coriander aioli
PUNCH
Hibiscus-​ginger and yuzu citrus
SECOND
Leek chanterelle tart, yuba bacon, almond cheese, red lettuce, fennel, yuzu-​mint dressing
Orange Mimosa
THIRD
Coconut buttermilk biscuit, maple sage sausage, grilled honeycrisp apple, collard ribbons, and maple butter.
FOURTH
Pecan sticky bun, autumn fruits, pumpkin ice cream with ginger and bourbon
It was absolutely heavenly. Every course was like a symphony in our mouths. I could not believe how AMAZINGLY delicious every morsel was. Everyone practically licked their plates clean! It was one of those rare and happy meals in which every course was a grand slam home-​run. A round of applause for From The Garden!
They are preparing vegan Thanksgiving boxes that you can order in advance. I highly recommend getting one! I am definitely trying to get my holiday plans in order so that I can purchase mine. Their food is just too insanely good to pass up!

It just does not get better than Kyle. He is kind, creative, talented, flexible and makes magic happen with food. I hired Kyle to make vegan for me as I have a health condition that requires me to eat very healthy but makes me quite tired to do it myself on a regular basis.
I am so so so lucky to have connected with him.

I’ve now had the delish pleasure of enjoying two of Kyle’s dinners. The first was a Thai meal that was just superb. I adore Thai food, but his creation was a totally unique experience. Each dish was bursting with freshness and flavor.
And just the other night a group of us had an amazing evening with Ashley and Kyle creating an Italian peasant feast. All vegan. All crazy good. Besides their love for good, honest food, Kyle and Ashley, the masterminds behind From the Garden, are charming, classy, engaged people who make the whole evening carefree and delightful. Have them into your home and prepare to be hooked on the whole idea of a personal chef — on a regular basis or just to take your next dinner party to a whole new level.
Cheers. Tamara

Oh my my, Chef Kyle and Ashley are amazing! I’ve been lucky enough to nosh on their wares, but my most recent experience was hands down some of the best food I’ve had in ages!
I attended a dinner in a gorgeous greenhouse setting with multiple courses of amazingness. Seriously, if you can attend one of these dinners, don’t miss out. Each course outdid the one before and dishes included; grilled apricot with cashew cream and rhubarb compote, a peach and mango lassi, handmade garlic naan with coriander and basil chutneys, a fabulous curry, and much more more! Dessert had homemade ginger and green tea ice creams. No, really!
There is some serious talent in the kitchen here. Be sure not to miss out!

Chef Kyle and Ashley were great! Kyle catered my graduation/​birthday party at the San Jose Childrens Discovery Museum and it was the best decision I ever made. Kyle was very accomodating and very enthusiastic of my Wizard of Oz theme. Not only was he flexible but he also helped me brain storm and come up with creative names for all the my food items. My guests were very pleased and they kept saying that they never knew vegan food could taste so amazing.
I highly reccomend From the Garden for any event or even for their personal chef services. I can not wait to have another party so that I can have them cook for me again!

This Unilocal is waaaaaay overdue and the lateness is no indication of my Incredible Gratitude to Kyle, Ashley and Ashley!
Last month, my Wonderful Husband and Beautiful Daughters planned a surprise 50^th birthday party for me! At first I didn’t know what to think when I saw the beautiful flower arrangements in the entry way of our home. Then I started to cry to see 2 of my closest friends from out of town at the end of the hallway. I was simply stunned. Then I saw three people I’ve never seen before busily yet calmly preparing food in my kitchen. I wondered where the camera was! What was going on?! Should I lend them a hand?
Cutie-​Patootie Kyle, his Beautiful wife Ashley and his Lovely sous chef also named Ashley were busy at work as friends continued to arrive to the all-​female cocktail-​themed soirée. They were preparing an organic whole food plant-​based, sugar-​free meal which started with hors d’oeuvres that were Over The Top Delicious! Kyle and Ashleys prepared 5 different flavored cashew nut cheeses that we ate with organic veggies and wedges of homemade corn tortillas. My guests and I just couldn’t get over how delicious these nut cheeses were!!! If we were each home alone with the plate of nut cheeses, we would all probably have our faces in them! Oh, and how can I forget the champagne and alcohol-​free cocktail beverage both of which were Deee-​Lish! All the ladies had such a great time munching, laughing and drinking in the backyard sun!
And I have to say that Kyle, Ashley and Ashley were so sweet, easy to talk to and hang with and were very gracious and happy to oblige to make sure that all were having a good time.
Honestly, they took this wonderful surprise party to another level. It was like having a 5-​star restaurant in your own home! And it was so fun to see their beautiful food on my newly purchased white dishes!
They entitled our meal Spring Farm Feast also accompanied with wonderful white and red wine. It started with an Amuse-​Bouche which my daughter told me means excitement in the mouth and Boy, was it! The Amuse-​Bouche is an indication of the dishes that are to follow. It was a pretty plate of a strawberry with chives and vanilla-​thyme salt. So Yummy! It was followed by a beautiful salad that had rainbow carrots, which I’d never seen before!, with a yummy creamy dill dressing (I LOVE dill dressing) and smoked oyster mushrooms that everyone raved about! The salad was absolutely delicious! The main course included herbed mashed potatoes made with red potatoes, a VERY yummy green pea pesto and champagne-​grilled asparagus. And then the meal came to an end with a to-​die-​for chocolate mousse with a dollop of tart frozen yogurt, an incredible walnut cookie and red cherries! I can’t say it enough, everything was absolutely delicious and very satisfying. That cookie was soooo yummy!!!
I have to add that while one of my daughters and I are vegan and one of my friends are vegetarian, all the other party guests are omnivores. One of the omnivores who missed the hors d’oeuvres said she doesn’t know how we were able to eat the hors d’oeuvres AND the 4-​course meal because she was so full. No one missed the meat or dairy cheese, may I add. The next day I learned that one of my friends went home telling her meat-​loving husband that she wanted them to go whole food, plant-​based! Boy, there is no better way than to help people to eat healthier than by treating them to a meal of delicious plant-​based food, not that that was the motive, just a Fun Time.
Kyle, Ashley and Ashley, thank you SOOOOO very much for such a fun and lovely evening! Your Beautiful, Exquisite and Luscious meal which was obviously prepared with Lots of Love will be remembered by my daughters, friends and me for a very long time!
So for anyone who is looking for a vegan personal chef, I’d HIGHLY recommend Kyle! Besides being very sweet, That Man Can Cook! You will not be disappointed! But sorry, Ladies, he is Happily Taken! As a certified nutrition consultant, I would LOVE to have him and Ashley come to my house again to do cooking demos. His wife Ashley is also a certified nutrition consultant for any of you in the Bay Area who would like to consult with one!
Now, I’m hungry! Oh, and one last thing, the funny part is I don’t turn 50 until next year! :-o
Yvette D-​W
Morgan Hill, CA

I did a cooking class with Chef Kyle and his wife Ashley and it was fantastic. I’ve been vegan for about six months and felt like I had run out of things to make for myself but they really helped me and a few of my friends re-​vamp our weekly meals. After such a great experience, I hired them for my friend who had recently had a baby. They made her food for 4 days and she said it was delicious and helped her feel rejuvenated. I’ll be hiring them again for sure!

I must admit that I myself am not a vegan but I do love good food with lots of veggies. When we were deciding on a chef for our wedding we knew that we wanting some vegetarian options but when we heard about From the Garden we decided to try it out.
Before the wedding Kyle spoke to us in detail about what our vision might be. My husband is british so there were quite a few older, conservative eaters to satisfy. Once we agreed on the style Kyle prepared a tasting menu that was to die for. There were so many yummy options that we knew would translate to all palates.
On the wedding day Kyle and Ashley arrived nice and early with all the food prepped and ready to go. They used the kitchen in the venue to cook some last minute things which made everything fresh as can be. There was more than enough for everyone and I don’t think a single person even realized it was all vegan! Sooo yummy without sacrificing a single flavor or animal.
I highly recommend this lovely duo.

Chef Kyle Knies and partner Ashley did an amazing job creating a personalized and incredibly delightful, delicious dinner for four. Prior to our special event, Kyle asked me questions about our guests to create a theme for our menu, and identify favorite ingredients that are also grown in season
While the four of us toured Napa Valley. Kyle and Ashley shopped at a Farmer’s market, then brought everything to our rented condo to prepare the meal.
We came back to a refreshing drink (it was perfect — not too sweet or fruity but thirst quenching), delicious hor de oervers followed by a broccolini dish, miso eggplant, roti and a vegan chocolate cake — each course was absolutely delicious, beautifully presented and so unique.
We all enjoyed talking with both Kyle and Ashley and had such a wonderful evening.
I look forward to our next vegan dining experience — Fresh from the Garden!

We hired Kyle for a small dinner party because we recently have ventured into vegan dining. Kyle came totally prepared. He not only did all the shopping, food preparation but also served us with style and cleaned and restored the kitchen to it’s original state. Plus, he’s a great guy. I recommend Kyle for your party or really, any dining experience requiring a chef/​server/​preparer. From appetizer to dessert. Delicioso!
David
San Jose

Kyle was hired by friends to help bring me back to good health following a serious illness. He came to my house and cooked all day to provide me with a week of delicious food. Not only delicious in the taste sense, but also as the feeling of health and well-​being. From my mind, he helped me recover my health by cajoling me into eating things like his beet and coconut salad, which was a marvel. I’m hooked. I’m healthy. I’m Kyle’s food slave.