Garbo’s Personal Chef Service

Chef Garbo is AWESOME!!! For a year, when my health go to the point I couldn’t manage cooking, she would design the most incredible in-​home-​cooked meals. She came to cook once a week for us prepping a week’s worth of yummy meals and side dishes. The house smelled divine for days afterward.
We are gluten free and this was totally fine with her. Having a freezer and fridge full healthy food allowed me to recover my health with her super healthy, nutritious meals. Her beef chimichurri is so memorable (it has been a few years and I still remember it) and set it as the gold standard against which others pale.

The experiences that I’ve had with Chef Garbo are twofold. First as a personal chef for elderly friends and most recently preparing all of the food for a get together hosted at my apt. In both situations her service and food were impeccable!
I first met Chef Garbo about ⁶⁄₇ years ago when my elderly and ailing very dear friends in SF could no longer manage cooking on their own, but clearly wanted to continue with their independent apartment living. They had very refined palates after a lifetime of exceptional California cooking. «just any» food preparation service was not going to be the answer. After much research I had a delightful and very satisfying discussion/​experience with Chef Garbo. She was very comfortable preparing food for the elderly and her menu choices offered a tremendous variety of fresh, organic and beautifully prepared alternatives. Her food was always absolutely delicious and gorgeous to view. She only used the highest quality of fresh ingredients and the attention to preparation was unsurpassed.
More recently, for my party, I didn’t know the people well and it was one of these 5:30 events — snacks wouldn’t do, but I didn’t want a sit down dinner. Chef Garbo offered the perfect solution with fantastic smoked turkey/​grilled onion and vegetarian wraps complimented with 4 different vegetarian (over the top delicious) salads — quinoa, wild rice/​lentil, fresh 3 bean and fruit! We had home made cookies to top it off and red and white wine. My guests couldn’t compliment the chef enough! It was absolutely perfect with plenty left over for freezing!
It is such a pleasure working with Chef Garbo from the moment she says hello! She wastes no time understanding whats needed and developing the perfect recommendations and product! I couldn’t recommend her more highly for a long term engagement (she prepared lunches and dinners for my elderly friends for a couple of years) or for the occasional party!

I started working with Chef Garbo a few years ago when my then-​fiancé, now-​husband was having some surgery and wasn’t going to mobile for a few weeks; it was one of those moments in life when you desperately need an extra set of hands and you know it. And so entered one of the best sanity-​savers in my life for the last several years!
And once we started working together, and I saw what a difference that she made in my time, in my money (we don’t eat out nearly as much — so we’re saving $$$!), and in my healthy habits, I knew that Chef Garbo was going to be in my life and in my kitchen well after my partner recovered.
To get started, Chef Garbo came to my house and we had a nice lengthy chat about lifestyle and diet, food aversions and favorite dishes. Then we set up a regular schedule for the next few months.
How the service works: She emails me a suggested menu (gluten-​free, low-​sodium these days) a few days in advance, and I either approve or occasionally make minor changes (like thinking «we’ve just had a great deal of salmon due to our addiction to sushi», so I’ll ask for something different on her menu). Then the day of our cook date, she goes to the market and buys what she’ll need with our many shopping preferences in mind (like all organics) and then heroically brings the groceries, her pots and supplies to my kitchen and sets to work.
Our cook dates have quickly become my favorite nights at home. When I walk in the door, the house smells amazing and the kitchen looks even better than when I left it. And she always leaves something fantastic in the frig for that night’s consumption (and tucks almost everything else into our freezer, with wonderful labels and cooking directions attached).
Over the years, Chef Garbo has helped me prepare a Thanksgiving dinner for 20 (!) and then this amazing woman went home and prepared her own Thanksgiving feast the following day. She’s helped me move to/​toward a gluten-​free diet, reduce the sodium we consume, and even helped me think about some great calorie-​saving dishes – all the while still creating dishes that my hearty meat-​and-​potatoes husband is excited to consume.
Chef Garbo has become a wonderful extension of my household and she is truly a blessing to think creatively about food with! If you’re thinking about hiring a personal chef, I hope you’ll think about calling her. You won’t regret it!

I have used Chef Garbo’s service for 6 years now and my husband and I love her organic meals. Currently we are into eating the ayurvedic way and she has prepared several dishes that we just love, especially the curried cauliflower and the fennel confit. Over the years she’s also been very helpful recognizing our different tastes and needs. Although we’re not eating a lot of meat these days she does fantastic stews, soups, sauces and fish dishes. We especially enjoy her minted lamb chops, Persian lamb stew and her Mediterranean style Turkey meatloaf.
One time I hosted an afternoon «High Tea» baby shower for a friend of mine and Chef Garbo was very helpful in creating a menu plan that fit my idea of a classic British High Tea with the cucumber and smoke salmon sandwiches and mini coconut cup cakes. The presentation was lovely.
She also provides her clients extra goodies such as her cookies at Christmas which are works of art and her delicious homemade jams.
Claude is very talented and a delightful person to boot!
If you’d like to eat well and stay healthy we recommend that you hire Chef Garbo!

First thing to do, please visit Chef Garbo’s website and view her stunning food presentations and offerings of vintage Gourmet Magazine recipes. You will get a great sense of her passion for food.
Chef Garbo is a talented personal chef with a unique flair and style all her own. I really like how she listens to and respects your dietary needs and crafts a personal plan to fit your lifestyle. Her food tastes good, period. For myself, I have had her prepare gluten-​free organic foods such as quinoa salad, stuffed grape leaves, bulgur salad and chocolate macaroons (yes, gluten free and amazing). I attended a birthday party which featured her signature dish, Seafood Gumbo… some of the best I have ever tasted. My husband has a big sweet tooth and his absolute favorite dish — the Apple Galettes. Bottom line, I can always count on Chef Garbo’s attention to detail, professionalism, and preparing meals that focus on healthy and fresh ingredients.

My husband and I began working with Chef Garbo a month before our twin sons were born and have all wonderful things to say about her and her business. First and foremost, her food is delicious! We’ve so appreciated having wonderful, fresh, healthy meals ready and waiting for us each night. Furthermore, she has adapted her menus not only to our personal tastes, but also to my particular (and evolving) dietary needs due to feeding the boys. She’s taken everything in stride and with great ease. Which brings me to my second point: Chef Garbo is absolutely professional. From her brochures, photos and letterhead to the way she conducts herself while cooking in our home, Chef Garbo presents herself expertly. She obviously takes great and serious pride in her business and it comes through in the most positive light. We have truly enjoyed working with her and recommend her enthusiastically. (We are also grateful for the little treats she leaves for us each cook date — from cookies to fresh plum chutney!)

I’ve had Chef Garbo cook for us on many occasions over the years. Consistently good with great attention to both visual appeal of the food and its nutritional value. I am constantly impressed by her dedication to keep up with current food trends and health information as well, by attending culinary training classes and food industry events. Claude keeps it fun, healthy and pleasing. Her marinated pork tenderloin is spectacular, by the way. But I don’t think I could go too long without her lacy oatmeal cookies either.

Highly Recommend!
Imagine having the head chef of your favorite restaurant show up in your kitchen every 2 weeks to prepare healthy versions of your favorite meals. You work with her to determine the menu, then she does all the shopping, cooking and cleaning (she brings her own cookware — you don’t need to provide anything but the space)! She remembers your dietary restrictions (like «no dairy») and makes substitutions where necessary. She can also accommodate diet restrictions by changing the preparation, so that if one person in the home has a food allergy the others aren’t always deprived of that ingredient. Like having your mom cook all of your meals for you (if «mom» was an award winning chef).
The food she prepares is fantastic and in 4 months we have never had the same dish twice. The best part is that it is much healthier and more economical than eating out, plus you aren’t wasting money on food you have to throw out because it has spoiled. I wish I had met her sooner!

Chef Garbo truly does prepare healthy meals for busy people. She can customize your meals according to any dietary need or ethnic craving and is very knowledgeable about gluten free meals. I have especially enjoyed her gluten free chocolate macaroons, South Beach quinoa salad and chicken tikka masala. I highly recommend Chef Garbo as she certainly saved the day for this busy professional.

Chef Garbo has been cooking for me nearly 5 years now and she’s a real life saver. I’m a very busy professional and spend much of my time traveling for business as well as long commutes from the City to Santa Clara. I want to eat healthy but by the time I arrive home from work, I don’t have the time or energy to prepare my own meals. Chef Garbo is the solution to this problem, providing a wide variety of healthy meals made with organic ingredients. She has a real talent for incorporating exotic seasoning and fresh herbs into all her dishes. Some of my favorites include her Persian Lamb Meatballs, Salmon with Thai Red Curry Sauce, Chicken Tikka Masala, Rosemary Beef Stew and well, the list goes on and on. She is a great listener too and incorporates new dishes and suggestions that I make. I always get an email from her a few days before her cook date to approve or change the menu. It couldn’t be easier!
I am totally dependent upon Chef Garbo for my delicious healthy meals. I recommend her highly!

I hired Chef Garbo to perform a Wolf Range cooking demo alongside Celebrity Chef Cindy Pawlcyn based on her professionalism and cooking talents. As a manager for the Wolf Range demo series throughout the Bay Area, it’s my responsibility to make sure everything runs smoothly and expertly. Wolf asked me to hire the best Chef for the job in their SF facility as Cindy Pawlcyn (Top Chef Contestant & owner of Mustard’s Grill) would be there signing her new appetizer cookbook. Wolf also requested that Chef Garbo prepare two appetizers featured in Pawlcyn’s cookbook. I knew I could count on Chef Garbo to do a stellar job because she has excellent planning and follow through skills. Chef Garbo’s presentation of Pawlcyn’s appetizers were beautiful and delicious! Chef Garbo was the epitome of «grace under pressure».
I highly recommend Chef Garbo because her food is excellent and she’s an impeccable professional!