We love to support local restaurants here in West Michigan. However, if you’re still feeling safer at home, consider hosting your own luxurious dinner party. Local chefs and private dining companies help create an unforgettable, totally unique dining experience in the comfort of your own home while you break bread with your closest friends and family.
Matt Overdevest - Steadfast Supper Club
@steadfastsupperclub | steadfastsupperclub.com
Matt Overdevest — chef, and owner of Steadfast — has over 26 years of experience connecting with people through food. Most recently, he was chef and partner of Marcona on Lyon. This modern Mediterranean restaurant was awarded Restaurant of the Year by the West Michigan Food and Beverage Industry Awards in 2019.
At a high level, what services do you offer?
Steadfast Supper Club offers a unique and intimate dinner party for friends and family in the comfort of your home. Choose between a 5 or 7-course chef’s tasting menu. We bring the full service, warm hospitality, and high-quality culinary dining experience of a restaurant at home.
Describe your style in three words.
Seasonal. Clean. Thoughtful.
What’s a favorite dish recently?
Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Loin with Roasted Kuri Squash, Lemon Spinach Puree, and Wild Oregano Honey Gastrique.
When you’re not cooking for yourself, where in West Michigan do you like to eat?
Mithu Srilankan & Indian Cusine, Pho Soc Trang, and Royals.
Loghan Call - Planted Cuisine
@plantedcuisine | plantedcuisine.com
From Missouri to southern California and now in West Michigan, Loghan Call is a chef with a journey. Growing up, his mother taught him to balance flavor and beauty to create flavorful dishes. For the past four years, he’s made signature dining experiences, both private in-home and at events, centered around plant-forward cuisine and food as medicine.
Why should someone consider an in-home or private dining experience?
By going to where people live, our staff and clients can get to know each other to create a comfortable environment that elevates the experience beyond what is possible in a typical restaurant setting. We love to engage in conversation and answer questions. When bringing us into your home, we are 100% on your schedule. If you want to press your tortilla, we’re going to let you and show you the proper way at the same time.
What is your favorite part about being a private chef?
I love so many aspects, though I can sum it up in one word: relationships. We source all of our ingredients from either local farms and producers or through local Michigan companies. For instance, we use Fustini’s for olive oil and vinegar and Grocer’s Daughter for all of our cacao needs. Knowing that I am supporting the folks who share similar values is incredible, and that’s passed along to our guests who benefit in both flavor and health.
How are your experiences accessible to people in West Michigan?
We are passionate about making our services as affordable as possible because we want everyone to enjoy what we do. My favorite way to work with clients is to start with the ideal budget per person and work within that to create an exceptional experience. Our pricing is not much different than a typical higher-end dinner in a nice restaurant. Yet, there are many incredible benefits to doing it in your own home.
We are passionate about creating an immersive food experience and have many folks who will get friends and family together who simply love food to enjoy a unique and new experience.
Forrest Moline - Forrest, A Food Studio & Private Chef
@forrest_a_food_studio | forrestafoodstudio.com
Husband and wife team Forrest and Nicole met 14 years ago in Cleveland and became inseparable for their love of food and travel. Their Private Chef business started in 2017 and grew rapidly, allowing them to purchase a brick & mortar in 2019 to build the Food Studio. Their seasonal in-home private chef service (May-Oct) brings their restaurant to you.
Could you provide an overview of what you offer at the Food Studio and in-home?
The Food Studio can accommodate as many as 25 guests with rotating seasonal menus, wine pairings from the shop, and custom menus upon request. Currently, the studio offers a boutique natural & organic wine shop, rotating small plates every Thursday for an ‘a la carte’ happy hour menu and private dining on the weekends. Dinner reservations will return on the weekends in January 2022. From May to October, we offer the in-home Private Chef service. We cook, teach, entertain and leave the kitchen cleaner than you found it.
Describe your style in three words.
Seasonal California cuisine.
Jason McClearen - The Everyday Chef and Wife
@thechefandwife | theeverydaychefandwife.com
The Everyday Chef and Wife have a passion for bringing people back around the dinner table while focusing on organic, handmade, local cuisine. Husband and wife team Jason and Kate offer a wide range of services from personal chef meals to in-home dinner parties. They specialize in elevated familiar food while squeezing in twists on classics for an exotic surprise.
How did you get your start in the industry?
I always knew I wanted to be in the food industry and serve people. After going to culinary school at GRCC, I knew the regular restaurant life was not for me. I set out to make a sustainable life for our family, and we started the Everyday Chef and Wife around nine years ago.
What is your favorite part about being a private chef?
I enjoy watching barriers being broken and the community being built around food. Bringing people back around the dinner table to experience food how it was meant to be shared. I also enjoy watching their face as they try something they “thought they didn’t like” and realize how different food can taste when you understand unique ways to prepare it.
When you’re not cooking for yourself, where in West Michigan are you eating?
We are huge burger connoisseurs. We love eating burgers at 7 Monks Taproom, Butcher’s Union, or Little Bird. Or, we’ll go to Max’s Southseas Hideaway to make it feel like we’re escaping to a tropical paradise.
Wes Zemla - Tiny Dinners
@tinydinnersgr | www.tinydinnersgr.com
Wes Zemla, chef and owner of Tiny Dinners, started the business with his wife out of their small upstairs apartment after moving home. Now, he brings luxury personal chef service and in-home customizable tasting menus to West Michigan through his stylish event catering. Experience the atmosphere of a high-end restaurant and a progressive ingredient-driven menu from the comfort of your dining room.
At a high level, what services do you offer?
Tiny Dinners offers in-home multi-course menus ranging from 4 to 7 courses for up to 20 guests. However, what we’re able to do has no limits. My experience thus far has me doing anything from birthday parties, cocktails, and passed appetizers to small weddings, rehearsal dinners, and holiday parties.
Describe your style in three words.
Loud. Balanced. Refined.
What is your favorite part about being a private chef?
It would be creative freedom, without a doubt. We meet so many people here in West Michigan who are interested and excited to eat some fun food and create a memorable experience.
What’s a dish you’re excited about lately?
Chilled Sweet Corn Volute with Maine Lobster, Popcorn, and Lime.
