Cooking For You

I bought a Groupon for an intimate dinner, & had forgotten all about it b/c I buy quite a few from different businesses. When I realized I had one for Cooking For You, I noticed it had expired about 6 months or so previously, I decided to call any way. Chef Jackie immediately told me not to worry, that she would still honor it at no extra costs or penalties. We scheduled for the following weekend, & all was fantastic--the food, the service, everything. We then inquired if she could come back out in a few months for when my parents would be in town. They were celebrating their 40 anniversary. She said she would check her schedule to make sure it was available. She called the very next morning & said the date was available & scheduled us immediately. We told her we wanted to surprise my parents so we might go out & leave them to dine alone but if we decided to join would it be a problem. She said it wasn't---she did wind up cooking for all 4 us--but she gave us the price it would have been if I had 2 Groupons. I was amazed at the generous offer. The anniversary dinner party was great too--my parents were thrilled.\r \r Since the dinner with my parents, which was back in May (2013), we decided to sign up for her weekly personal chef services. She comes out once a week & cooks several meals for us to heat up later. In the past 7 months or so I have been very pleased. She shops for the groceries so I only have to shop for regular household things, I have been able to get a good healthy dinner on the table in very little time, & bonus: there's not much to clean up. This allows me much more time with my family and I can honestly say what a Godsend her service is! You bet I recommend her service! more

I had a very negative experience with Chef Jackie Alejo, and I am going to post this review in as many online locations as I can in an effort to save others from the utter unprofessionalism that she displayed with me. DO NOT USE COOKING FOR YOU for any home cooking or catering service. I bought a voucher for a four-course meal to be cooked at home in June of 2012 intending to use it for my anniversary at the end of July (more than a month and a half in advance). When I initially tried to redeem the voucher, I could not get a hold of Chef Alejo on the phone. I left messages but they went unanswered. I tried calling both the phone number on the voucher and the phone number on her website, but I had no success\r I was finally able to get her on the phone a week before my anniversary at which point she was of course booked for that date. After a slew of e-mails trying to secure an appointment and numerous dates turned down by her as unavailable or unsuitable, we were finally able to secure a date in November for my girlfriends birthday (full disclosure: I did at one point settle on a date and then request an extension so that we could use the voucher on her birthday).\r At this point, I think everything is ready to go, I submit my menu selections and eagerly await the date. The day off the dinner, Chef Alejo calls me an hour before she is scheduled to be at my place to prepare dinner and tells that she has a personal emergency. Her husband has gone to the emergency room. This is completely understandable and I ask her to call me back at a later date to reschedule. She assures that she will call me within two weeks.\r Two weeks go by and I do not hear anything from her. I wait an additional two weeks just to be sure before I try calling her again. I try calling several times, again with no success in reaching her and my messages unanswered. Finally I am tired of the run around and want my money back. I call her asking for a refund, at which point I immediately get a call back. She starts to spin me a sob story about how terrible the voucher company is and how she is having problems with her phone, her health, her family, etc. She tells me I won’t be able to get a refund from the voucher company, I should just reschedule the dinner. I think it over and decide to go ahead and reschedule. After a couple of e-mails to decide on a date I choose a date in March. Everything looks good and she informs me she will call me a week in advance to verify.\r A week before the dinner, I don’t hear from her. I wait two more days and call to verify that the dinner was still going to happen and she assures me that everything is fine and the dinner is going ahead as planned. The day of the dinner comes and I clean the whole place preparing for her to arrive. When she is scheduled to arrive, I get a call from her. She has been in a car wreck (on the opposite side of town, nowhere near my place, even though she was supposed to be there by then), she was rear-ended by a truck and run into the car in front of her. She is hysterical and I tell her to call me back to reschedule. At this point I get online and start looking at reviews, a step I should have taken much earlier. I find similar reviews with people having similar experiences with her online. Having difficulty getting in touch with her and then she cancels at the last second due to a car crash.\r I don’t think this is a coincidence, I think she is just trying to get out of having to cook these dinners because she already has the voucher number, it has been redeemed and she has been paid. It happened to me twice and to others as well. Do not pay her up front, or for that matter, don’t hire her at all. I called the voucher company, who did give me a refund, and at this point, I am done dealing with her. I am just trying to make sure others do not have to endure the same ordeal that I went through. DO NOT USE COOKING FOR YOU FOR ANY SERVICE, YOU WILL REGRET IT!\r more

I purchased an intimate dinner for me & my husband for Valentine's day. Chef Jackie sure went all out to make this the most memorable time ever! The food & service was simply outstanding! Her food was better than most 5 star restaraunts we have dined out (now I feel the restaraunts really ripped us off!). She came to us with all of her cooking supplies, & food. She set the table complete with candles & my favorite flowers, prepared our food on the spot, waited on us hand & foot, & then cleaned up before leaving us to enjoy the rest of our evening! Great Pros: great food, great service, came to us! more

I used this service for a dinner party of 15, and for a catered event for 125. Me & my guests were more than thrilled with the food & professional service. Will use this personal chef & caterer again & again! Pros: excellent food, excellent service, very professional more