Eating IN in Chicago - personal chef recommendations?

I hope this topic is appropriate for this board. I'm looking for personal chef recommendations as a gift for my wife for a one-time event. Likely it would be for a group or perhaps even just for two. Here's the thing, we went to a similar dinner at a friends house (who calls herself a "Foodie") and my wife thought the meal was quite poor. I'm concerned that if I were to use Yelp reviews, I'd end up with something the same. My wife is very discerning in that she has run restaurants for very famous James Beard winning chefs, as well as entire F&B departments at five star hotels. It doesn't have to be at THAT level, but I would like someone who is capable of creating something comparable to what you might find a high end restaurant. It's not like my wife doesn't eat anything but the best but since this should be a special dinner, I would want to find a chef that has this type of experience and knows that environment.

Thank you,

PL

PL - I run a small event catering company and we often do in home events, even for as little as 2 guests. I'd be happy to give you some menu options if you'd like to contact me and discuss your preferences.

Cheers, Molly
molly(at)figcatering.com

I believe Bonsoiree is now doing catering of some sort - they included the following broken link in their most recent email - http://www.bonsoireechicago.com/caterin ... e-at-home/

You can call them at 773 486 7511 to find out what the info is at that link.

figmolly wrote:PL - I run a small event catering company and we often do in home events, even for as little as 2 guests. I'd be happy to give you some menu options if you'd like to contact me and discuss your preferences.

Cheers, Molly
molly(at)figcatering.com

I'd follow this lead. Molly and Justin are top notch at what they do.

Attrill wrote:I believe Bonsoiree is now doing catering of some sort - they included the following broken link in their most recent email - http://www.bonsoireechicago.com/caterin ... e-at-home/

You can call them at 773 486 7511 to find out what the info is at that link.

Last time I checked Bonsoiree had a $3500 minimum for catering.

I highly recommend Chef Patrick Chabert (and, having been falsely accused of shilling here, let me say that no one is paying me to say this).

Like your wife, I have industry experience (two Michelin 3-stars).

Chef Chabert was the sous-chef at Le Français for more than 15 years, and he's still got it.

He has a number of fans on this site. I don't have any idea what he would charge to come to your home, but I have twice attended the dinners he puts on at friends' restaurants, and I was impressed with both the value ($75 per person, all-inclusive) and the execution.

Here is a thread about his cuisine:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=4815&hilit=Patrick+Chabert

His e-mail address is p.chabert@comcast.net.