Personal chef service for birthdays, anniversaries, tapas nights and hands-on cooking demos. Pick your occasion, your season, and your courses below — I'll take it from there.
Start building your menu
I'm Sean Kelley, a personal chef based in Asheville, NC, where I've lived for the last thirteen years. I started cooking professionally in 1996, and the years since took me through kitchens in Florida, New York, Philadelphia, California, Colorado, Germany, and Wisconsin before I settled here. Each place left its mark — coastal seafood, German technique, California's produce-first style — and it shows up in how I build a menu today: I'd rather cook to what's actually in season than default to one style.
Private dinners let me do the work the way I always wanted to — knowing exactly who's at the table and building the night around them, instead of running the same fixed menu for strangers. That instinct started at home, with a tradition passed down twice: my grandfather made Sunday breakfast for our family when I was a boy, and I kept it going years later, making Sunday brunch for my own two sons as they grew up. It's the same thing I try to bring to your table — cooking as something that pulls people together, not just a meal to get through.
Good food doesn't need to be complicated. It needs to be fresh, timed right, and cooked for the people eating it.
ExperiencesEvery event is planned around what's fresh right now, not a fixed catalog.
A seated, multi-course dinner built around what the guest of honor actually likes to eat.
Quiet, unhurried, and paced for two — or a small group marking the occasion together.
A spread of small plates for grazing and conversation, sized to however many are at the table.
I cook in front of your group and talk through technique as we go — part meal, part infotainment.
PricingStarting points per person. Your exact quote depends on the menu you build below.
Birthday dinners — three-course seated menu, plated in the kitchen and served like a restaurant.
Anniversary dinners — three-course menu with more premium proteins and seafood options.
Tapas nights — four to six shared small plates, sized to your table.
Cooking demos — hands-on lesson plus the meal we cook together.
Shopping together beforehand: +$65 flat, added to any experience.
Extra course: +$18 per person.
Travel beyond 20 miles: $1.25 per mile, round trip.
A 30% deposit holds your date; the balance is due the day of the event. Prices cover standard grocery costs — specialty or unusually expensive ingredients are quoted separately once we've talked menu. Tax and gratuity aren't included.
Shop together, if you'd likeAn optional add-on to any experience above.
Before the event, we can walk the market or grocery store together — I'll point out what's in season, what looks best that day, and why it belongs in your menu. It's a good fit if you want to understand what you're eating, or just enjoy the process as much as the meal. Entirely optional; I'm just as happy to shop on my own.
From the kitchenA little of the process behind the plate.
Build your menuMake your choices on the left — your request builds itself on the right.