What do you do and what kind of food do you cook?

Mortar Pestle Cooking is a Lake Tahoe- based personal chef service that specializes in private meals cooked, served, and cleaned-up in your own home. Our specialities are dinner parties, intimate wedding and rehearsal dinners, private cooking classes, and feeding corporate groups and families- all from the convenience of your home or rental kitchen.

Our cooking is classically “California”: Vibrant, fresh, colorful, and heavy on the fruit and veg! Think Napa Valley (where Andreya earned her cooking chops). We love a handmade pasta and sourdough, veggies and meats grilled over fire, spicy herbaceous olive oil sauces, slow braised meats perched unctuously on the tip of your fork dripping its sauce into a puddle on top of some creamy starchy thing like polenta, simple cakes bathed in juicy summer fruit or deep sensuous chocolate adored with fluffy dollops of handmade whipp.

How does this work?

After an initial consultation, we’ll send you a seasonal menu (including full pricing) that was created especially for your group. Once you agree to a menu, a 50% deposit is due to secure the date. On your event date, our team will arrive a few hours before dinner to cook, set the table, serve, and then clean-up. All you have to do is show up and enjoy! To get started, tell us about your event using the “Talk to Me” button below.

What’s the cost?

Pricing varies based on which type of service you book.
Every menu is created specifically for you and we work with high quality ingredients that are of sourced from local area farms and ranches.
Everything is made from scratch, usually by hand,
and the pricing reflects the skill and care that goes into each meal we cook.

FAMILY STYLE MEAL
Comprised of Salad, Homemade Sourdough Bread, Starch Side, Veg Side, Main Protein, and a Simple Dessert.
Pricing starts at $135 per person + tax and chef fees
$1,500 minimum
Browse some of our SAMPLE MENUS

FOUR COURSE MEAL
Each seasonally-inspired 4 Course Menus is created specifically for the group’s tastes, the occasion, and/ or the wine.
Pricing starts at $150 per person + tax and chef fees
$1,500 minimum
Browse some of our SAMPLE MENUS

SEASONAL COOKING
Your group will prepare a simple menu inspired by the season’s most beautiful ingredients, whilst developing your intuitive cooking skills. Then, you will gather together at the table to enjoy your family-style meal while we take care of the clean-up.
Starts at $135 per person + tax and chef fees
$1,500 minimum

WINE & FOOD PAIRING
Same format as Cooking with the Seasons, but add wine! In this class we’ll focus on wine tasting for food pairings with 2-4 wines.
Starts at $225 per person + tax and chef fees
$1,500 minimum