Frequently Asked Questions

Meal Ser­vices

How does Appetites plan the menus?

Chef Lind­say will meet with you and your fam­ily before the first cook­day. She will note likes, dis­likes, aller­gies, and spe­cial diets. The menus are e-mailed to you a few days before your cook­day for your approval or changes. Check out the Sam­ple Menus page for some examples.

What if my kids are picky eaters or my fam­ily has dietary needs?

Chef Lind­say can always work with your diet. She has cooked for many fam­i­lies with small chil­dren and can reserve a por­tion of the meal with less or dif­fer­ent sea­son­ing for them so that they can eat with the rest of the fam­ily. She is skilled at design­ing menus for clients who are on healthy weight-loss diets and has expe­ri­ence with gluten-free, lactose-free, and sugar-free diets also.

How often do you cook for me and how many meals do you cook in one cookday?

You can choose to have a Weekly or Bi-Weekly Meal Plan. Chef Lind­say can make 3–5 menu items per cook­day. If you choose the Bi-Weekly Meal Plan, she will dou­ble the por­tions of the menu items, giv­ing you 6–10 meals. Spe­cial pric­ing is avail­able for sal­ads, lunches and desserts.

Do I need to pro­vide cook­ing equipment?

Chef Lind­say brings her own cook­ing pots, pans, sauces, and spices. If she should need to use any of your kitchen equip­ment it will be cleaned and put away.

How do I reheat the meals?

All meals will be cooled and refrig­er­ated or frozen. Clear instruc­tions for reheat­ing are on the pack­age labels. Many of the meals can be microwaved, while some reheat bet­ter in the oven.

What do I need to do to pre­pare for the cook­day? And what do I do with the containers?

Please have your kitchen clean and orga­nized for Chef Lind­say. Make sure to have some free space in your fridge and freezer for your meals. The empty con­tain­ers can be washed in the dish­washer and dried com­pletely. Chef Lind­say will re-use them the next cookday.

How do I pay for the Meal Services?

Chef Lind­say asks her clients to pay a deposit before the first cook­day. You will then pay ahead for each cookday’s meals. You will reim­burse Chef Lind­say for the gro­ceries on the day of the cook­day. Arrange­ments will be made for clients who will not arrive home to write a check before Chef Lind­say leaves.

Do I have to com­mit to a con­tract or cer­tain amount of cookdays?

While you do pay ahead for the next cook­day and gro­ceries, there is no com­mit­ment. You can ter­mi­nate the Meal Ser­vices at any time and Chef Lind­say will reim­burse you if have already payed ahead for the next cookday.

Cater­ing Services

How many guests can Appetites cater for?

Appetites spe­cial­izes in par­ties and events from 2 guests to 100.

What types of menus can Appetites prepare?

Appetites can cater passed or plated Appe­tizer Menus and buf­fet, fam­ily style or plated Din­ner Par­ties and the Din­ner For Two. Chef Lind­say has a large reper­toire of dishes for each style of party that you will be able to choose from to cus­tomize your menu. Check out the Sam­ple Menus page for some examples.

Does Appetites do desserts?

Chef Lind­say loves to bake and has been part of the pas­try team in many Chicago area restau­rants. Pric­ing is avail­able for Birth­day Cakes and other spe­cialty items. Appetites can also add a Choco­late Fon­due Ser­vice to your event for a small fee plus the cost of dip­ping treats and choco­late. It will be refilled and man­aged for the length of your party at no addi­tional cost. Check out the Port­fo­lio page for pictures.

Who is the assist­ing staff?

Chef Lind­say hires assis­tant cooks and servers that she knows and has worked with many times. They are friendly and expe­ri­enced and will help you relax and enjoy your own party!

Can Appetites serve alco­hol for my party?

Appetites can refill and man­age pre-mixed cock­tails, beer and wine when the guests serve them­selves. If you would like to serve mixed cock­tails or have a bar­tender, Appetites can rec­om­mend bar­tend­ing ser­vices. You, the host, are respon­si­ble for the guest’s alco­hol intake and all actions of the guests under alcohol’s influence.

How is the bud­get for the party determined?

The bud­get for each party that Appetites caters is unique. The bud­get is based on the num­ber of guests you have invited and the style of menu you would like. When you have cho­sen your final menu, Chef Lind­say will deter­mine the gro­cery bud­get and how long it will take to pre­pare and serve your menu. She will then present a final bud­get to you for your approval and ask you to sign a contract.

How do I pay?

Appetites requires a deposit of half of the bud­get total for the Cater­ing Ser­vices. The deposit is payable by check or credit card. The remain­ing amount is due at the end of the party.

What hap­pens if my guest list increases or I need to make changes to the party schedule?

Please give Appetites a one week notice of changes to the guest list. The bud­get is sub­ject to increase if there is a change to the num­ber of guests.

Please give Appetites a one week notice of a can­cel­la­tion of your party. If arrange­ments have not been made to resched­ule your party, your deposit will not be refunded. Excep­tions may be made for ill­ness or emergencies.

The bud­geted charges will not change regard­less of the final gro­cery cost or amount of time spent cook­ing. How­ever, if the event runs over the sched­uled time, you, the host will be respon­si­ble for the fees of the Chef and assis­tants. Chef Lindsay’s fee for the over­time will be 1 ½ times her charges per hour. You will be respon­si­ble for pay­ing the assis­tants for the total time they have worked at the rate quoted.

If you have more ques­tions, please Con­tact the Chef.