Flavor Integrations

Danielle was integral to making our wedding a complete and fabulous success. One of my best friends immediately recommended Danielle and her company Flavor Integrations when I was stressing about creating a delicious, but at the same time all-​vegan, wedding cocktail party for 85 decidedly non-​vegan guests, all of whom I very much wanted to enjoy the party and not come away feeling hungry or underwhelmed by the vegan offerings. First of all, Danielle was completely enthusiastic about crafting an all-​vegan menu and her ideas… her ideas!!! They were so creative and so delicious. She not only came up with her own ideas, she was more than open and enthusiastic about hearing my fiancée’s requirements for the dinner party (which were no small tasks that I won’t bore you with here). She melded her creativity with his wish list and came up with vegan food that had people coming over to me all night and asking if all of the offerings were really vegan. One meat eater and rather blunt guest (so I know he is not being flattering for no reason) actually said the next day that the food was some of the best dinner party/​cocktail party offerings he has tasted, and he was extremely impressed that it was vegan. Basically, the wedding dinner/​cocktail party was a HUGE SUCCESS. And while the food is the most important thing, of course, the smooth and stress free process that Danielle provided to us along the way to create this for us was ever so much appreciated. She was prompt, always, with her communications or if she is having a busy week (which is going to be the case with someone as talented as Danielle) I really appreciated the few seconds she took to email me that she had received my email and would be getting back to me with a more complete response. I never once felt stressed that Danielle would not come through on the big wedding day with all hands on deck… and she delivered, and then some. We had dishes that were tray passed, we had food stations, we had soup shooters… she arranged everything in terms of the food and my husband and I just showed up and enjoyed the feast. We had basically everything one could wish for and there were no surprises. On that front, Danielle is very organized and very meticulous about coming up with a food menu within your budget and she writes everything out — menu, budget, costs, etc. so that you always know where you stand. In the wedding planning world of ever-​changing prices and unpleasant budget surprises, this was such a welcome change. The next big party we have, I really hope Danielle is available to help!

I was looking for a private chef for a birthday dinner party and contacted several, including Danielle, who were highly rated on Unilocal.Danielle was timely, clear and professional in her communication and provided great menu suggestions and pricing options. I decided to hire Danielle for the event and she was fantastic to work with and her food was perfect. She was very open to menu ideas and worked with me to finalize a menu. On the night of the event, she showed up on time, prepared the meal, and was friendly with nosy guests who wanted to see what she was cooking. The food was delicious from salad to sides to entrees to dessert. As we ate, she cleaned the kitchen and put leftovers in the fridge — couldn’t have been easier or better. I highly recommend Danielle — she’s awesome!

WOW! This was my first experience in using a personal chef in our home. My wife was so excited when I told her of my idea to hire a chef to host a dinner in our home for her birthday. I had no idea how to go about doing this or what the costs would be so I of course Unilocaled it (thanks Unilocal). Flavor Integrations (Chef Danielle) popped up pretty quickly. I contacted 3 other chefs as well but decided on Chef Danielle. So glad I did. She was really easy to work with from the start. I was worried about this at first because I felt so undecided on what exactly I wanted for the dinner and the menu’s she sent me, although amazing looking, were a little different then what I was looking for. Not a problem for Chef Danielle. When we talked on the phone she heard what I wanted and was able to make recommendations, pointing out different items on the menu she sent me. We decided on doing a bunch of small plates and a variety of cupcakes instead on a traditional large plate. This was perfect for what we wanted, especially since we had about a dozen guests and wanted to make sure everyone got a little of something they really liked. It was perfect. The individual small plate courses were a perfect fit for our continued conversation during the meal. Everyone loved Chef Danielle and her assistant, Audra (spelling?).
Everything was great but if I had to pick some favorites: Avocado soup shooter, spicy beef skewers, hibiscus/​orange cupcakes, and her choices in the cheese board (I still have some of the cheese left! It’ll be gone by tonight).
Oh, one more thing. The cost was very reasonable.
Now to find another reason to throw a dinner party with Chef Danielle!

Chef Danielle was absolutely amazing! I hosted my sister-​in-​laws bachelorette party in SD and wanted a private chef to come for Saturday morning brunch. Danielle was on the ball with her communication in planning the event. We worked through the menu a few weeks before the event making sure we had the perfect presentation for the group. Chef Danielle was extremely accommodating, altering some of our menu for dietary restrictions. (the gluten free drop scones were actually the group fave!) Our menu consisted of eggs to order, pancake bar, fruit platter, bacon, gluten free drop scones, herb roasted potatoes & bottomless mimosa bar! EVERYTHING WAS AMAZING! I would absolutely recommend Chef Danielle for your next special occasion!

I contacted Chef Danielle through Unilocal in the 11^th hour for a professional event. She called me immediately and was not only available but quickly understood what I was trying to pull off: Healthy meal options with lots of flavor that could be recreated at home.
We decided on an menu and she emailed the recipes of all her dishes for me to share with the attendees.
On the day of the event she arrived early with an assistant. The tea she was bringing spilled on the way to the venue — yet, she was not detoured or flustered. She had a back-​up plan and the evening went on without a hitch.
The guests were truly impressed with the food and took home the recipes. I even had a guest call me the week of Christmas asking for the recipes again as she had misplaced them.
I would totally recommend Danielle and hope to work with her again soon!

I contacted Chef Danielle about the possibliy of hosting a cooking class for a small group of women. She was wonderful from the start of the planning process through the end of the event. She was very willing to tailor a menu according to our exact preferences and came up with a healthy gourmet meal – my favorite was the cauliflower mac & cheese – that wasn’t too challenging for the group but that gave us an opportunity to learn new recipes. Danielle bought all the food for us and brought everything we needed for the night. She and her sous chef, Emily, gave us a great experience cooking the food. We split up into groups of two to make the items, and it was a lot of fun to watch everyone chopping, sautéing, baking, etc and the smell of all the foods mixing was amazing. Danielle and Emily went to each group to give tips and provide guidance, and then best of all at the end we got to eat some incredible food while they cleaned the kitchen! Plus Danielle made some fantastic dark chocolate kahlua cupcakes for us all to take home. I would highly recommend Chef Danielle – very professional, flexible, and clearly loves what she does.

Danielle is the cupcake chick!!! She made us custom cupcakes and a wedding cake for our wedding and everybody loved them! She went out of her way to find little things that fit our woodsy romantic theme… she was just a pleasure to deal with and so professional. Now I wanna find another thing for her cupcakes… cuz some of the flavors she has sound so to die for…
Don’t go any where else… Danielle is your ticket to fabulous moist delicious cake and cupcakes!

Chef Danielle planned and prepared a very special 5 course Father’s Day meal for a group of 12. The group had a wide variety of palates and age range was 9 to 65. Chef Danielle chose the perfect menu incorporating all taste buds which everyone loved. My personal favorite was the shrimp and lobster bisque and tarragon biscuits course. Everything was delicious… I was a bit worried about a few ingredients which my husband does not usually eat, but he ate every morsel of all courses. She even handled the china and table rentals, making it even easier for me. This was a perfect Father’s Day for the dads and me as well!
Chef Danielle was also very easy to work with. I preferred planning over e-​mail due to my busy schedule and she was completely accommodating. I highly recommend Flavor Integrations!

This wonderful bakery donated some cupcakes to an event that our elementary school had and they were soooo good. The lemon was definitely my favorite and I had more than my fair share!
Thank you for your generosity and for your delicious desserts.
Donna J

My family feels so lucky to have Chef Danielle in our home once a week. We are a household with a myriad of allergies. Chef Danielle has tap danced gracefully through our kitchen and food allergy obstacle course. She continues to prepare Paleo, gluten and garlic free fare that my how family enjoys. (This is NO small feat!) Chef Danielle is creative, resourceful and professional. We highly recommend her.

Hired Chef Danielle for chef services and I couldn’t be happier. The food is outstanding, she is always on time, and returns my calls promptly. Very easy to work with and patient.
Highly, highly recommended.

We were guests at a holiday open house that friends hosted this past Saturday in University Heights/​Hillcrest. Danielle catered and the food was just super. The spring mix salad had sliced pears & walnuts with a citrus vinaigrette — — delicious. Also the penne pasta salad was really good. Everything on the buffet was very unique.

We had a difficult finding a caterer that meet our needs and two didn’t even return my call. Maybe our party of 30 people was too small for them but they could at least tell me so. After I talked to Danielle, I knew she would do a great job for my birthday party. I was pleased with every dish she prepared and most of my guests commented on how great the food was. When I asked her to make bird-​themed cupcakes she came through with the cutest and tastiest desserts you can imagine.
She tries hart to please her clients and is definitely a five star business.

Danielle is an extremely talented food artist & everything she makes includes her own unique touch. This woman is a sauce genius & really knows how to make exactly what you want while still putting her own unique spin on it.
I’ve hired her to cater everything from fancy large parties of over 50 people to small and intimate themed dinner parties, and even casual lunches. She never ceases to impress me with her professionalism and amazingly delicious food.

If the guests of your future wedding or event are the most critical of foodies, who expect nothing less than ingenious culinary creativity and perfect flavor and texture combinations, then you need to call Flavor Integrations!
Words are not enough to describe our experience with Chef Danielle Soto of Flavor Integrations. Not only is she a beautiful person inside and out, but she is EXTREMELY TALENTED, PASSIONATE, PATIENT, and PROFESSIONAL.
My now husband and I were referred by a friend for Danielle’s catering services for our wedding in the middle of December 2012. Danielle took our event on, even though she would have a little bundle of joy coming into her life just a few days before our wedding date! And she did so with the utmost dedication and professionalism.
The experience that we had with Danielle made the catering process so easy and carefree. Mind you, that I am a Type-​A personality, perfectionist, neurotic, a would-​be Bridezilla, and am generally very hard to impress. My husband is easier going, but culinarily, very difficult to impress as well. We felt so taken care of by Danielle during this process before the wedding that I – of all people – was actually able to relinquish control on this aspect of our wedding! We met with her once in person and communicated every specific detail of our vision, she designed a brilliant menu that she emailed us for approval/​modifications, then we met with her at the event venue to go over timing/​spatial arrangements, and everything was done after that!
As if designing a most innovative and diverse flavor profile for our wedding food lineup for a bunch of critical foodies wasn’t enough, Danielle was able to tackle many other layers of difficulty of our event. We did not have a wedding planner or event coordinator. Our wedding was anything but typical. We are two men who were planning a non-​traditional union, who work 7 days a week with extremely limited time to meet. We were hosting a very diverse international crowd of guests with multiple dietary restrictions including vegetarians, vegans, and lactose-​intolerant individuals – and the majority of our guests are self-​proclaimed «food snobs». We could NOT have anything close to a run-​of-​the-​mill-​wedding-​menu. We wanted creative and diverse array of innovative flavor profiles, and we wanted everything to be served cocktail style. We required something classy and beautiful to the eyes – we wanted absolute aesthetic and taste perfection. And without skipping a beat, Danielle nailed it. Our guests were raving about the food even before the event was over – even before the food service was finished!
Danielle was able to adjust most of the menu options for our vegan, vegetarian, and lactose-​intolerant guests. Usually, guests with special dietary guidelines always feel left out at an event like this. However, at our wedding, all of our guests we indeed tantalized and amazed by the culinary creations that Danielle served up at our wedding!
Here was our menu:
*Roasted tomato and Spicy jalapeño potato soup shooters
*Balsamic caprese skewers
*Winter berry salad
*Marketplace spreads (garlic herbed rondele cheese spread, sun dried tomato hummus, and edamame avocado spread)
*White bean and prosciutto stuffed endive
*Roasted red pepper spanakopita
*Southern style shrimp and polenta
*Sweet hoisin salmon canapé
*Puerto Rican chicken empanadas
*Tri-​tip canapé with black berry gastrique with blue cheese
*Sweet and sour Cranberry meatballs.
We did not run out of food, which was one of our major concerns that we expressed to Chef Danielle. Our foodie guests are also all hearty eaters! Every single guest has since come to us and raved about the quality and the flavors of the food, which makes us extremely proud and happy because we wanted to make sure our guests were well taken care. None of our guests could single out one particular dish as their favorite because each bite of every different dish was an explosion of flavors – They loved them all!
In addition to Chef Danielle, her staff/​team impressed every single person at our wedding. Everyone was impressed with her team and how they were all courteous, and always had a smile on their faces. When we went to thank them for all of their hard work at our event, each and every team member turned around and thanked us for being able to work at our event, which was very unexpected! This tells you a lot about the dedication and quality of Chef Danielle and her team.
You can taste the love and the passion that she has for food in every single bite. There were many highlights at our wedding, but the food was the definite star of the event, of course, second to me and my husband.
We felt so honored to have Chef Danielle be a part of our wedding and who, despite having delivered a beautiful baby girl just a few days before our wedding, showed up in person to make sure everything went as magically as planned.

Chef D comes through me every time I call her for her services. She has provided (the best) cupcakes, set up displays, she has helped cater full service meals, planned weddings, tended bar, cooked for 100… the list goes on and on.
Chef Danielle is my go to baker and menu planner! Major Events & Catering can’t wait to work with Flavor Integrations and Danielle in the nearest of futures!

I wish there was more than 5 stars…
Chef Danielle rocked the taste buds of all our wedding guests!
We had asked Danielle to do 2 kinds of tacos as well as our Cupcakes.
For the taco’s we asked for a traditional Chicken Taco and a Vietnamese Style Tacos, chicken, w/​jalapenos, pickled carrot, daikon radish & cilantro (imagine a chicken bahn mi but in a taco).
BOTH were beyond AMAZING!!!
For the cupcakes Danielle once again delivered an amazing product.
We had her signature (and by no means ordinary) Green Tea cupcake as well as a delightful Vanilla Bean Cupcake & Champagne Frosting.
All of the guests, myself and my bride were amazed by the flavor of both the tacos and cupcakes.

Chef Danielle is amazing. My wife hired her to cater my 50^th birthday party. And from appetizers to dessert everything was fantastic! We did a 20’s speak easy theme and Chef Danielle had some great ideas for decorations too.
If you to taste the best BBQ in San Diego, don’t waste your time standing in line at Phil’s. Call Chef Danielle! And her cupcakes are CRAZY good.

I first met Chef Danielle when she catered a BBQ for the place I used to work for. Oh my gosh… so so good. It was fascinating how good it was. A friend at the event said it best…“I wish that I had 2 mouths right now!” And somehow, Chef Danielle managed to look great too!
This inspired me and a friend to hire her for a birthday party we were throwing. I was only thinking about how awesome the food would be, but she met with us, we came up with a theme, and then she was immediately coming up with super fun ideas for decorations, drinks, etc. She adds so much creativity and love to anything she does and the party was a huge hit. People were talking about the food long after, especially about her super delicious, moist red velvet cupcakes. They are by far the best I have ever had.
I highly recommend her for any party… she will make it an event!

Danielle is the perfect combo of professionalism, attention to detail, creativity and love. Her flavors blend together, layer and dance on your palette.
You will taste the love, thought and harmony in everything she makes.
She trulyhas a gift with food… I don’t even like cupcakes, but I LOVE hers!