Affordable Chef Services

Santa Cruz, United States

4.7

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 831-325-6924
Website:
www.affordablechef.info
Address:
740 Eddy Ln, Santa Cruz, CA, 95062
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
350 ft7th Avenue & Cambria northbound
520 ft7th Avenue & Cambria southbound
660 ft7th Avenue & Harbor Cove northbound
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Bussiness info

Accepts Credit Cards
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (Santa Cruz) 5:31 AM Friday, November 29, 2024

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday –
Wednesday –
Thursday 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm
Sunday 9:00 am – 11:00 pm

Description

Specialties

Whether you are planning a Diner party, Wedding, Company picnic, or a

Holiday, extravaganza, Personal Chef Mark Gallagher of Affordable Chef

catering services of Santa Cruz, will custom-​tailor a menu just for you,

along with our highly trained professional catering staff. We have the

experience and the passion to cater your special event.

History

Established in 2006.

Every meal is prepared with the love of cooking, and attention to detail and is presented in a 5 star manner. All of Chef Mark’s menus are custom, to best suit your catering needs.

Meet the Business Owner

Chef Mark G.

Business Owner

Chef Mark Gallagher is an acclaimed personal chef who has the skill and expertise to turn your next function in to a culinary delight. As a Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts Institute of America graduate and 14 years of local experience working in some of Santa cruz county prominent restaurants and catering bqt facilities. Mark provides affordable high quality catering services. With his vast experience with large catering events, personal chef Mark Gallagher also specializes in small intimate catered events buffet style or plated cuisine that is delicious and presented beautifully.

Food presentation and an overall dining experience can really set your next function orevent out from the crowd. Fortunately if you’re in the Santa Cruz California area, Markfrom Affordable Chef services can make it happen no matter what the event and most of all he offers a highly affordable price. Visit our website www​.afford​ablechef​.info for fast free quote.

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20 reviews of Affordable Chef Services

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Santa Cruz, CA
My husband and I really enjoyed working with Mark as our wedding caterer and received many compliments on the food at our wedding (especially Mark’s veggie lasagna). In addition to catering, Mark also provided the bartending staff for our reception and did the cake cutting. Mark’s staff passed appetizers, served drinks and re-​stocked the buffet like pros and with 215 guests we were no easy wedding to cater to. I was told by multiple guests how much they liked Mark’s staff and how professional they all were and Mark made us feel at ease through the whole process while also being affordable. Mark provided my husband and me with a tasting at our home, which was great, and answered all of my questions in a timely fashion. Mark also provided us with all of our linens and serving needs for the evening (plates, glasses, utensils, etc). I wouldn’t hesitate to use Mark again for a future event.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
I really cannot express enough of how wonderful of a job Mark and his team did to make our day the best day ever! I felt bad about how stressed I was as the bride going into the process of getting the catering details down, I had never planned a wedding before and I felt as if I was going to forget a little detail. Mark made this process SO easy for us with his at hand communication and straight to the point service. I was really thrown off at how laid back and confident he was and to be honest I almost felt unsure at times, but he definitely backed his game up with every detail! We were blown away with his service and also the affordable pricing. My family and I love ribs and we were getting compliments all night of how tasty they were! Great job guys and thank you again!
Love Sara and Kyle July 25th 2015 Memory Garden Monterey CA
Place rating: 5
Berkeley, CA
We hired Mark and his team for our wedding. They were fantastic! Great food, great service, etc. And everything for a super low price compared to any competitor we talked to. AWESOME!
Place rating: 5
Los Gatos, CA
GREAT SERVICE
We got married yesterday and had to post a review immediately because Affordable Chef was so great! Chef Mark was punctual in replying to my questions before the big day, which, as an out-​of-​town bride, was very reassuring! At the last minute, Chef Mark was unable to attend the reception, but his on-​site chef made delicious food, and the staff were phenomenal! There was one staff member in particular who took an interest in my Husband and I. She told us that we were her «celebrities for the day,» made sure we ate appetizers before we walked in, escorted us to the buffet first, and was constantly checking on our drinks. She also took an interest in our families, leading many people to tell us how amazing she was! The bartender Chef Mark sent was also lovely, knew her stuff, and made our signature cocktails perfectly! All in all, a great experience and a company we would trust our next big event to!
Place rating: 5
Burlingame, CA
Long overdue review for wonderful Chef Gallagher who catered our wedding in 2012 in Ben Lomond. He’s a down to earth, Santa Cruz type of guy, which can make an anxious and high strung bride and her San Francisco wedding planner a little nervous, but all my worries were unfounded. Everything turned out perfect! He was quick to respond to emails and phone calls and like other helpers have said, really wants to please. His team of servers were so friendly and courteous, and he also organized all the tables, linens, tableware etc, which was all fabulous. Above all, the food was delicious. Highly recommend Affordable Chef!
Place rating: 5
Santa Cruz, CA
Mark catered our wedding in June 2014 and we couldn’t be more pleased with how everything turned out. During our 11+ months of planning, Mark was available, accommodating, and did everything that he could to make our vision a reality. On the big day, we had appetizers, dinner, and late night food. It was all delicious, affordable, wonderfully presented, and we were told that the late night pulled pork and mac and cheese were some of the best that our guests have ever had. Mark came with a large staff, including several servers and 2 bartenders, all of whom were personable, professional, and a great addition to our party. Thanks for everything, Mark!
Place rating: 5
Sparks, NV
Chef Mark was indeed affordable! And not only that everyone loved the food! I received many compliments at my wedding especially about the ribs and mac cheese but really everything I had was delicious! I would definitely recommend booking him for your next event! :)
Place rating: 5
Santa Cruz Mountains, CA
Mark is absolutely amazing and so is his food. I highly recommend him! He is very sweet and wants it to be right for your special day. He takes care of so much that other caterers won’t even consider – linens, table setting, everything.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
4.5 stars
Mark is a kick. He catered for our wedding two weeks ago and was one of our favorite vendors. We had our friend plan our wedding and she was in constant contact with Mark. Mark never failed to reply to e-​mails and was always really accommodating to us in terms of what we wanted. He’s very much about the couple and their wedding day and «anything you want». We had a tasting with him at his place with my parents and they absolutely loved his food. The only caveat I had with the food was that it didn’t taste as good at our wedding as it did during our tasting with him. But, my husband and I did grab food later into dinner service and by that time, some of the food had gone cold (it was an outdoor venue). Also, it’s just not realistic to expect food to taste the same when you’re preparing for 120 people as opposed to 4 people.
He had two servers and one bartender working with him and I was a bit skeptical that they’d be able to handle that many guests but they did a wonderful job! However, they didn’t haul all the trash off the property before they left, leaving behind several bags of trash behind some trees. My poor friend had to drive in a car full of ~10 trash bags (not all of them from dinner service) up highway 17, back to Sunnyvale.
Overall, we had a great experience with Mark. The little caveats I listed were small details but they didn’t detract from our overall experience. He’s a wonderful guy (I even asked him to be one of our witnesses to sign our marriage license) and I would recommend him to cater your next event.
Place rating: 1
Watsonville, CA
This was the worst catering experience I’ve ever had. The food was terrible tasted like pre-​packaged frozen food.
Place rating: 5
Santa Cruz, CA
We hired Mark in October of 2012 to cater our wedding reception in Santa Cruz and we were very impressed with the quality of service and food from him and his team.
From the beginning we were happy with Mark’s willingness to accommodate our needs and specific requests whether it was regarding the menu, the set-​up or the equipment. Everything was delivered as promised and the food, set-​up, and staff were impeccable. The staff were helpful, punctual and a great addition to our party. Mark’s food was fantastic — we are still getting raves from our friends and family about how great the food and how friendly the atmosphere was.
Working with Mark was an experience for me — he is a genuine mix of professional and relaxed. Being a bit of a control freak myself there were times where I would have appreciated additional communication about delivery times, etc. but in the end everything was how I had wanted/​hoped it to be. I could not have been more satisfied with the final outcome.
Mark was truly a joy to work with and I plan to use his services again. I recommend Mark and Affordable Chef Services for any special occasion — please consider them! The service and the price cannot be beat. Thank you Mark!
Place rating: 5
Boulder Creek, CA
With a very short notice, Chef Mark recently catered our open-​house type of event. He was very easy to work with, and he and his staff were gracious and professional. And the food? It was to die for. We had never held a catered event in our home before, and they quietly and efficiently went about making our party the success it was. They even went above and beyond the scope by doing things like putting flowers in vases. They stayed until the very end, and didn’t leave until the kitchen was thoroughly cleaned.
I would not hesitate to hire him again, and strongly recommend his services.
Thank you Chef Mark!
Place rating: 5
Capitola, CA
Mark catered the memorial for my Father’s can not begin to express how much I appreciated his calm demeanor. His food was wonderful and perfect for the occasion. On top of all of that he was prepared in case we had more people than we planned! We did and he handled it with class and with out a glitch. His staff was polite and filled in when and where they were needed. For an occasion that is a emotional as this was he was over the top perfect! The food. also amazing and perfect. I am still craving the meatballs, and those little artichoke crostini! yum!
Katy King
Place rating: 5
Santa Cruz, CA
Chef Mark and the Affordable Chef Services were a life saver. We had our caterer back out two weeks before our event. With less than two weeks to go Chef Mark was so accommodating to our needs. We created a BBQ menu to feed approximately 200 people. Not only was the food delivered on time in hot insulated food boxes, but it was delicious. Everyone raved about the ribs. I highly recommend Affordable Chef Services for your next event.
Place rating: 5
Scotts Valley, CA
Mark is wonderful, what a gentleman he is and how responsive he was for my 50th birthday party event that he catered at my private home. Mark was the best priced Private Chef i could find; he was on time, did everything that he promised to do, was very respctful to my guests and his cooking was deliciouse. I loved his Belini bar specialty and his baked Salmon was a very specail dish that i will reammber for a long time.
When mark left my kitchen, it was cleaner than it was when he started. Everything washed and done so quietly as the party ended. My guests felt very special because of Mark and his staff.
I really recomend Mark and his staff to anyone wishing to throw a memorable party and who wished to feel like a princess all day long.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I recently worked together with Mark for a beautiful event in a classic beachfront property in Aptos. Beyond his experience, I was impressed by his willingness to help with work beyond his normal scope of duty
His staff helped move tables before the event, assisted the other services staff during the event, and clean the kitchen until spotless after a lovely dinner.
I think it’s wonderful that he can provide full rental services in addition to his delicious catering. For the area and the industry, Mark’s beyond the call of duty.
Place rating: 5
San Jose, CA
Now folks, if you’re looking for a great Chef for your events, well look no further because (Affordable Chef) will take care of you. I played at a wedding in the Santa Cruz Mountains at the Highlands Park. There I met Mark the Chef who was catering for the wedding. He was very pleasant and fun to work with and also his crew. Mark’s cooking skills are AMAZING and he was always on top of everything and made sure there was plenty of hot delicious food to go around. I saw many people go back for thirds and that’s very rare especially at events. People were talking about his food all night long how flavorful everything was and they were going to hire him as well. Well Mark all I got to say is, you made the wedding a success and The DJ (me) and Bride and Groom (Mike & Terresa) thank you very much for all you done to make this event a success.
Thank you
Ezequiel Gonzalez
Place rating: 5
Santa Cruz, CA
We hired Mark back in January for our June 26th wedding in Monterey He was simply the best.
Mark maintained contact with us leading up to the actual day of the wedding. He is incredibly personal, and his easy going attitude really relieved a lot of stress from my wife. He knew what he was doing and everything was delivered as promised. His staff was wonderful and the food was a big hit. He made sure we didn’t have to worry about anything the actual day. Mark was essentially a caterer and wedding planner all wrapped up in one!
If we ever need a caterer again, we will definitely be going with Mark. I would recommend him to anyone. He’s simply a great caterer and a great guy.
Place rating: 2
San Francisco, CA
Please note: I have not actually used the services of this company. This review is based solely upon initial contacts.
So, back when I was planning on getting married in Santa Cruz, I emailed a number of different catering companies hoping to find what we were looking for. I got a response fairly quickly from Chef Mark Gallagher, but it turned out that our budget was really too low to get what we wanted at that point. Okay, no problem.
Several weeks later, I got an email from him saying that he was «clearing off his desk» and had found our inquiry, and were we still needing a caterer. I thought, okay, he follows up, neat. So I responded back saying that by this time we had decided to marry farther north and wouldn’t be using him. No response.
Several weeks later, and then every other week since then (it’s been months), we got the EXACT SAME EMAIL, or at least I assume they were all the same, because I stopped opening them eventually and directed his emails to my junk folder. Geez, guy, give it a rest!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Mark Gallagher catered my wedding on August 22nd and I am so happy that my husband and I chose him. He is very personable, knowledgeable and super easy to work with. Mark is the perfect mix of organized yet relaxed. He didn’t stress us out like other caterers we talked to — Mark is very good at putting you at ease.
His prices are very reasonable and he does not skimp on quality. On our wedding day, the food was delicious. I got several comments from family & friends praising the appetizers and entrees. The staff was very good as well — attentive and friendly.
Everything went very smoothly and I would definitely recommend Affordable Chef to anyone in search of a caterer. If you are looking for good quality, value and someone who really cares about your event, call Mark Gallagher.