About Tableside
Great meals have a way of bringing people together.
Some of the best moments of my life have happened around a dinner table. Family celebrations. Friends reconnecting. Conversations that somehow lasted until midnight.
Over the years I noticed something about those moments: the people creating them — the chefs — were often remarkably talented and surprisingly hard to find outside a restaurant. Meanwhile, hosts who wanted an unforgettable dinner at home were left digging through social media, relying on word of mouth, or taking a chance on a stranger.
It felt like there had to be a better way. That's why I started Tableside.
My background
For more than a decade I've worked alongside professional chefs, restaurants, and hospitality businesses across British Columbia — inside their kitchens, not across a desk. I've watched what separates the exceptional from the merely good, and built real relationships with many of the industry's most respected professionals.
Those years gave Tableside something most platforms don't have: a genuine understanding of the people behind the food. I've never cooked the line — but I've spent my career earning the trust of the people who do, and this is built on those relationships.
— James, founder
Why Tableside exists
Hiring a private chef should feel exciting, not stressful. Hosts deserve confidence that the person arriving at their home is professional, talented, and trustworthy. Chefs deserve a platform that respects their craft and connects them with people who genuinely value it.
So Tableside is built on promises we can keep: every chef personally reviewed — a real conversation, not an algorithm. All-in pricing — the price you agree to is the price you pay. Real records only — reviews earned at real tables, never invented. The full picture is on our Trust & Safety page.
We believe trust matters more than volume, hospitality is about people before it's about plates, and some of life's most meaningful moments happen when people gather around a table. If we can help create more of those, we're doing something worthwhile.