Lifestyle

Delicious Date – Chef My Date serves up a unique private dining experience couples are sure to love

Written by Blue Door Magazine on May 1, 2023

A special occasion calls for a special celebration. And what experience could be more exclusive than having a professional chef come to your home to prepare a private and perfectly delicious 12-course gourmet tasting dinner. With Chef My Date™ A Table for Two, couples can celebrate a birthday, anniversary, proposal, baby announcement, or new home with a one-of-a-kind dinner date.

Chef My Date™ is the brainchild of Aci Landa, an LA food stylist and founder of FoodThatLooksGood. The three-hour, $1,500 experience is exquisite, whimsical, and unforgettable especially when shared with someone you love.

Before launching Chef My Date, Landa and her mother Luci Ortega had a company called Solo Para Dos (Only for Two). When Ortega, herself an accomplished chef and food stylist, passed away in 2019, Landa was unsure what to do next. Then the pandemic hit. Photo shoots were canceled, restaurants were closed, and chefs were losing their jobs. To help honor her mother’s memory and keep chefs employed, Landa transformed Solo Para Dos into Chef My Date. It provided a safe, unique, and intimate way for couples to celebrate special events when they had to stay home.

It also continues to provide opportunities for chefs to show their skills. The company is building its team by actively hiring and training chefs in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas to deliver its signature dishes with the freedom to add their own special flair.

For help developing that sumptuous and whimsical 12-course tasting experience, Landa turned to fellow chef and friend, Molly Ortwein, whom she had met serendipitously a few years earlier through Ortega.

Chef My Date uses only fresh, organic, sustainable ingredients and incorporates innovative molecular cuisine elements. But the food is just the beginning. The one-of-a-kind courses are paired with activities designed to create a memorable, intimate date experience.

For example, the meal’s impressive opener, called Ya Ya Milwaukee, is a homage to its creator, Molly’s, dad. Clients learn the story behind what became a family tradition. Guests are served an iced shot glass of Belvedere vodka. They offer a cheer of “Ya Ya Milwaukee” while making a wish, then break the shot glass on the ground for good luck. The dish’s two-tier plating reveals a delicate serving of caviar, creme fraîche, and crispy potato croustade nestled below the ice glass.

The dinner’s fourth course of Crème Ninon is even more engaging. The vibrant green, bacon-infused split pea soup is served with dots of truffle sour cream and a shot glass of champagne on the side. “When we serve this dish to people,” Landa explains, “the game is to cover your bowl so your partner can’t see what you’re doing. Then we ask each partner to create some art using the back of their spoon as a pencil.” They might connect the dots or make happy faces. Partners share their soup “art,” then pour the shot glass of champagne on top and—poof !—watch the artwork turn to foam.

For the twelfth and final course, the couple makes their own s’mores over a mini table-top firepit. What a sweet and fun way to end an amazing meal!