Book Club with Kitchit
Dirty little secret number one: Moms love Book Club nights, and it’s not just to talk about the book. We get to step outside of our usual evening regime, come together, kvetch and rejoice about our lives, drink wine and nibble on tasty bites.
Dirty little secret number two: We sometimes prefer it when someone else is hosting because we all know the efforts we go through for our friends to make everything absolutely perfect AND delicious. It can be exhausting, but we do it graciously because it’s our turn and once it’s over, we can rest easily into the pure enjoyment of Book Club for a good seven more books.
Dirty little secret number three: I found a way to actually enjoy hosting Book Club… and the secret is Kitchit.
Kitchit takes care of the entire meal from appetizers to dessert. Once we all settled on a date, I went to the Kitchit website, viewed their menus for November, clicked on the date we agreed on and ordered appetizers and entrées for my guests. That was it. I received a confirmation email and then an email the day before the event with the name of our chef, arrival time and preparation notes.
Everything was perfect. Chef Michael Reining showed up on time and prepared to take over the kitchen. Within minutes, three appetizers were expertly whipped up in mouth-watering fashion. From the avocado toasts and sumptuous cheese platter to the trio of carrot, beet and cauliflower hummus, my friends were thoroughly impressed.
Then we sat to dinner, where a Celery Root Soup with celery root chips, dill oil, pine nuts and dill relish was awaiting us (with Avocado, Grapefruit & Beet Salad, with fried shallot, micro greens and grapefruit vinaigrette for us vegans), followed by Seared (line-caught) Albacore with cauliflower caponata, delicata squash, yam soubise, fried capers and black garlic or Stuffed Squash with vegan mozzarella, mushroom, shallot and onion.
We were able to get in some book conversation but if I’m being honest, there was a lot of swooning going on. The food was that good. And as if we weren’t fully satiated in our stomachs, hearts and minds, we were presented with dessert: Red Wine Poached Pears with chocolate cabernet reduction and hazelnut crumble and Almond Olive Oil Cake with whipped cream, candied cranberries and lemon rosemary syrup. Wow.
It was such a remarkable experience to be a guest at my own dinner table and to top it off, while nourishing our friendships and intellect, we nourished our bodies with a local, seasonal and responsibly sourced meal. And after saying goodbye to all, I sheepishly walked into the kitchen ready to attack the cleaning and it was spotless, making it a truly effortless evening.
Kitchit, I am coming back for sure. My friends too. Here is what they had to say.
“The Chef had me at the first bite! The flavors were incredible throughout the entire dinner from beginning to end and while our book club dinners are always lovely, having a chef in the house took the event to a whole different level!” Cindy G.
“I can't think of a better evening—a delicious, seasonal dinner created by a master chef—cooked right in the comfort of a dear friend's home. Every course was perfectly prepared, from starters to dessert, as if my favorite restaurant was brought to all of us! The best part was being able to spend quality time with the hostess—she was able to spend time talking and laughing, not cooking and cleaning! I loved every minute and wouldn't hesitate to use Kitchit on my own home sometime soon!” Kassia K.
“We arrived to find a gorgeous display of appetizers… the avocado toasts beckoned me and I was so thrilled that I succumbed to their call. For dinner, the Chef presented the vegetarians with a spectacular, mini sweet pumpkin on a pillow of Swiss chard stuffed with savory quinoa—scrumptious and artistically placed on our plates. Presentation was worthy of a painting! Chef Mike made our already fabulous evening into an event to remember for a long time. Fantastic!” Liz D.
“Kitchit nailed the whole experience. It was amazing in every way, shape and form. From soup to nuts (no pun intended), the chef created an experience that was lovely, delicious and fun. I can't wait to hire them for my next dinner party.” Staci C.
“Dinner was creative, beautifully presented and delicious! It was impressive to see all the variety among the dishes, and know that the ingredients were local, organic and responsibly sourced. I'm definitely going to call on Kitchit next time I entertain at home.” Liz K.
“I want to have that avocado toast onion appetizer every day, then I want to take a bath in that sauce around the fish, and finish up with those blackened capers.” Veda P.
“Kitchit is now on my ‘favorites list’...Nirvana in a single bite!” Heidi M.
As an Edible Silicon Valley partner, Kitchit has generously offered our readers a 25% discount! Click here to browse the menu and enter EDIBLESV at checkout.
