The Conscious Chef Services — Local services in Austin

I’ll start this review with an undeniable fact that Chef Stef creates amazing food, with impeccable presentation. The unfortunate truth is that her company is not yet ready to handle larger, more important events.

We hired her for our 6/22/2025 wedding, which was expected to have ~85 people (around 75 adults and 10 kids), for buffet service. We knew this would be a stretch for her team based on the type of services listed on her website (which are smaller, more intimate events), but upon meeting her for a tasing in January we were delighted to let a smaller company with passion & skill take on the challenge. This decision was bolstered by her initial quote, which came in around $5K (below the typical cost of a wedding caterer)…. and for a lesser cost we were willing to take a risk on her inexperience in this realm, and were also willing to provide grace for a few mishappenings.

As we got closer to the date, we had a lot of issues in communication and planning when she introduced us to Anna, who was now to be managing this process. Things that were previously promised by Stef were now being denied or forgotten, (Anna’s attention to detail was severely lacking) and the price was suddenly closer to $8K when they realized what was needed to pull this off properly. This was now in the realm of our venue’s Preferred Vendor pricing, based on other quotes we got. As you can see by my review, we ultimately did not receive preferred vendor service, and wound up disappointed in how she handled the situation afterwards. The venue, Canyonwood Ridge, was also not happy, and will most likely be adding her company to the ‘do not use’ list, which is unfortunate for the growth of this business.

Neither Stef nor Anna were present at our wedding, as they apparently got sick two days before and couldn’t make it, so an entirely unknown staff showed up to take on this event. Stef never reached out to tell us that they were not going to be there so that we could hash out the details with the new team. We were surprised and upset to have zero communication from the head chef.

Stef did not properly hash out the details with the venue manager before the day of our wedding, so her team ran into multiple issues when they arrived due to confusion over the kitchen, and wound up serving dinner about 30 minutes later than they were contracted for. When we hired her, we were sold on passed appetizers for our cocktail hour, but a few weeks before the wedding we were told they didn’t have the capacity for that, so we accepted a station of appetizers on a table, with one guy passing a few plates of the bacon-wrapped dates. Her team also did not have our buffet tables set up in the way we agreed (multiple times and in writing), and they were unable to fix it because they didn’t have the proper equipment with them. When we hired her we were also told that we’d be having staff standing at the buffet tables to help serve guests as they walked through, but the tables were abandoned and guests were serving themselves. She was also made aware of a celiac person in attendance, but her team did not have a meal set aside for him, which created stress as our guest had to go back into the kitchen to oversee the plating of this food to ensure he didn’t get sick. Her team also did not cut the cake properly, so the coordinator had to take over in the moment to cut the right size portions and at a quicker pace.

There’s several other details that don’t really need to be listed, but the main point is that we started with a young budding company for a lower cost, wound up paying a high cost anyway, ultimately paid far too much for her inexperience, and got a poor response/resolve afterwards. We regret not going with a more experienced company who was already approved by the venue, and felt we should share this experience so others don’t have to also deal with disappointment on their big day. Instead of enjoying the fleeting moments of a $40,000 once-in-a-lifetime event, we had to be burdened with issues caused by our head caterer.....

Hiring a private chef for our wedding of 55+ people was the best decision we made, and Chef Stefanie and her team truly made it an unforgettable experience. From the moment they arrived, it was clear that they were on top of every detail, ensuring that everything ran smoothly. The addition of the bartending team and food service team elevated the event to another level of sophistication.

The Austin-inspired menu that was created was nothing short of perfection. Each dish was bursting with flavor and expertly crafted, leaving our guests raving about the food all night long.

Not only did Chef and her team excel in the kitchen, but their professionalism and attention to detail throughout the event were commendable. They seamlessly coordinated with our other vendors and ensured that every guest was taken care of.

Overall, we couldn't have asked for a better culinary experience for our event. Chef Stefanie and her team exceeded all expectations, and we are incredibly grateful for their talent and dedication. Thank you for making our event truly...

Stefanie's cooking was the highlight of my bachelorette weekend! Not only was Stefanie SO easy to communicate with leading up to and during the bachelorette itself, but she carefully crafted a menu that addressed all of the things I wanted to incorporate for my "wellness" themed event. All of my friends and myself were SO impressed with each dish, the summer rolls were to die for. The most impressive part is Stefanie only relies on her experience and knowledge of different ingredients to craft each dish vs. relying on a standard recipe. If you're looking for a special experience, the most delicious food and the sweetest chef you've ever met, all for a great price/value, book The Conscious Chef. The price you pay, the quality of ingredients truly is consciously and thoughtfully determined by Stefanie, living up to the...