Private Chef · Los Angeles · Est. 2010
Twenty-eight years across kitchens in California and the Mediterranean — Michelin-recognized, Le Cordon Bleu–trained, and as comfortable with a coursed tasting menu as a Friday-night family dinner.
Bluefin tuna & pork belly, torched tableside — from the Seafood Feast menu.
01 What I do
For your home
Weekly meals or one-off dinners, cooked in your kitchen. I plan the menu around what you actually like to eat, source it that morning, and clean up before I leave. Equally at home with a Mediterranean lunch, a Japanese-inspired tasting, a kid-friendly weeknight, or strict dietary needs — vegan, gluten-free, kosher, halal, low-fat, high-protein.
For your guests
Birthdays, anniversaries, rehearsal dinners, weddings up to 200. From a five-course tasting for ten close friends to a sprawling Mediterranean hafla in the garden — built around your space, your story, and your guests.
Recent case study
A four-day 50th in Malibu. Five couples. Twelve meals. One murder-mystery dinner.
Breakfast burritos and smoothies in the morning, Mediterranean dinners in the evening, a backyard barbecue, a themed murder-mystery night. Every meal with a separate vegetarian build. Daily market sourcing. Spotless kitchen every night.
Read what they said →02 The approach
“One night it's bluefin toro and yuzu; the next, a Mediterranean hafla on the patio. Whatever the room needs, cooked the way it deserves.”
— Dan
03 Sample menus
Every menu is built fresh for the night. These are recent ones — to give you a sense of the range, the seasons, and how dinner with me usually flows.
Want a printable PDF of seasonal menus to share with co-hosts?
Request the sample book
Plating in a client's kitchen, Los Angeles.
04 About
I trained at Le Cordon Bleu in Pasadena and cooked the line at Tom Colicchio's Craft in Century City and Bernardus Lodge in Carmel. In 2013 I opened my own seafood restaurant — Savida — on the coast of Akko, Israel. We earned Time Out's Best Seafood and a place on Forbes' list of Israel's best restaurants. In 2021 I brought Savida home, opening a second location in Santa Monica that was recognized by the Michelin Guide.
Alongside the restaurants, I've cooked privately since 2010 — for families, celebrities, and quiet dinner parties on both coasts. That parallel life is what makes the rest of this work: I'm equally fluent in a five-course tasting menu, a vegan weeknight dinner, a coursed Japanese crudo service, a sprawling Israeli hafla, kids' lunches, and a 200-person wedding. Same kitchen, different room each night.
28
Years cooking
3
Restaurants founded
200
Largest event
05 In their words
A four-day, fifty-something birthday in Malibu. Five couples. Twelve meals. One chef. They sent a thank-you letter — here are a few lines from it.
We didn't have to spend any time or mind space thinking about the next meal — it allowed us to spend more quality time with each other. That freedom is priceless.
It was love at first bite. The vichyssoise revealed itself in layers — a delicate potato-leek mousse elevated by the brininess of caviar.
While many of us are used to the high-stress chef persona, Chef Dan is the easy button. Quiet confidence, no second-guessing required.
Every vegetarian dish was thoughtful and delicious — built with taste and texture in mind. He never made the extra effort feel like a burden.
These were not just meals, they were experiences. A1 and a Michelin EXPERIENCE. Chef's kiss.
Letter from Michael & Chaka, Alzay & Tonya, Ulmar & Stefanie, Diaz & Heather, Willis & Sonya. February 2025.
06 The food
07 Inquire
The more you can share — date, guest count, dietary notes, the room you'll be in — the better I can tailor a proposal. I usually reply within a day.