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The evening, in order

How hibachi at home actually works

Most people booking a private hibachi chef for the first time have the same two questions and are slightly embarrassed to ask either: do I need to do anything, and is my house going to smell of cooking oil for the rest of the week. No, and no.

Here is the whole thing, in the order it happens, including the parts that are our problem rather than yours.

45 MIN SETUP✦90 MIN SERVICE✦20 MIN BREAKDOWN✦YOUR KITCHEN UNTOUCHED✦

The only hard requirements

Six feet by four, and open sky

This is the whole list. If your property has it, we can cook. If it does not, we will tell you when you enquire rather than when we arrive — which is the difference between a fixable problem and a ruined evening.

Flat surface
6 ft × 4 ft, level
Clearance
3 ft on the chef’s side
Above the grill
Open sky — no roof, screen or overhang
From you
Table, chairs, drinks
From us
Grill, fuel, food, plates, utensils
Your kitchen
Not used at any point

Where we cannot cook, without exception

Indoors. In a garage. Under a screened porch, a lanai, a pergola with a solid roof, or any low overhang. On a condo balcony. The grill is an open flame and it needs open air above it — there is no version of this where we improvise. If that describes your property, ask your rental manager about a reservable poolside pavilion or grilling area and send us the name of it.

  1. 01

    When you book

    We ask about the property, not just the party

    The booking form asks three things most caterers do not: where you are staying, what your outdoor surface is, and whether there is a gate. Those three answers decide whether the evening starts on time, and every late start we have ever had traces back to one of them being missing.

    If you are in a condo in Destin or Panama City Beach we will tell you at this point — not later — whether the building works, and what to ask your rental manager about a poolside pavilion. If you are on 30A we will tell you which surface at your address we would rather use.

    Send a photo of your deck, courtyard or driveway with the enquiry. It answers more questions than a paragraph does.

  2. 02

    The week before

    Menu choices, allergies and the timing

    We collect each guest’s protein choices, every dietary requirement, and the seating time. Allergies in particular need to be here rather than mentioned to the chef on the night — a shellfish allergy changes the order we cook in, and that cannot be improvised while a grill is running.

    This is also when you tell us if there is a hard finish time, whether there are toasts, and who the evening is actually about. The volcano gets timed to that person.

  3. 03

    45 minutes before

    We arrive and set up

    The chef arrives three quarters of an hour before your seating time. Setup takes about twenty-five minutes: the grill goes down on heat mats, a drop cloth goes around it, and the prep station is built. You do not need to be ready, and most groups are not — people are still coming back from the beach, which is fine.

    We need one parking space held for the unload. After that the van can move.

    You provide the table, the chairs and the drinks. We bring everything else, including plates and utensils.

  4. 04

    The first 20 minutes

    Soup, salad and the grill coming up

    Miso soup and the ginger salad go out while the flat-top reaches temperature. This is the deliberate slow part — it gives stragglers time to sit down, and it means the show starts when the whole group is actually watching rather than when the clock says so.

  5. 05

    The next 60 minutes

    The cooking, which is also the entertainment

    Knife work, the onion volcano, the shrimp toss, and then proteins going out in courses as they come off the grill — hot, not held. Because the chef is three feet from the table there is no pass, no ticket and no waiting: you tell them how you want your steak while they are cooking it.

    Vegetables and then fried rice come last, cooked on the flat-top in front of you. The fried rice is the thing people mention afterwards more than the steak, which surprises everyone the first time.

  6. 06

    The last 20 minutes

    Breakdown, and the part you did not expect

    We break the station down, bag everything, wipe the surface and leave with all of it — including the rubbish. The area looks the way it did before we arrived.

    You are left with a clear table, which is generally when the cake comes out.

Still deciding

The questions this page did not answer

Rain, guest-count changes, deposits, tipping, whether the chef minds your playlist — those are short answers, so they live on the FAQ rather than padding this page out.

Read the FAQ

Or skip ahead

Ready when you are

Four steps. It asks about the property as well as the party, because that is what decides whether the evening starts on time.

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