Dreaming of restaurant-quality meals without the restaurant price tag? At AffordableChef.info, we make gourmet dining accessible with budget-friendly private chef services tailored to your lifestyle.

Whether you’re planning a romantic dinner, a small family gathering, or just need help with weekly meal prep, our affordable personal chefs bring culinary excellence right to your kitchen. No crowds, no stress—just fresh, delicious meals made just for you.

From intimate dinner parties to weekly in-home meal plans, our goal is to help you enjoy high-quality food without breaking the bank. With customizable menus and a focus on seasonal, locally sourced ingredients, you get the flavor you want at a price you’ll love.

Ready to skip the takeout and upgrade your meals?
Visit www.affordablechef.info to book your affordable chef service today.

I would never hesitate to recommend him Mark and his team recently catered my daughters wedding reception at our home in Capitola. From beginning to end his relaxed nature + excellent execution + delicious food enabled the guests as well as the hosts to make the event memorable and relaxed at the same time. His experience came in handy when planning the event and he took care of everything from start to finish. My wife and I have thrown many parties over the years and this was the first where we called out for help and it was well worth it. Thanks again to Mark and I would never hesitate to recommend him or call on him again.

Mark and his team Affordable chef services LLC were wonderful from the start. He was always prompt to respond, kind, and quickly provided any updates to the menu/guest count/linen color change/ etc. We felt so comfortable working with Chef Mark right from the start and that was even more confirmed when we were able to finally meet him on our special day. Mark was adaptable to our decision to move where we were hosting dinner with such a supportive response “It is your day, we are serving dinner where you would like to” with no complaint at all. He arrived a few minutes early to make sure he and his team knew the venue layout and quickly got to work! He was personable making many guests laugh and smile (and even gave them sneak peak tastes into dinner and dessert!). Chef Mark also came down while we were eating to make sure that all guests were satisfied and boy were their smiles on everyone’s faces! We started with an array of appetizers from olive tapenade to turkey meatballs (my fav!) to ceviche. Our dinner was delicious- chicken, salmon, rice, asparagus, salad, and for dessert, chocolate cake and cheesecake (we ate it all!). All of the food was so good that we were getting texts the next day about all the specifics to our menu from our guests. I would HIGHLY recommend booking with Chef Mark if you want comfortable, reliable, and good vibes on your wedding day!

Everything was perfect. Our original caterer cancelled on us last minute for a big birthday event. Although he had other events already scheduled that weekend Mark from Affordable catering services managed to take care of us on super short notice. Tables were beautiful and food could not have been better. Could not recommend them more. Thank you, Chef Mark!

If you’re looking for a fun way to elevate your next Santa Cruz gathering, a cannabis-infused dinner could be exactly what you need. Chef Mark from Affordable chef services LLC, specializing in crafting unforgettable cannabis dining experiences. Chef Mark can custom cater menus tailored to your preferences, and we make sure the entire evening is stress-free, fun, and memorable for you and your guests.

We hired Mark and Affordable Chef Services to cater provide a variety of appetizers for a small winery event. Mark was prompt and professional with his response to my initial catering inquiry, his menu suggestions were exactly what we wanted for our event. He was very communicative during the period of planning and making final decisions on the menu. On the day of the event, Mark and Dee arrived with plenty of time to set up (putting me at ease!). We have a very small kitchen space, and they were both very mindful of their surroundings. Clean-up was swift and efficient, they even helped us with polishing glasses! The appetizers they prepared were delicious and presented with care. We received lots of compliments from our guests! They were both a pleasure to work with! Thank you!!

We hired Mark and Affordable Chef Services to provide a variety of appetizers for a small winery event. Mark was prompt and professional with his response to my initial inquiry, his menu suggestions were exactly the Santa Cruz wedding catering what we wanted for our event. He was very communicative during the period of planning and making final decisions on the menu. On the day of the event, Mark and Dee arrived with plenty of time to set up (putting me at ease!). We have a very small kitchen space, and they were both very mindful of their surroundings. Clean-up was swift and efficient, they even helped us with polishing glasses! The appetizers they prepared were delicious and presented with care. We received lots of compliments from our guests! They were both a pleasure to work with! Thank you!!

Chef Mark was amazing! Helpful in so many little ways that added up to make a big impact. He was kind and patient with my step daughter as she hung out in the kitchen with him talking about her experience in her high-school catering class and how she’s decided to go to culinary school. He stood look out for me as I got ready to walk down the aisle and made sure that I ate something. He moved our wedding cake (something I was very nervous about) flawlessly and prepared a delicious meal for our 25 guests. He was a pleasure to work with and a real professional.

I had the great experience of working with Chef Mark and his outstanding team this last weekend.  I was asked to help with my friends’ wedding, from planning to day-of.  Chef Mark was fast to reply to all emails, and made their actual wedding day seamless.  His team was there setting up the moment the venue opened to us, and they were all professional and kind.  The tables looked beautiful and the food was tasty.  Everyone I talked to throughout the night raved about the appetizers being the best they’d ever had at a wedding!  On a personal note- Chef Mark just came across as a genuine good guy who works incredibly hard to make your event run smoothly.  I would recommend him and his team to anyone planning an event where you want to be able to trust that everything will get done, and be done beautifully.

Mark / Affordable Chef Services was great for my wedding! Prompt, professional, delicious food! They presented it beautifully and everything tasted great!! I did not get to taste the appetizers as most brides don’t while taking photos, but I heard from guests they were awesome. The dinner was so good and let me just tell you about the VEGETARIAN LASAGNA!!! I am not a vegetarian, but that may have been the best thing I’ve ever tasted. I am still dreaming about it. Thanks Mark for an epic wedding feast!

Working with Chef Mark was a pleasure, really! I appreciated the fact that he returned my emails the same day, typically within the same hour. He was also readily available by phone. He was consistently professional and offered great suggestions. Our wedding was held at a friend’s home in the Santa Cruz mountains and one of his staff, Summer, met us prior to the wedding to walk through the property. We appreciated this as we were able to get a lot of our questions answered. The day of our wedding Mark and his crew came in and just started handling everything in a flash! Our guests commented on how much they enjoyed the food (the veggie lasagne is amazing!). Throughout the evening his staff were very attentive to guests, passing apps and drinks. I would highly recommend working with Chef Mark as I cannot think of one negative thing to say! One of the guests is hoping to hire Mark this fall for a surprise birthday party at her home. She saw how great he was to work with! 5 stars all around!

We hired Mark for our wedding May 2019 and we couldn’t have been more happy with our selection.  We wanted a more casual “food truck” style dinner and Mark delivered- everything was delicious.  Mark returned all of my emails and calls promptly during the planning process and was very open to any changes we made to the menu.  Mark and his team also handled glassware, dish-ware and linens as well which was one less thing we had to worry about.  On the day of the wedding itself, Mark and his team were AUTOMATIC and everything went like clockwork.  My wife specifically wanted grill cheese and tomato soup appetizers and we completely forgot to eat while greeting our guests- Mark overheard and made sure that all of the apps we missed were at our table so we could eat them.  Finally, Mark did late night food for our guests- burgers, dogs and Mac and cheese – nothing better to soak up some booze.

I can’t recommend the affordable chef and his team enough from both a price point perspective but for quality of food and service.

Thanks Mark!

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Chef Mark is Amazing. I run a business here Denver and I have a very high standard for those that I work with. From start to finish during the planning process they have been very creative, responsive, and professional. We have some unique requirements for our wedding and Mark did everything in his power to accommodate. Most importantly, he has made this process low stress (This part is for the grooms). My finance has a lot to deal with to plan our event and the stress level can be high as I imagine it is with all couples. This has been the least stressful part of the process because of Mark and his team. That says a lot because catering is a very important part of the event. I would highly recommend this team to my friends, family and business partners.

Chef Gallagher was recently awarded the WeddingWire Couples’ Choice Awards® for 2018, as determined by reviews from his happy clients! The Couples’ Choice Awards recognizes Affordable Chef as being among the top 5% of wedding professionals nationwide.

Mark is amazing. He appears to be laid back but he handles all the stress and delivers regardless. He catered my son’s wedding 3 years ago and did amazing job in very small kitchen for 100 people. He has gotten even better since. His food is even better and he has the whole thing down from set up — chairs, tables, dish and glass ware, and excellent servers. They jumped in and did everything. This time he catered a formal dinner party for 75 on Saturday night and the wedding on the beach with full sit down dinner the next evening. Due to high tides we had a lagoon on the beach between entry and set up. The guys all pitched in but Mark made it happen with full set up across the water. Again food and service was excellent. And menus varied from Saturday night to Sunday Wedding fare. AND the overall cost can NOT be beat. I don’t even know how he does it. Thanks so much Mark for making it all work.

Mark and crew are so awesome!! So easy to work with no pretense no BS just solid food, solid service, and plenty of it!! Mark really helped us out by serving a fresh, healthy, and affordable dinner for 70 people including injured service men and women who were in Santa Cruz for the Operation Surf Event. He was really flexible when we had some last minute add-ons, and I definitely recommend his services. We will absolutely use him again and again!! Thanks Mark!!!

I cannot say enough good things about Mark and his team! Our wedding was in May 2016, but we already had him booked in 2015. He is very responsive to his emails and offers great rates on catering. His menu is more creative than your standard wedding food, and all our guests loved it! Very well executed on all the dishes, but the vegetarian lasagna and meatballs were my favorite!
The plates, silverware and napkins were beautiful and well arranged. Mark has plenty of colors to choose from and is very accommodating.
His team did a FANTASTIC job on the day of our wedding!! They knew my husband’s and my names, made sure to bring platters of food to us during pictures, and kept everything stocked to keep our buffet line moving. I was so touched that his team knew my name, and even more touched when they asked which appetizers were my favorite so they could bring more to me during pictures! I was not a hungry bride on my wedding day :)

We recently hired Mark at Affordable Chef for our Wedding Reception. Mark and his team were AWESOME! Mark did a taste testing in our home, and kept us smiling the entire time. Mark has easy online payment options, and he’s clear and upfront about the cost. Mark was very responsive by email/phone, and flexible with my changing RSVP headcount. On the Wedding Day Mark and his team arrived on time, dressed for the occasion, helped with set up, etc. The food was great! Everyone loved the meatballs and chicken. I enjoyed the vegetarian lasagna with a white sauce. During our reception Mark and his team were helpful, respectful and easily adjusted to the minor changes in the days timeline. Mark’s team worked with well with our reception coordinator to help make the night go smoothly, and keep everyone happy! Mark also prepared a Bride/Groom food/cake to go, that we gratefully ate later that night. We definitely recommend Mark!

We used Mark and his staff for our wedding in May at Roaring Camp, THEY WERE AMAZING! Our guests LOVED their meals and I’m still hearing about how good the food was! My husband and I completely missed our cocktail hour due to taking photos. I was super bummed because we had chosen to serve these delicious meatballs as an appetizer during it. Mark came over to check on us during dinner and I had told him how sad I was to have missed them and 5 mins later he appeared with my very own bowl full!! From the great communication before the wedding, setting up a tasting that was convenient for us, beautiful table settings/flatwear/glasses, attentive/friendly/professional/FUN staff and the DELICIOUS FOOD!!! We can not recommend Affordable Chef Services enough!!!

Just had Affordable Chef cater our first after COVID vaccination birthday party. It was outdoors among family and close friends. They did incredible job!  Delicious food ! Professional service . They took care of every detail and cleaned up at the end. I can’t recommend them highly enough!  Thank you Mark Gallagher

THANK YOU AFFORDABLE CHEF SERVICES!

Chef Mark and his staff did a fantastic job in catering our wedding. We could not have had such a great event without him .

We had 200 guests at our wedding and had cocktails and appetizers following by a great buffet. We chose items from his signature dishes as this is what we figured he did best. Everyone really liked the food and we got some great compliments on the cute bartender as well! His staff was courteous and helpful.

Don’t be put off by Mark’s short emails: he simply gets to the point and gets the job done.

We recommend his services if you want to have a nice wedding. He seems to have A LOT of experience and at the end of the day –this is really what you want from your caterer.

Thank you very much for the wonderful food and service you provided for my wedding. The food was delicious and many of my guests raved about it saying that it was the best food they have ever had at a wedding. I have given your name out to a lot of people. The service you provided me was outstanding and it made this special day successful. (( My family has used your catering service for four weddings )) now and we will definitely keep you in mind for future events

Can’t say enough good things about Mark and his amazing team. Our wedding was in September 2016 and Mark made the whole catering process so easy! The food was AMAZING and the staff he sent to set up and work my wedding were all GREAT! We were running behind schedule and the centerpieces needed some prep, knowing I needed to get ready, the individuals getting the tables and chairs ready very generously offered to assist in completing my centerpieces as well as filling additional mason jars with flowers all around the venue. They were all so nice and fun to have around. We got so many compliments on the food and the staff, I would highly recommend Chef Mark and his team to anyone who wants an easy, amazing catering experience.

Thank you so much for doing your part to make our wedding day so special! Everyone told me I wouldn’t have time to eat-but I had 2 plates of food :) It was THAT GOOD!

Affordable Chef Services catered my dad’s 80th birthday party. In our initial communication, I described the food my dad prefers and Mark promptly delivered a wonderful menu and quote. Throughout the planning process, Mark was responsive to questions and helpful. On the day of the event, Mark and his staff arrived early, surveyed the venue, and set things up in a way that maximized the space and allowed the guests, food, and beverages to flow. Many people remarked about the great food. Mark is cool as a cucumber under pressure which ensured that we didn’t stress about the event. His staff were amazing and extremely professional. They prepared and served our friends and family with humor and good cheer. At the end of the party, they quietly cleaned up and packed so that we had very little to do but enjoy the time together and with the friends who lingered. There were no hassles with anything which enabled my family to be able to focus on the celebration rather than the logistics and to visit with friends and family, many of whom had traveled great distances to see my family. Thank you so much, Mark, for your help with this landmark life event!