Cuisine En Locale
Categories: Caterers, Food, Personal Chefs [Edit]
Cambridge, MA 02139 (617) 285-0167
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
20 Reviews for Cuisine En Locale
I had the pleasure of taking a class taught by JJ at CCAE, and I immediately knew I wanted to learn more about food from her. I liked her philosophy towards cooking and eating. It is similar to what I learned from my parents. Nature really has produced most of what you need right out of the ground. You don't need to muddle it up! That approach along with her creativity always produces healthy, fulfilling, and delicious food. I've seen and tasted the quality of her work. If you ask her nicely, she'll make you some incredible lobster ravioli.
She's genuinely passionate about what she does, and it comes through in her cooking. Definitely worth trying out for a special occasion.
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Just to be absolutely fair, I currently work for J.J, however, I do not believe that should or does discredit any of opinions I hold in regards to J.J. or her yummy concoctions. Rather, I think have a greater insight into who she is and how she conducts her business.
I actually began working with J.J. after she posted a yelp talk thread about needing some servers,prep-people, for her catering company. When I first met J.J., I could automatically tell that she was an immensely passionate person. A lot of my review focuses on J.J. herself, as she is one of those artists you can't really separate from her art (in this particular case, food). For Example, J.J. is a major advocate of fresh, local grown food, and she carries that advocacy in all of her cooking. Her ingredients are the best. As a foodie, it's not hard to de-mask food that is not fresh, has been processed...etc. J.J. ensures that you don't have too. You can taste the freshness of all the ingredients. And trust me, it makes a huge difference.
What does J.J. do exactly? Well, if you scroll down, she herself has defined the multifaceted nature of her actual business. In my opinion, J.J. to some degree performs magic. No, seriously. The food is that good. It isn't just that she comes up with creative solutions for anything you could ask for. If you are throwing a party, and would like it to be Russian themed, J.J. can do it. If you have a little munchkin at home, that will not eat a certain type of meat or food, J.J. can work with him, around him, whatever you need her to do. The food, is innovative, creative and most of all delicious. The fact of the matter is, food is personal to J.J. And you can tell.
As a businesswoman, J.J. is very professional. She insures the food meets your "menu", (she's constantly coming up with new things you might like), is prepared immaculately, that you get from your party/meal whatever experience you desire and she will make sure that your kitchen is in a better state then what you found it. Cuisine En Locale definitely goes above and beyond from setting up to cleaning up. She treats her employees very well and you can tell that we all want to be there.
So if you are ever in need of catering, a personal chef to cook for you and your family, personally catered meals, or even questions about anything food related J.J. and Cuisine En Locale is a great place to turn to.
Check it out www.enlocale.com.
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I attended JJ's O.N.C.E. party in June, and enjoyed myself. She had gathered an interesting group of people together for an evening of fresh, local food including flank steak in garlic and rosemary, ribs with apple cider and pomegranate sauce, and a variety of local greens. The food was delicious, albeit a bit heavy on the meats and grains and light on the veggies. But since she is committed to buying local, that is hardly surprising... I can't wait to see what she cooks up in the fall!
I am a carnivore through and through, but if something is more herbivore-oriented but very yummy I won't discriminate. I do love my veggies and things, but generally I am dubious of how good vegan products would taste to my nowhere-near-vegan tastebuds. Well, JJ managed to squash any doubt, because her vegan chocolate cake was so good it was no wonder the tray was disappearing within minutes into hungry, happy mouths.
Her ideas were inventive and creative, and I especially loved the delicious lamb on little pancake-style circles. I have no idea what they were made of, since I was told they weren't pancakes, but whatever it was was oh-so-tasty. Full of flavour yet not overwhelming, they left the delicious taste lingering in my mouth until I could get my hands on another.
JJ herself is friendly, professional and so down-to-earth, and her staff is super sweet. I love the fact that her concoctions are so healthy - they're all so tasty that it makes you feel a little better about wanting to eat it all until you can't breathe for "no room left!" Definitely recommended for anyone looking for excellent, delicious catering.
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JJ can COOK!!
She's got great taste. I had a chance to try her food in Cambridge this week - WHOA.
Her chocolate cake with pickled spiced peaches was soooooooo good. It completely changed perceptions of the capabilities of vegan baked goods.
The boar baby back ribs with pommegranite dipping sauce were delicious.
The lamb with yogurt dill sauce - soooooo flavorful and good. JJ has a LUCKY family!!
My favorite part about eating her food was hearing her enthusiasm for her craft, and experiencing her vibrant personality.
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I had a chance to try Cuisine En Locale's delicious creations at a special tasting hosted by Savenor's this weekend, and all I gotta say is JJ sure knows how to turn out real crowd-pleasers!
The lamb on blinis were adorable and oh so tasty. I'm not exactly sure what the crumbly honey olive oil treats were called, but they were my runner-up favorite after the vegan chocolate cake that tasted like a molten brownie....Seriously, were those really vegan?? They tasted too good to be true. Anyway, it's obvious that JJ is passionate about cooking good eats that are also good for you, and she is such a warm, genuine person as well!
Also, if you join her mailing list, you can get some really great tips on where to find the best produce and updates when things are in season. Love it!
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I went to the event this past weekend at Savenor's market, which I loved, and all the food was prepared by Cuisine En Locale, aka JJ. It was a delight. The food and servers were lovely and it was a pleasure for the taste buds. The food ranged from vegan to very carnivorous, and everything was awesome. I would definitely contact them if you needed any food for an event or for a catered meal. It was absolutely great, and we Yelpers who partook are grateful for the tasty treats! Thanks, JJ!
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Inventive. JJ showcased some of her wonderful cooking at the yelp event and I'm glad that she did. My absolute favorite was the vegan chocolate cake with a pickled pear on top. I never knew that vegan could taste so good but it does! My second favorite was the lamb topped with wicked good yogurt.
Now that I know that she teaches at the Cambridge Adult Community Education center I will be taking a class as soon as I get some free time!
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I've been sitting on this for over a week, because I still can't get over how fantastic the meal JJ prepared for us at Savenor's was. There's no doubt that she's passionate about what she does, and the results are amazing.
Case in point: My four-year-old does not eat meat. (It must be a texture thing; we've been laid back about it.) But on this day, at "the cooking show" as he called the event, he tried everything. He did try the ribs (and enjoyed playing with the bone in his teeth). As long as it was served on a blini (little pancake), he ate it; that includes the lamb. The breakthrough, and his favorite non-sweet, was the shredded braised short ribs. When I told JJ, she started telling me the recipe--which involves an overnight marinade. Wow. Then she gave us some to bring home! As if that weren't enough, when I made it into a quesadilla the next night (I know, not nearly as creative), the boy was still impressed.
Of course, the "I can't believe they're vegan" brownies (coined Trish or Doris) with peaches and the honey cakes were pretty excellent, too.
The best part though, is that getting to talk to JJ even briefly, is infectious. Not only is she talented and knowledgeable, but her enthusiasm bubbles into everything. She is just cool overall, and I would love to just hang out with her. Yes, JJ does offer cooking classes, too. She makes it look so easy and effortless, if even a little bit could rub off, I'd be lucky indeed.
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I have not sampled JJ's main course cooking, but I took her "Ice Cream and Frozen Confections" class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, and lemme tell you, it was great.
We learned about what makes different ice creams have the distinctive qualities they are known for, and made a delightful variety of ice creams and their accessories (such as vanilla almond crepe mini-cones---my fave!). At the end of class, we each got to "plate" a dessert, adding unique toppings from JJ's goodie bag---my favorite combo was dried lavendar flowers over our apricot-peach gelato, tucked inside a mini-cone. As you can see, I felt inspired to get my own gourmet-kitchen-experimenter-extraordinaire on!
JJ was also very generous with her time, hanging around after class to answer questions and generally chat about subjects we all found interesting, such as how to make caramel sauce and where to buy organic foods. She even let my boyfriend come gratis to the second class just because he came by for tastes after the first one, which we both appreciated greatly, since it was such great fun making ice cream together! I'd definitely reccommend taking a class with a friend/family member/significant other for extra fun, although JJ promotes a laidback, chilled out atmosphere so it's fun either way.
PLUS, JJ told me about Yelp, which I'm happy to have heard of since it looks like a really neat site! Sweet!
I was at a yelp event a couple of months ago where Cuisine En Locale catered. It was delicious!! Thinking about all the yummy finger foods makes me hungry. The best part about all the breakfast delights was that they tasted healthy and fresh.
I know JJ teaches cooking classes at CCAE, I'm now on her mailing list, and I hope to be able to attend one day. I want to be this good in the kitchen too!
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Staring at the empty plate in front of me that once had some food court Chinese (I know.. don't judge).. my stomach wishes JJ made office calls. Her cooking is amazing.
This past weekend, I attended the Yelp event at Savenor's and was delighted with all of JJ's concoctions. Like Doris I loved the vegan chocolate cake topped with spiced peaches. Or were they pears? It got devoured so quickly! haha I believe I made a cheesy face and said, "I can't believe it's vegan!" as I put the cake in my mouth and threw my hands up in the air smiling (press lipped of course). The profiteroles with anchovies were a pleasant surprise. I guess I still have the grade school thought that anchovies are gross. Did anyone else get threatened with anchovy pizza? Okay. Awesome. Just me. Anyway, JJ made them so tasty. I definitely stole a few (or many) of those little puffs. Oh and let's not forget the boar baby backs that I had on the way in. That's right.. before seeing anyone.. I was already in the corner chowing. The pomegranate dipping sauce? Who would of thought.. but again.. it was excellent! The blinis that came with the short ribs were adorable and delicious. My fave (although they're all very close) would have to be the lamb with the "Wicked Good" yogurt dill sauce. Such a tease though.. the store ran out of the sauce so I couldn't take it home for consumption. Sad!
Sigh.. all this food talk and all I have in my desk drawer are Tootsie Rolls and Smarties. Dang.
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Oh JJ how I love you .......let me count the ways!
JJ Gonson, hip-mom-yelping-chef extraordinare....deserves every star you see above and here are just a few reasons why :
1. She made gluten-free muffins at our yelp elite event--thank you!
2. Her food is to-die-for, mouth -watering delicious
3. She is honest, talented and an all around cool lady!
I am still dreaming about the truffled eggs on homemade mini English muffins and the mini potato pancakes with creme fraiche and scallions or was it leeks....? whatever it was OMG it was DELICIOUS!!!
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When I first posted a 'review' of this, my little business, I was so embarrassed to be blowing my own horn. Now I am humbled, and awed by the amazingly kind and generously glowing reviews Yelpers have given me. I have been honored to serve food at two Yelp events now, at the incomparable Savenor's market, and I can only say... Wow. Thanks!
I don't really feel like my review even needs to stay here, but sometimes people tell me that my own description of what I do is helpful to them. I do hope it is!
So, what I do:
I am a personal chef .
For festive gatherings and events, my staff and I come to you and cook a sumptuous and healthy meal. We serve it as a buffet, seated or passed. We make pretty too, and we love to work with you, in advance, and on the the day, to create a whole theme or mood. We can add a full espresso service, or a sting quartet to your party, if you want them.
I also have a few clients for whom I prepare a number of re-heatable, nutritious meals in an effort to keep even the extremely overworked eating in a healthy way. It's not nearly so expensive as you would think, and for families who only have that couple of hours together at the end of the day it takes a lot of pressure off to not have to do the shopping, prepping and cleaning up. More time for board games!
My background is all about restaurant work. I got my first job in a kitchen, washing dishes and cleaning tables, when I was 14. I am lucky, also to have a burning need to explore supermarkets and play with new flavors and ingredients. For years I've wandered about trying food from various places.
My taste is not for heavy fats and flavor enhancers, but rather relies on quality ingredients to create an impact to remember.
From the start, I take a lot of time to listen to what you most desire for your party or meals to be like. And, perhaps even more importantly, I ask what you DON'T like. Then I shop at local purveyors for the freshest and healthiest ingredients. When I arrive with my crew, we assimilate whatever aspects you wish for us to. We will set your table, light the candles, serve you and pour the wine, or just stay in the kitchen and be silent. Either way, when we're gone your kitchen will be cleaner than we found it- and your fridge full of yummy leftovers!
You could think of us as an alternative to a gourmet restaurant. The cost is about the same, but you don't have to worry about ingredients if you have food sensitivities, or hidden fats and preservatives, and you get to choose the menu. We are pleased to cook vegetarian or vegan meals. We are available for dinner parties or buffets.
Oh, and if you have kids- we can even offer you the services of a nanny, feed the little tykes a healthy hot meal, and keep them out of your hair for the evening!
Some people have given my services as gifts, to new parents, or friends coming home from surgery. I can't help but think that food is a lovely way to say congratulations, or to show you care!
Each meal I make is custom designed, so please get in touch with me by phone or email if you have any questions at all. I do not have a check list style menu to choose from, but I will happily email you some ideas of dishes I particularly enjoy preparing.
I also teach classes at the Cambridge Center for Adult Ed, and I'd love to send you any info you would like about it, or you can sign up for my mailing list at www.enlocale.com
OK, whew! That's it.
Thanks! JJ
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YUM YUM YUM If I wasn't a young working professional with very little money and no good place to host a party, I would be calling JJ right now to book something! Her food was faboulous at the Yelp brunch. The latkes were my favorite and the leeks on top were genius. I can't believe she made her own english muffins... and I don't even like mushrooms and I adored these fabulous little tastes of heaven. I will defintely recommend her to anyone I know who is looking for a caterer!
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I went to a brunch tasting over the weekend catered by CeL with a bunch of friends and I have nothing but good things to say about it and JJ. She and her assistant were totally sweet and accomodating and knowledgeable.
The food was awesome - we were all big fans of the baby english muffins with truffled eggs and mushrooms and the latkes with leeks. Everything is organic and healthy so you don't feel guilty about eating thirteen clementine tarts.
JJ will also do v. small dinner parties - an entree per four people. And if you call that morning as long as she doesn't have a big to-do that night she can drop off some yumminess for you and your friends for the same as if you went out to a nice restaurant. We are totally going to hit her up for an evening of fabulousness.
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I had the opportunity to taste some bite-sized wonders that JJ made for a yelp elite event.
The latkes with leeks....I still dream about them.
The apple tart was sweet and buttery and amazing. Melted in my mouth. Everything was fantastic.
I can only imagine the delicious and imaginative creations JJ could come up to suit just about anyone.
Highly recommended!
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Thank you to JJ and the Yelp staff for sponsoring a fantastic event. The food was delicious... what a treat to have truffled eggs on english muffins. The apple tart was moist, flavorful and delicious. I enjoyed every minute!
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I'm still craving the macaroons JJ! What's a woman to do?!
JJ has this amazing energy and enthusiasm that makes anything she does just that more special. She doesn't just cook a meal, she creates an experience you won't soon forget. Perfect example, I had my baby in November and wasn't able to prepare a big Thanksgiving dinner (or any dinner for that matter) for the family...JJ sent over the Turkey and all the trimmings! The food was scrumptious, food assortment and portions were perfect, and I had the opportunity to enjoy time with the fam instead of attempting to overdo it with all the preparation and cooking. It was wonderful!
I'd love to take one of her classes at the CCAE because I am inspired by JJ - she makes it look so fun, effortless, and easy to whip up a meal with the freshest ingriedients! You should get on her Cuisine En Locale email list - love all the updates!
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