Cynthia Washburn Chef Services & Catering
Categories: Event Planning & Services Caterers Event Planning & Services Personal Chefs Caterers, Personal Chefs [Edit]
Los Angeles, CA 90031Serving Los Angeles and surrounding area
Neighborhood: Lincoln Heights
(323) 524-0509
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
13 reviews for Cynthia Washburn Chef Services & Catering
13 reviews in English
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Review from Derek D.
Los Angeles, CA
1/23/2012
This lady makes amazing food. She catered one of my commercial film productions (a Disney shoot with 20+ people) and I was simply blown away with the results. There were some picky, gluten-free wierdos on my crew and she did a fantastic job in providing delicious food everyone could enjoy. She made this scrumptious toffee cookie thing that blew my tastebud's socks off. I ended up hoarding the cookies and hiding them so nobody else could have them. At one point a fellow producer found my stash and I had to Mace him, take him to the floor with a leg sweep, and then gouge out his eye socket with a banana. Thats how good Cynthia's toffee-brownie-cookie things are (I think they're called Blondies). I will definitely be using Cynthia again.
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Review from julianna c.
Lake Orion, MI
11/12/2011
Thoughtful and divine food. Chef Cynthia was also a lifesaver. We spent several weeks menu planning with another highly recommended chef in Malibu who cancelled on us last minute. Cynthia to the rescue! We had a new menu designed, with gluten and vegetarian restrictions, and contract in place in less then 24 hours. She brought everything we could possibly need, including beautiful decor. We had a perfectly amazing, enjoyable, RELAXING Autumn meal. She even packaged up leftover 'care packages' for 2 of our guests who happened to be Pepperdine students -- see, thoughtful!
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Review from John P.
Redondo Beach, CA
8/1/2011
Cynthia prepared six dishes for a house party I hosted last weekend. Five out of six were home runs and all good. Very creative menu items. She was great at handling all the set up and cleaning up afterwards. Arrived a bit late but other than that was perfect. Definitely happy to use her again and recommend her.
Update from Nov. 2011: I used her for a second party and was equally pleased with her food and service. Will use her again and highly recommend her. -
Review from Camron A.
Oakland, CA
2/9/2007
An amazing chef, and expert professional caterer! From a dinner for two to an event with 600, this should be your first stop. Weddings, underground supper clubs, fundraisers, you name it and Cynthia and her staff can do it. I've had her cater for a couple of my events, and have attended others, and it has always been great.
The food is great, the presentation artful. She comes up with some amazing combinations, and can take care of any dietary restrictions. All ingredients are organic, sustainable, and most are local. This makes a big difference in my book.
Highly recommended! -
Review from Vera D.
San Francisco, CA
1/22/2009 2 photos
Cynthia is an excellent chef and produces great tasting and beautiful seasonal meals/appetizers to fit any occasion or budget. She has a great flair for Asian fusion and Mediterranean inspired cuisine. Some of my favorites include a Moroccan love cake with rose petal jam and Turkish coffee, 5-spice short rib, and pan seared lemon-garlic scallops. Her pricing is competitive and she's very flexible to work in many different conditions (i.e., no kitchen, outdoors, etc). Getting a hold of her is sometimes a bit tricky, but she delivers above and beyond nonetheless!
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Review from Tania L.
San Francisco, CA
11/1/2010
I actually joined Yelp just so that I could chime in with the already stellar reviews of Cynthia's cooking and management skills. Her food is fresh, beautiful, and creative, for one- she's not one of those caterers who has things sitting in steam trays until they're lifeless/ tasteless. She does much of her prep and cooking last minute, often on-site, to ensure high quality results. I especially love her appetizers- cold veggie rice paper rolls, cured beef with green apple and shiso leaves, persimmon broiled with gruyere and prosciutto (crack!), truffled cauliflower soup shooters, and the list goes on, She also works well with bar staff to create complimentary drinks for your celebration. Really, she outclasses everyone.
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Review from p. s.
Los Angeles, CA
11/1/2010
Ok, so I am not a foodie but all my guests and my boss were. I got a number of quotes with menus and I had no point of reference. Cynthia came highly recommended by a couple different sources so I rolled the dice. She came to me with all kinds of patience and understanding for my primitive appreciation of cuisine, explained things easily, gave me choices for my budget that I could understand and set me up perfectly. I loved the experience, the presentation, her staff was awesome and my guests were thrilled.
Cynthia is a solid bet. She brought me a plate that night and had me taste things while she described her intentions with the flavors. Fun! -
Review from Michael L.
Oakland, CA
3/18/2007
We hired Cynthia Washburn to cater our wedding reception and she did a fantastic job. She really listened to what we wanted --- Hors d'oeuvres and a "small plates" style buffet. She came up with a scrumptious autumn menu and EVERYONE who attended commented on the food. The dishes were creative, healthy and seasonal.
A few of our favorites include:
Pan Seared Lemon-Garlic Scallops
Roasted Fuyu Persimmons with Serrano Ham, Manchego & Balsamic Glaze
White Truffle Chevre on Rosemary Shortbread with Red Onion Marmalade
Pomegranate-Glazed Lamb Chops with Mint Chutney
Rosemary Roasted Beet Skewers
Not only was the food outstanding, but the service and planning were great. Cynthia helped us select beautiful linens to decorate the bar and service area. Her presentation was very appealing & she went the extra mile for us by making cake stands with the paper we used for our invitations --- she even went to the stationary store to get the matching paper!
We recommend her catering service 100% -
Review from ted r.
San Francisco, CA
2/18/2007
Cynthia's catering is always far above the norm. Whether a course meal or apetizers the food is always fresh, delicious and far beyond the norm. From what I hear the prices are very competitive to boot.
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Review from Carl S.
Berkeley, CA
11/1/2010
Cynthia helped me plan and execute a 5 course dinner for 30+ people on the occasion of my wife's 30th birthday. Actually, I came up with any fool idea I wanted and Cynthia made it a reality, on budget, on time and to the rave reviews of my guests. I know my wife will remember her 30th forever and quite a few other people will too. Since then, I've not missed many opportunities to eat Cynthia's food and until recently (when she decided to pack up and move to L.A.) happily took her and her effortless talent for granted. Does anybody know a really good caterer in the Bay Area????
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Review from Sarah B.
San Anselmo, CA
11/15/2010
Cynthia Washburn recently catered my company's photo shoot - 2 amazing breakfasts and 2 even more amazing lunches! Not only was the food creative, delicious, and completely nutritious, but the planning process beforehand was a breeze. She took care of everything, was prompt and responsive, and an overall joy to to work with. I hope to have an opportunity (soon!) and a need to utilize her services again.
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Review from Barbara A.
San Rafael, CA
3/9/2007
If you need a caterer, you've found the perfect one and you will LOVE the service and the food. We had Cynthia and her crew cater our daughter's wedding in Sonoma. That was last August, and months later we are STILL receiving comments from our guests that the food at the wedding was fantastic! Cynthia and her staff prepared the most amazing buffet meal for 120 guests, and served it flawlessly. We were on a budget, and Cynthia worked with us and came up with creative ways to save money while still putting on a top-notch event. Everything went so well, and it was a very memorable and wonderful evening. Highest possible recommendation!!!!
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Review from K. K.
Oakland, CA
12/26/2010
I was introduced to Cynthia Washburn's event cooking through an underground restaurant night and was impressed by the unique combination, so impressed with her unique creations, that I followed these events and would return whenever she was the chef of the night. Since that introduction, I have also turned to Cynthia's Catering a few times for my own events, events ranging from a small private event of only a few people at which food was to be the focus to making the appetizers at my own wedding of 125 people, the latter requiring special arrangements with the onsite restaurant that expected to cater the entire wedding (but who were thoroughly impressed by her results). In each case, Cynthia has produced original combinations of amazing tasting food that has consistently left everyone pleased and impressed - from vanilla and coffee encrusted venison to seared ahi with nicoise olive tapenade topped with quail egg to lavender chocolate mousse to lemon tea honey glazed quail and wild mushroom bread pudding - on time both when working from her own kitchen and when brought in to work with the kitchen of your establishment and presented in a professional, though not stuffy, manner. She might not be the cheapest of all caterers around, but the results are way above what you normally receive for the cost. She has both started from a list of foods I would like to see showcased and come up with a theme for the overall meal itself, and in each case been easy to communicate with about the meal, expectations, and cost. She has been a pleasure to do business with.
