Chile Verde, Playa del Carmen

Delicious Delicious Delicious! We hired Chef Tona to be our private chef for 6 meals at a gorgeous villa in PlayaCar. I was the contact for organizing everything and it as a smooth process. From the first time I contacted via email, to making the deposit, and finalizing the bill, everything was simple as possible. We chose to start with the Mexican Fiesta which included Tequila/Mezcal tasting, and an education on the difference. There were several courses paired with a particular Tequila or Mezcal and Tona explained each one and taught us the origins and how they were made. It was really fun. His assistant Kimberly was also very helpful and made sure we had everything we needed. We really enjoyed the breakfast burritos, seared tuna, shrimp, tacos, and pork roast. Everything was very flavorful and delicious. I really felt like Chef Tona provided a cultural experience with the delicious meals, education, and flavors (including a few crickets!). We can't recommend him enough if you would like the same.

The day we hired Chef Tona was a day of feasting in the US, Thanksgiving. I reviewed menus of two dozen chefs and Chef Tona was the only person that included the true flavors of Mexico. Chef Tona understands that the renters of condos have limited knowledge of a rented kitchen at the time of booking and that most diners need some consultation on menu selections to prevent over ordering, etc. Chef Tona submitted the only menu that demonstrated and acknowledged all of my requests and concerns. I understand now that hiring a chef for a condo requires a special skill set that other chefs do not seem to grasp. The chef was punctual, professional, personable, and prepared our meal to everybody’s delight. We had guac, tuna ceviche, jicama, cochinita pibil, mojitos, daiquiris, and lime sorbet for dessert for 10 people. Chef Tona and Luigi prepared a large amount of tasty food in the undersized, under equipped condo kitchen and each dish was described by my family in superlatives often reserved only for grandmothers’ cooking. If you are looking for pretentious, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a dollop of meat and sauce on a big plate, look elsewhere. If you are looking for a chef that can make your typical substandard condo kitchen produce a restaurant-quality meal, choose Chef Tona. Thank you, Chef!

Chile Verde was the private chef for a business retreat I attended this week. All of the food was delicious and Tona was very friendly with our group. He clearly loves cooking and preparing delicious meals.

We have taken cooking classes in many cities around the world. We believe that taking a cooking class is a wonderful way to learn about the culture of the people, as people often communicate through their food offerings. And I can say, without a doubt, that this was one of our favorite, most hands-on, and most immersive cooking classes. We took the class with two 12-year-olds and two 14-year-olds. All four of the children enjoy cooking at home, and chef Tona engaged them all in so much of the process, providing them with useful skills that they will need at home and also later in life. He showed us all proper knife skills, and finally solved our family question/argument of the best way to pit an avocado! But the real highlight of this class was the quality of the cuisine. We picked the traditional Yucatán dishes of chicken Pibil and sopa de lima. What treats these dishes were! Normally, when we have a cooking class, we are proud of the final result, and it is tasty, but this was, by far, the best final product of any cooking class we have taken. We also had the opportunity to use Chef Tona as a catering/delivery service. On the first day when we arrived (as a surprise for my husband) I had Chef deliver some ceviche, guacamole and some chicken Tinga so we could enjoy the food while we unpacked and did not have to rush right out to dinner. Frankly, the chicken tinga was so delicious that most of us would rather have stayed home and ate that for dinner the first night. Highly recommended Chile Verde Chef Service and Chef Tona!

Amazing! Tequila tasting was fun. Great variety of dishes and was professional.