Luxury private dining in the comfort of your home

Tiny Dinners is Michigan's foremost luxury personal chef service providing customized tasting menus and culinary events.

Book Your Experience

IN-HOME PRIVATE DINING

Our multiple course in-home dining experiences can be customized for you and your group (minimum requirement of 6 guests) for 5 or 7 courses.

Each menu is tailored to your individual event. The creative process begins based on what is in season and at its peak in flavor. We also take into account any special requests you may have and any dietary restrictions that will be present, creating an event that is perfect for you and your group.

Interested in having each course complimented with a wine pairing? We work with some amazing local wine shops to create a pairing specific to your menu - a service we provide at cost of the wine (no additional charge) and simply added to your final invoice.

SMALL EVENTS

We approach each event individually with a fresh take on menu offerings keeping the mood vision and season in mind.

We believe that great food experiences aren’t just about great ingredients (as that’s a given). We are of the mind that how everything looks is just as important as how it tastes. We live for what happens at the table – the gathering of friends and family, old and new and respect how food has the power to make it memorable.

We offer full event catering services or customize what you need help from us on. Either way – you can expect the same Tiny Dinners promise: amazing food, stylish presentation and impeccable service.

DINNER SERIES

Tune into our Instagram and join our mailing list to stay up on upcoming dinners hosted at our private event space, Chef Shack.

Mailing list subscribers enjoy early access to all of our ticketed events as well as news and updates on what is going on with Tiny Dinners.

our services

At the core of Tiny Dinners – it is all about the Private Chef Experience – this is how we started and still maintain our position as the go-to for Michigan based luxury chef needs.

Our goal is to give you an experience so unique and delicious it's unforgettable, all without you lifting a finger. We bring everything to your location- all tableware, necessary linens, glassware, stemware and cookware.

*Our In-Home Private Dining and Small Events services start at $1,350.00

OUR SERVICES

Crispy Korean fried quail, brightened with lemongrass and fresh herbs. Drenched in a spicy, sticky Gochugaru glaze. Light, crisp, and unapologetically fun.

#privatechef #grandrapids #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #privatedining #finedinning #phoneeatsfirst #grandrapidsmi

The season turns—peak asparagus has arrived: crisp, vibrant, and ready for the plate.

Asparagus Tempura | Endive | Mimolette | Platinum Osetra Caviar

#privatechef #grandrapids #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #privatedining #finedinning #phoneeatsfirst #grandrapidsmi #caviar

Spring is in the air which means we just put ramps in everything.

#privatechef #grandrapids #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #privatedining #finedinning #phoneeatsfirst #grandrapidsmi #

Ramp green goddess, baby gem, and all the spring items we could find in the garden.

#privatechef #grandrapids #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #privatedining #phoneeatsfirst #finedinning #grandrapidsmi #westmichigan

It’s back. It’s official. Next Friday
March 28 @chefshackgr

PREORDER ONLY!
link in bio

Pickup
5p - 8p

Big Fish Energy
Black Cod | Squid Ink Batter | BliS Smoked Trout Roe Tartar Sauce I
Double American Cheese | Milk Bread Bun

Also featuring:

The Bottom Feeder
Panko crusted cod square | American Cheese | Tartar Sauce | Martin’s
Potato Roll

Triple Cooked Chips
Salt | Malt Vinegar Powder

#fishsandwich
#fishfry
#fishfryday
#grandrapidsmi
Harandranide Hariuntanhaf Hiamachanedfoundatian Hantar

“This might be the best chicken wing I’ve ever had”

Shatter crisp batter, gochujang glazed and topped with furikake, scallion and lime zest.

So crisp, so spicy, so sticky

#chickenwings
#crispy
#koreanfood
#jamesbeardfoundation
#eater
#privatechef
#grandrapids
#privatedining

Mandarin sherbet—bright, creamy, and packed with pure citrus flavor. Just Late-season mandarins doing all the work. Served with basque cheesecake, blood orange, mandarin purée and a toasted wheat crunch with warm spices. Inspired by Schwan’s orange sherbet pops. IYKYK

#privatechef #finedinning #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #grandrapids #phoneeatsfirst #chefstable #

It’s been awhile since we’ve hosted @chefshackgr and we were excited to be able to serve this wedding party! They went with our 5 course option with hors d’oeuvres to start and wanted to take the menu around the world with each course. So we featured flavor profiles from Spain, Mexico, North Africa, Italy and had to mix in a bit of the Midwest.

#privatechef #grandrapids #privatedining #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #finedinning #phoneeatsfirst #chefstable #

The spoils from a successful hunt was the theme for last night. The request was to feature elk throughout canapés during cocktail hour and on a few courses featured during the plated portion of the meal. This is the perfect example of the creative freedom that comes with this style of dining and one of the many reasons we love what we do!

#privatechef #privatedining #grandrapids #eater #jamesbeardfoundation #elkhunting

Yeah, we’re called Tiny Dinners but the truth is we do not-so-tiny events all the time. Medium Dinners and Large Dinners just don’t have the same ring to it so, we’re sticking with the original name for now.

#privatechef #grandrapids #privatedining #finedinning #eater #jamesbeardfoundation

Tiny Dinners does roasted chicken

#privatechef #grandrapids #privatedining #jamesbeardfoundation #phoneeatsfirst #eater #confit #yardbird #chicken

We’re still alive and cooking, it’s just sometimes you want to Instagram and sometimes you don’t want to Instagram. Today I instagrammed.

#privatechef #privatedining #jamesbeardfoundation #eater #grandrapids #finedinning #phoneeatsfirst

A glimpse into Uchi, our last cookbook dinner series—an amazing evening of multiple courses featuring classics from the book and dishes we had a little creative fun with ourselves.

Want a seat at our next one? Join our mailing list for early access!

🔗 Link in bio.

Peaceful Monday morning whipping up some sourdough - just don’t turn the sound on

It all started in our little upstairs apartment, where we’d push all the furniture to the side, set up a table in the middle, and hope six people would show up. Most of them were friends, and two seats were always reserved for our landlord, who lived downstairs, and her friend.

The “How It Started” section features photos from those early days—first in our apartment, then in our first home, where we could finally seat a few more people.

Eventually, we needed a real kitchen and made the move. Thankfully, that kitchen came with a small dining room, too. As we began hosting more dinners in other people’s homes, we wanted to preserve that same intimate, homey feeling—and @chefshackgr provides just that.

Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey so far!

Hamachi Ceviche
Tigers Milk | Aji Amarillo | All the crunchy stuff

7 Spice Roasted Duck | Scallion Pancake | Marinated Cucumbers

Family style dining can be fun too. The perfect dish to share with friends

It wasnt that big of a deal…
Yes, there was a shark
Yes, I learned all about rip currents that day
Yes, I paddled for like an hour and half trying to get back to shore
No, there wasn’t any way for anyone to help.
No, we didn’t know that the area was well known as a bull shark breeding area
But did I die?

Meet Brady, aka DJ B.Rady, aka Yaki Man. A killer on the konro grill and smile that melts hearts.

A few things we love about Brady: He brings us knives when he goes to Japan, his willingness to always be up for the task (even when it’s cleaning the hood system), and his passion to experiment and play with different flavors.

He’s not as scary as he looks, make sure to say hello at your next dinner!

Meet Hope, savvy with the TD sweets but her skills don’t stop there! A few things we love about Hope: loves to dive into new projects headfirst, has a bangin’ garden that she shares with us and likes to nerd out on a good cookbook

Say hi at your next dinner with us!

“What’s your favorite dish?”

Fish and Chips

If it’s on the menu, I’m ordering it every time.

I noticed @coucoubakehouse doing this and thought it was a great idea. So I’m going to copy and paste. Let’s see what we can put together.

All donations will be sent to @wckitchen to help with all their efforts

If you’d like to enter but don’t have a space to host, you’re welcome to use our dining room @chefshackgr

Link to Venmo in bio

Bonito buerre blanc

Smoky, buttery, great acid and made herbaceous with lots of dill oil on this ora king salmon

Charcoal, high heat, smoke and dry aged squab

Like a pork rind except made from beef tendon. Pressure cooked, chilled, sliced, dehydrated, and then fried crispy.

This brought great texture and extra beefy flavor to our most recent beef course served with a Parmesan custard doughnut and Perigord black truffle

Thank you to all of you that have supported us this last year. It still blows my mind that this idea is working. But it wouldn’t be possible without the support of all our diners, our amazing team and all the others that help us whenever we call.

Excited for 2025 and some exciting projects we have in store

Happy New Year

It’s cold and rainy so let’s remember sweetcorn season

Dry aged for 14 days, cured with citrus and sansho peppercorn for 24 hrs, confit with charred onion, thyme, garlic and duck fat for 2 hrs, then cooled and rested in the fat for 12 more hours.

Crisped and served with charred brussels sprouts and mustard

How can we make this beef course more “seasonal”?

What if we smoked it over pine boughs?

Done.

This time of year brings is a great time to be creative with our dining experiences. Beef grilled over smokey pine bows, prawn carpaccio seared with a “lump of coal”, and playing with the color palette of holidays are some ways we have fun. But the creativity doesn’t stop there. We were blown away by this impressive display that was put together by the host at our most recent dinner!

Some of our favorite small bites from 2024

Fall is in the air here in Michigan and we’ve featured this season’s bounty on this pasta course on our menus here at tiny dinners.

Roasted Pumpkin & Chestnut Doppio Agnolotti
Brown Butter | Smoked Chili | Puffed Buckwheat | Crispy Beet | Sage |Purple Mustard Greens

As we move into our fall menu we’re refining our staples and getting creative with some new dishes all in anticipation of bringing the restaurant to you.
A quick and subtle reminder that our holiday season books up quick. November and December both have limited availability. If you’ve been thinking about booking a reservation, now is the time. Reach out through our website and get that gathering on the calendar!

📸 @rachelgabes
@missjojobean

Oysters are such a great way to start the meal. We tend to love the east coast. Small, good level of brine and just very easy to pair with some late summer garnishes.

“Hot” was simple broiled oyster that was topped with most every late summer herb we could find including, garlic chive, rosemary, and summer savory.

“Cold” with the same oyster served raw and topped with a mignonette made from habanada pepper; all the flavor of a habanero with nearly none of the heat. For a fun presentation we added a bit of soy lecithin to the mix and blended to create the foamy “air” texture.

Highlighting the micro season Michigan is in at the moment where we have the tail end of corn, tomatoes and stone fruit and the beginning of a few fall items like apples, and celery root sneaking into season. Scallop raw and lightly dressed in lime, chilled celery root cream made with a fumet of scallop feet, shrimp shells and fresh squeezed spy apple juice. Finished with raw green apple, celery leaf, hoja santa oil and green apple snow. Fall in flavor but the cold preparation still appropriate for this late summer heat.

Last weekend we had the opportunity to cook for an awesome (newlywed) couple and their guests on a beautiful West Michigan day. The sun was shining and the weather had the cool touch of fall. We were able to feature all of Michigans late season bounty from peaches and corn to tomatoes, herbs and their flowers.

Had the opportunity to cook a few dishes for a couple getting married this fall. The @fultonstmarket did not disappoint.

The most important component to a great yakitori skewer starts with the tare.

A little labor of love for an outstanding result. We look at it like Japan’s version of BBQ sauce. Sweet and savory with loads of umami.

Here we used chicken thighs dipped and caramelized with the tare of charcoal and finished with lime zest, yuzu kosho mayo and crispy rice pearls as an appetizer during cocktail hour.

This evening we’re asked to do a Japanese/French fusion in preparation for an upcoming trip everyone was taking Japan later this year. We took the opportunity to mesh French technique with Japanese flavors and Michigan produce for an amazing evening with a spectacular view.

#privatechef #finedinning #privatedining #eater #jamesbeardfoundation

Pastrami Salmon is looking fine but those crispy potatoes…#privatechef #finedinning #brunch #grandrapids

One of our favorite techniques with tomatoes is actually a mix of two methods mixed together; confit and dehydrated.

First we peel sungold tomatoes and submerge them in really nice Arbequina olive oil with thyme garlic and basil and cook them at a low temperature for a few hours. After the cook they’re removed from the oil and put back into the low oven for another few hours yielding an umami rich tomato with punchy acid and a rich concentrated tomato flavor. Texture is tender with a little bit of chew. Similar to the texture of steak.

Incredible in salads or simply eaten on their own but we incorporated them into this dish of an inverted tomato tart. Served with stracciatella cheese and basil oil then topped with a Parmesan pizzette garnished with crispy squash blossom, Calabrian chili, fresh basil, pimenton honey and lemon fluid gel.

Crispy, savory, salty, crunchy and sweet. The perfect bite every bite.

#privatechef #finedinning #grandrapids #tomato #privatedining

Veuve Clicquot was the theme for last night.
Each course incorporated champagne or the color theme of the label. It was such a fun and unique opportunity for us to get creative and come up with some original and fun ideas using this delicious champagne.

Marinated Sungold Tomato | Ricotta | Soft Herbs

Simplicity and seasonality at its finest

We were rounding out a four day weekend with a great group in northern Michigan and needed a last minute appetizer quick. We’d served corn about 4 other ways that week and figured, “why not one more?”

We love this dish because it’s super easy and delicious. We dressed it up with some usual suspects like cilantro and lime but I’m kind of thinking now we should’ve probably drizzled some our chili crisp on it…

Hot take - seasonal sorbet trumps ice cream every time.

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