ZION FAMILY REUNIONS-INVITE A PRIVATE CHEF who ISN’T YOUR MOTHER
Give back to the usual cooks in your family by making an investment in their Zion family reunion experience with a private chef.
Chef Anthony and I have had the honor of serving several family reunions this summer, and we've noticed a recurring sentiment among the more culinary-inclined members of the family:
"This means so much to me because I don't have to do this."
No hauling in groceries.
No planning meals around the array of dietary needs a large group can have.
No figuring out who's cooking what, when everyone is going to eat, or who is going to clean up afterward.
Just time together.
Let the Family Cook Actually Enjoy the Family Reunion
When you hire Kindred Kitchen for your Southern Utah family reunion, we want to fit seamlessly into your vacation—not make you fit into ours.
Want every breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack handled?
We’ve got you.
Want to skip packed lunches and experience some of the local restaurant fare while you're out exploring Zion or St. George?
Great. We can offer suggestions for places worth trying.
Want to have dinner prepared while everyone is out enjoying the day, with an easy breakfast waiting in the refrigerator for the next morning?
Absolutely.
We'll leave everything prepared with simple instructions—even the sleepiest college kids can handle it.
Our goal is flexibility. Your family reunion should feel like a vacation, not a catering schedule.
All the Food. None of the Grocery Runs.
For multi-day family reunions, we offer all-inclusive chef packages that provide a slight savings compared to booking individual meals.
But a package price doesn't mean we sacrifice the quality of the food.
Quite the opposite. We thoughtfully create menus with creative overlap to reduce food waste.
More importantly, we believe in local sourcing over larger profits whenever we can.
One of our favorite moments is watching guests discover just how much of their meal came from right here in Southwest Utah.
The peaches in their peach cobbler.
The chicken in their Blackened Chicken & Cheddar Risotto.
The cheddar cheese in their kids' mac and cheese.
When we tell them these ingredients were sourced from local farms and producers, there's often this wonderful look of surprise across the table.
"Wait...this is from here?"
Yes.
That's one of the things we love most about cooking in Southern Utah: our beautiful landscape isn't just something you experience outside the vacation home. It can make its way onto your plate, too.
For seafood like fish and shrimp, we make the drive to the closest Harmon’s, where we can source from environmentally responsible suppliers.
It's a little more effort.
We think it's worth it.
Because Getting Everyone Together Is Hard Enough
Wrangling everyone in the family can get complicated.
I’m from a family of seven, so I definitely understand.
Our crazy schedules haven't allowed all of us to be together since October of last year. We keep up through texts and phone calls, but when we do get together, dining becomes an occasion—even if it's Taco Bell.
(An Easter family tradition from days of old. Ha, ha, ha… Slight cringe.)
But the last time we were home visiting, we hosted a dinner for our family as Kindred Kitchen.
And we knew:
This is going to be one of our greatest gifts as a business.
Not simply cooking beautiful food.
Not simply creating menus.
But allowing families to settle into each other's company during the moments that are becoming increasingly difficult to coordinate.
Because when everyone is finally together, no one should have to wonder:
"Does everyone have something to drink?"
"Did all the kids get enough to eat?"
"Who is going to clean this up?"
"What are we making tomorrow?"
Those questions can wait.
Your family shouldn't have to.
A Recent Santa Clara Family Reunion
Recently, we had the pleasure of serving a wonderful family who booked our Vacation Personal Chef service while staying in Santa Clara, just outside St. George and near Snow Canyon State Park.
We’ve included a glimpse of their menu below.
Want to look at some more of our favorites? Check out our menus here.
Their kind letter and thoughtful feedback brought so much joy into our lives.
But what we will cherish even more:
It was their laughter.
Their storytelling.
The kids coming back for seconds.
The conversations that continued around the dining table long after the plates had been cleared.
And then watching everyone carry those conversations into the living room afterward.
Those are the moments we love.
The Real Luxury of a Family Reunion
When you think about a luxury vacation, it's easy to think about the house, the view, the amenities, or the destination.
But we think there's another kind of luxury:
Time.
Time sitting around the table.
Time catching up with your siblings.
Time watching your parents enjoy their grandchildren.
Time lingering over dessert instead of worrying about the dishes.
Time exploring Zion, Snow Canyon, Bryce Canyon, or the rest of beautiful Southern Utah together.
And perhaps most importantly, time for the person who usually cooks for everyone else to finally sit down and enjoy the meal, too.
That's our ultimate goal with a Kindred Kitchen family reunion:
More time sharing good food.
More time making memories.
More time experiencing our beautiful state.
And more priceless time with the people you came all this way to be with.
So this year, give Mom a break.
Or Dad.
Or Grandma.
Or Aunt Sarah, who somehow ends up cooking for 18 people every single time.
Invite a private chef who isn't your mother.
