Holiday Catering in Louisville: Let a Chef Carry December
December is the month Louisville hosts itself. Office parties, neighborhood parties, the big family dinner, the friends who come in from out of town — and one person in every house quietly doing the math on how many hours of cooking that all adds up to.
Hand the math to a chef. I am Joe Merchanthouse, CIA-trained, and December is my favorite month to cook — braises, bourbon, chocolate, rooms full of people. But it is also the month my calendar fills first, so this page starts with the honest part:
December dates go first come, first served, and a deposit is what holds one. The prime Fridays and Saturdays are usually spoken for while the leaves are still turning. If your date matters, claim it early; if you are reading this in December, ask anyway — weekdays and the week between Christmas and New Year's often still have room.
Three ways to do the holidays
Drop-off — $18 per person, $450 minimum
The food arrives cooked, packed, and ready to serve. Holiday party trays with a chef behind them: bourbon maple glazed meatballs, deviled eggs with candied bacon, a baked mac worth writing home about, and a dessert spread that ends with handmade truffles. Best for office parties, open houses, and potlucks you intend to win.
Staffed buffet — $45 per person
I set and staff the buffet, so the food stays hot, full, and handsome all evening, and you stay at your own party. Best for the office celebration with 40 people arriving in waves, the neighborhood party, the family gathering that outgrew one cook. For 50 guests, that is $2,250, handled end to end.
Chef-led plated — $75 per person · in-home dinners from $95 per person
The seated version: courses plated and served at your table. Best for Christmas dinner itself, a New Year's Eve worth dressing for, or the smaller gathering where the meal is the gift. For two at home on Christmas Eve, an in-home dinner starts at the $250 minimum — cheaper than the restaurant you cannot get into, and nobody has to drive home.
A December menu, the way I build one
Cold outside, warm inside, and something bourbon-brown in every course if the house leans that way:
- To start: soup shooters of roasted pepper and tomato; crispy polenta bites with short rib; deviled eggs with candied bacon
- The table: Chianti-braised short rib; Tuscan herb chicken; three-cheese baked mac; chopped Italian salad with parmesan cream; roasted winter squash and greens
- The finish: mini bourbon pecan pies, banana pudding cups, and the winter truffles — dark mint julep, brown butter salted caramel, eggnog — which I make by hand and which travel well as gifts, if any survive the party
For an office party the same kitchen turns out a lunch-hour version by day and the full spread by night. Tell me the crowd and the hour and I will build to both.
The week between Christmas and New Year's
The overlooked dates. Family still in town, nobody wants to cook again, restaurants are running on fumes. A chef's dinner that week — or a drop-off that restocks the house — is the best money December offers, and it is the easiest week to book. New Year's Eve itself is a premium date and goes early; New Year's Day brunch, with sweet potato biscuits and shrimp and grits, is a tradition waiting to happen.
Booking
- Dates: first come, first served. A deposit holds yours — half at booking for larger events, balance two weeks out. Checks preferred, cards accepted.
- Lead time: 6 to 10 weeks out is comfortable for December; prime Saturdays go sooner.
- Gift certificates are available for the people on your list who have everything — a chef's dinner is a better gift than another bottle.
Call (765) 461-3411, email joemerchanthouse@gmail.com, or inquire at https://privatechefjoe.com.
FAQ
How early do December Saturdays really go? Early. In a normal year the prime December Fridays and Saturdays are claimed by fall. That is not a sales line; it is the arithmetic of one chef and four weekends. A deposit is the only hold — a conversation, unfortunately, is not.
Can you cater our office party at lunchtime? Yes — drop-off for the lunch hour is the workhorse of my December, and a staffed buffet works for offices with the space for it. Tell me the headcount and whether people eat in waves; shift timing changes how the menu should be built.
Do you cook on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? A small number of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinners, booked early — in-home dinners from $95 per person, $250 minimum for two. Those dates are the first conversation to have, not the last.
What about dietary restrictions at a holiday buffet? Built in from the start: a real vegetarian entrée (eggplant parmigiana, not an apology), dishes marked for the common allergies, and low-sodium or no-spice plates seasoned properly when I know the need ahead of time.
Can I give a dinner as a gift? Yes — gift certificates for in-home dinners and tastings, and a box of handmade truffles rides along with certificates of $100 or more. Call and we will set it up.
Claim your December date while it is still a choice: call (765) 461-3411 or email joemerchanthouse@gmail.com. Full pricing and the rest of the year's services at https://privatechefjoe.com.