If you’re having trouble deciding on a restaurant for your holiday party, David Kratky, executive chef and owner of The Laughing Pear, wants to remind people they can always have the restaurant come to them.
The Laughing Pear offers catering and in-home chef services. Kratky has worked in kitchens since he was 14 and has 20 years of experience as a professional chef. A Park City resident for a decade, Kratky has cooked in some of the finest restaurants in the area and has been a private chef with The Laughing Pear for the last four.
Kratky said he strives to give guests the level of quality and service they’d expect in a five-star, five-diamond restaurant. He has hand-picked his staff all of whom have culinary degrees and most of his servers come from top hotels, he said.
His father was a big fan of fine food and Kratky said he’s grown up with an appreciation for how important good meals are to family functions and special occasions. He shies away from the word “caterer,” and prefers “private chef service.” The Laughing Pear experience is more than someone bringing or preparing food in your home or at your meeting. The goal is literally to bring a restaurant to you, he said.
“We come to people’s homes with everything unless they have something special they want us to use,” he said. “We put on a show; anyone can bring food and set it on a table.”
That’s why Kratky said he prefers to do as much cooking on the premises as possible. When everything is made beforehand and then delivered to the location, it isn’t the same experience. Ideally, a home will be filled with the aromas of cooking, he said. It’s an important part of the dinner experience.
Kratky said he began a private chef service because he loves interacting with his clients. Hiding in a restaurant kitchen away from the diners isn’t for him.
“My goal is to make every client 100 percent happy. I love it; I really enjoy it,” he said. “There’s more flexibility to do what you want and deal with guests one-on-one. The No. 1 reason I do what I do is to please the guest to see the guest happy at the end of the night.”
His specialty style is Classical French with an infusion of California freshness in summer, and an infusion of intermountain flare in the winter.
But that’s only if a client asks him to create the menu. Otherwise Kratky can and will do anything desired. This month he has a party lined up that wants Mexican food. The variety is part of what he likes about the business.
The Laughing Pear uses the best ingredients available, and organic when possible, he said. He sources food from all over to get top quality. Kratky said he wants nothing less than to provide the finest product possible.
The Laughing Pear has clients in Salt Lake City and as far away as Montana. Traveling is no problem; Kratky has worked in ski towns throughout the Rocky Mountain area.
Meals can be three to nine courses with a French table setup. The Laughing Pear also does buffets and can even drop off food if it is preferred.
The Laughing Pear
Private chef service
435-671-2351