Chef Prepared Meals In Chapel Hill and The Triangle, NC

Customized, healthy, delicious, global meals for busy people with special dietary needs.

Your personal chef prepares delicious meals for dietary needs

Your menu features global cuisines made by chefs trained to prepare meals for people with food allergies, AIP, AutoImmune Protocol, Vegetarian, Vegan, Paleo, Ketogenic, Low FODMAP diets and more.

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Delightfully Scrumptious, Ready to Eat Meals Prepared By a Professional Chef

The Travelling Cafe is a custom, food as medicine solution to special dietary needs clients.

Delicious, healthy menus are custom made for you and your family, according to dietary restrictions and preferences, and cooked in your home.

  • Weekly
  • Bi-weekly
  • Monthly
Herb-crusted lamb chops in meal prep trays cooked by a Travelling Cafe chef

How Our Chef Prepared Meal Service Works

After an initial assessment of you and your families’ needs, custom-created meals are lovingly made, packaged and labeled for easy finishing – from fridge to table in minutes.

prepared-meals-catering

Submit Our Food Questionnaire

Likes, dislikes, and dietary needs

Craft a meal plan right for you

Together, we craft the perfect menu

Delicious meals are cooked in your home

The Chef comes to you

Submit the food questionnaire

The Travelling Cafe Food Questionnaire



HOUSEHOLD, NEEDS, AND MEALS


MEATS

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Select items you do NOT want or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

DAIRY

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

BREADS, GRAINS, & PASTAS

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
Select items you do NOT want or choose not applicable.

LOW CARB FOODS

Select items you do NOT want or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

CONDIMENTS, HERBS, AND SPICES

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

INTERNATIONAL CUISINES

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

PREFERENCES AND FAVORITES

Your First Step to Chef-Prepared Meal Services

Tell us about your preferences and dietary needs by submitting the food questionnaire. After that, we’ll review it and contact you by phone or email to schedule a time to discuss options.

With unique palates and eating preferences, the questionnaire lets us learn about your needs and preferences so we customize your food to match them.



HOUSEHOLD, NEEDS, AND MEALS


MEATS

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

FISH AND SEAFOOD

Select items you do NOT want or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

DAIRY

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

BREADS, GRAINS, & PASTAS

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
Select items you do NOT want or choose not applicable.

LOW CARB FOODS

Select items you do NOT want or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

CONDIMENTS, HERBS, AND SPICES

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

INTERNATIONAL CUISINES

Select items you do NOT want, or choose not applicable.
The above field is asking for what you do NOT want to eat if not mentioned in the list above.

PREFERENCES AND FAVORITES

Cancellation Policy

  • One week’s fee is collected up front as a retainer to initiate a service relationship with our collective (non-refundable, for chef retention).
  • Then the first week’s fee is due one week prior to service, with a card saved on file to pay automatically weekly thereafter.
  • We ask for two weeks’ notice to skip a week, take time away or end service. Without it, there is no refund, credit or make-up cook.
  • If you’re away more than two weeks in a row, $150 a week holds your chef and your day, for up to eight weeks.
  • All of this is in the service agreement each client signs before the first cook.

Sales tax applies. We accept card payments only, and card payments carry a 3% processing fee.

PRICING
for Personal/Private Chef
Meal Preparation Services

Your meals and experiences are customized.

What your price includes: one flat weekly number covering everything: your chef’s time, grocery shopping, cooking in your kitchen, packaging, labelling, cleanup, and the groceries themselves. Nothing is billed separately. Sales tax is added.

Any dietary need, GLP-1, AIP, low-FODMAP, allergies, low fibre, low fat, is included at the same price. No surcharge for complexity.

Many personal chefs list groceries on top of their fee. Ours are already inside this price.

Plans also run every other week and monthly, at the same price and the same amount of food per service.

POLICIES
One week’s fee is collected up front as a retainer to initiate a service relationship with our collective (non-refundable, for chef retention). Then the first week’s fee is due one week prior to service, with a card saved on file to pay automatically weekly thereafter. We ask for two weeks’ notice to skip a week, take time away or end service. Without it, there is no refund, credit or make-up cook. If you’re away more than two weeks in a row, $150 a week holds your chef and your day, for up to eight weeks. Menus can be changed up to two days before your service day. Travel time is $50 an hour, round trip, with no mileage. Sales tax applies. We accept card payments only, and card payments carry a 3% processing fee.

Order prepared meals

Weekly Essentials

  • Cost: $625 a week, all in

One half-day visit per week. Best for 1-2 people. Roughly 4-5 dinners.

Household

  • Cost: $1,150 a week, all in

One full-day visit per week. Best for households of 3 or more. Roughly 4-5 dinners for the household.

Concierge

  • Cost: $1,500 a week, all in

Two half-day visits per week, for food cooked fresh twice a week. Two mid-week rounds of fresh dinners, including lunches.

Meet Our Chefs

Crene Manishimwe and Lamont Actkinson are the chefs behind our weekly chef-prepared meals.

Chef Crene Manishimwe

Crene Manishimwe

Crene Manishimwe is our head chef. Born in Tanzania to Burundian parents, Crene fell in love with food in a small family kitchen, cooking alongside both parents. Learning English after coming to the US, Crene found that food could transcend language and background. She studied Culinary Arts at Johnson & Wales and believes food is a universal language that connects people, honors culture and creates meaningful shared experiences.

Chef Lamont Actkinson

Lamont Actkinson

Lamont Actkinson was raised in the Carolinas and developed a deep appreciation for Southern hospitality and regional food culture that continues to influence Lamont’s approach to cooking and kitchen leadership. With more than 10 years of experience in high-volume restaurants, including within the restaurant group of James Beard Award-winning chef Ashley Christensen, Lamont built experience in kitchen leadership, staff training, inventory management and high-volume service. In Lamont’s words: “I take pride in creating food that brings people together and fostering a positive, team-oriented kitchen environment.”

Our values

We value our employees as well as our clients. We are completely committed to cooking 100% custom, delicious and consistent meals for our clients. We keep clients happy by having happy employees who are well compensated and well cared for.

The chef is valuable. The service is valuable.

Why The Travelling Cafe?

Our speciality is bringing inclusion into culinary experiences with food for different diets, restrictions, and cultures.

  • Experienced and certified
  • Trained for special diets
  • Culturally enriched

Locations We Serve

  • Apex
  • Carrboro
  • Cary
  • Chapel Hill
  • Durham
  • Hillsborough
  • Pittsboro
  • Raleigh

Personal Chef Services For Events & Cooking Classes

Four guests sharing dinner at a candlelit outdoor table at dusk
Dinners & Events

Meticulously crafted chef services delivering luxurious, transportive culinary experiences.

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Private Cooking Classes

Tap into your culinary creative genius and build culinary confidence with instruction from a professional chef.

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Treat Their Tastebuds

Gift cards to personal chef prepared meals or cooking classes can make the perfect gift for any occasion.

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Cooking for a special diet, or for your town?

Our chefs cook all over the Triangle and beyond, for every kind of household. Find the diet or the town that fits yours.

Cooking for a special diet: AIP · GLP-1 · Low-FODMAP · Diabetic-friendly · Paleo · Keto · Athletes · See all special diets

Personal chefs near you: Chapel Hill · Durham · Raleigh · Cary · Apex · Morrisville · Wake Forest · Fuquay-Varina · Pittsboro

Away from home: Vacation cooking across North Carolina