Private Chef in Northern Virginia

Chef Charles Schulman has been quietly building a reputation across Northern Virginia by showing up to homes in Arlington, Alexandria, and Falls Church with the kind of cooking that makes people stop mid-conversation. He's not interested in plating techniques or molecular wizardry—he's interested in the moment when someone takes their first bite of blackened trout and realizes this is nothing like the dinner party catering they've done before. Charles draws from a genuinely eclectic background: New Orleans and Cajun cooking that he learned in humid kitchens down South, French technique that grounds everything he touches, Italian simplicity that he respects, and Japanese precision that shows up in how he handles fish. The Mid-Atlantic seafood he uses—Maryland crab, local striped bass, whatever's good that week—gets treated with that same reverence. He's cooked in homes across the tree-lined streets of Del Ray, in the brick townhouses near Ballston, and in the sprawling estates out toward Vienna, and he's learned that every neighborhood in this region has its own rhythm and expectations. What matters most is that when Charles arrives at your kitchen, he's there to cook for *you*, not to execute a menu he planned before he met you.

Services in Northern Virginia

Charles Schulman works with Northern Virginia clients on everything from intimate eight-person dinners to larger corporate events and holiday gatherings. He's handled rehearsal dinners in Arlington where the story of the meal mattered as much as the food, casual Friday night dinners in Alexandria where a stressed host needed the entire event handled, and milestone celebrations in Falls Church where tradition and refinement were non-negotiable. He's equally comfortable building a menu around his signature dishes—Maryland crab cakes that taste like the Chesapeake Bay is in your mouth, seared scallops that get a proper crust, beef Wellington for clients who want something substantial and restaurant-quality—or working from your family recipes and food memories. Charles sources what's available and seasonal, works with any dietary needs, and handles everything from prep through plating through cleanup. He can cook just the main course while you manage appetizers, or he can take the entire event from start to finish. Most events run around $75 per person, and he's transparent about what that includes.

Why Choose Chef Charles Schulman

Charles Schulman isn't a personal chef rotating through meal prep; he's a trained cook who chooses private work because he loves the intimacy of it. He learned Cajun cooking directly in New Orleans, studied French technique seriously, and spent years understanding how to work a home kitchen like it was his own. He has the technical skills to execute beef Wellington without stress and the culinary intelligence to know that sometimes Maryland crab cakes at their best need almost nothing. Clients hire Charles because he shows up prepared, thinks about the entire experience—not just the plate—and has the restraint to let good ingredients speak instead of overcomplicating them.

Frequently Asked Questions

We live in Arlington and have a lot of dietary restrictions in our group—can Charles work with that?

Absolutely. Charles has cooked for vegetarians, pescatarians, people with shellfish allergies, and everything in between. He builds the menu around what people actually eat and does it without making anyone feel accommodated as an afterthought. He'll talk through your group's needs before he plans anything.

What's included in the $75 per person price for an event in Alexandria?

That covers Charles's cooking, all ingredients he sources, plating, and service—meaning he stays through cleanup. Some clients ask him to bring wine pairings (additional), others want him to work with their own selections. Some want family-style plating, others want individual courses. He adapts to what your event needs.

We're thinking about a larger corporate dinner in Falls Church—does Charles do those, and what's the minimum?

Charles has done corporate events for 20-30 people in home and venue settings. He works with what the space allows and usually prefers events of 8-35 people where he can keep quality tight and actually get to know the group. For anything larger, he can bring in support and will discuss logistics directly.

If you're planning a dinner—whether it's this Saturday or three months out—reach out to Charles. Tell him what kind of meal matters to you, where you are in Northern Virginia, and what's important about the event. He'll respond with a conversation, not a template.