What Do I Need to Provide for a Hibachi Chef at Home?

Less than most people expect, and less than most mobile hibachi companies ask for.

You need a flat, stable spot for the cooking station with room to work around it, a way for us to get there, and somewhere for your guests to sit and eat. We bring everything else — griddles, fuel or battery power, all the food, the chefs, and the attendants.

What we bring

• The griddles and all cooking equipment

• Propane or, for indoor events, electric griddles and our own battery power

• All the food, prepped in our commercial kitchens before we leave

• A professional chef and a dedicated event attendant

• Serving equipment, utensils for cooking and plating

• A tent for our cooking station, so the chefs can work in weather

• Setup and full cleanup

With White Glove Concierge we also bring tables, chairs, linens, place settings, and decor, and set them for you.

What you provide

A place to set up. Flat and stable, with roughly eight feet of clear working space. A driveway, patio, deck, lawn, garage apron, or an open area inside a venue all work. It doesn't need to be perfect — setups are different at every house and we make them work.

Access. We're carrying equipment, so a path we can get it through. If parking is tight, if there's a long walk from the street, or if there are stairs involved, tell us in advance and we'll plan around it rather than discovering it on arrival.

Somewhere for guests to eat. Tables and chairs, unless you've booked White Glove Concierge, in which case we bring them.

Clearance overhead and around. The griddle runs hot with open flame, so we need space away from low branches, awnings, fabric, and anything that shouldn't be near heat. We'll assess it when we arrive, but a spot away from the umbrella is a good instinct.

What we don't provide

A tent for your guests. We bring one for our cooking station so our chefs can work in rain or sun. Guest seating and coverage is yours to arrange, through your venue or a rental company.

This catches people out on outdoor events, so plan it early — good tent rentals book out in summer. Tell us your layout and we'll tell you what footprint the cooking station needs so your tent planning accounts for us properly.

Compared to what most companies ask for

Worth knowing when you're comparing quotes, because this is where a cheaper rate often stops being cheaper.

Many mobile hibachi companies require the host to supply tables, chairs, plates, and utensils. At twelve people in a backyard that's manageable. At a hundred guests it's a rental contract, a delivery window, and a setup crew you're now coordinating yourself, on top of everything else.

Several also require outdoors or a tent because their equipment only runs on propane. And most send one person to cook and serve, which means the setup often gets left behind at the end of the night — cleanup quietly becomes yours.

Our quote includes a chef and a dedicated attendant, and cleanup is part of the job rather than a favor.

Indoors, and in winter

We can cook indoors, and we do it with electric griddles and our own battery power rather than propane.

That's not a preference, it's a safety line. Burning propane in an enclosed space produces carbon monoxide, and a commercial burner running for two hours in a closed garage or basement is a genuine hazard. Several hibachi companies refuse indoor work entirely for exactly this reason, and they're right to.

Because we bring our own power, we're also not relying on your circuits. Function halls, barns, hotel spaces, and winter dates are all open to us.

If a caterer agrees to run propane in your closed garage in January without hesitating, ask what they're burning.

Odd venues

Backyards, driveways, patios, kitchens, rental houses, Airbnbs, boat decks, offices, function halls, and barns. We've cooked on all of them.

If you're renting a house or an Airbnb for the event, check with the owner about cooking equipment before you book us — most are fine with it, but it's an easier conversation before the deposit than after.

Tell us about your space

Text or call with your date, town, and guest count, and describe where you're thinking of setting up. If there's something awkward about the space, that's exactly what we want to know in advance.

Call or text 401-402-9616.

What's included in the food itself is covered in what mobile hibachi catering costs, and wedding-specific logistics are in hibachi catering for weddings.

SIFU Hibachi & Sushi Catering — kitchens in Cranston and Providence, RI.