For Marjorie Greenfield, dinner is about more than getting food onto the table. It is a way to nourish people, bring them together and, increasingly, make life a little easier right now.
Greenfield came to cooking professionally after nearly a decade in social work at an adoption and foster care agency. She had grown up watching her father make dinner and discovered her own instincts in the kitchen during college. Eventually, a longtime dream of culinary school became impossible to ignore.
She enrolled at New York City’s Natural Gourmet Institute, choosing its largely plant-based program to better understand dietary needs and preferences. An internship in a bustling West Village restaurant sharpened her skills, but Greenfield already knew restaurant life was not her ultimate destination.
Private-chef work offered something different: the opportunity to cook personally for busy local families each week.
Today, Greenfield offers weekly in-home meal preparation, drop-off meals, dinner parties and holiday catering throughout Northern Westchester. Each relationship begins with understanding a household—its schedule, allergies, preferences and, importantly, what everyone will actually eat.
“Sometimes the real value isn’t having someone cook a fancy dinner,” she says. “It’s opening your refrigerator on a Tuesday night and knowing dinner is already taken care of.”
That philosophy reflects Greenfield’s approachable style. Seasonal, local ingredients take center stage, from crisp summer salads to slow-cooked chicken and short ribs when temperatures drop. Her signature roasted chicken with crispy smashed potatoes over garlicky tzatziki embodies what she does best: thoughtful food that feels both special and comforting.
For entertaining, Greenfield believes preparation creates ease. She handles menu planning, shopping, prep, cooking and execution so hosts can enjoy their own guests. Family-style dinners are a favorite, as are batched cocktails. Her simplest hosting advice? “You can never have enough ice…or wine.”
Motherhood has further shaped her understanding of the nightly dinner challenge. She knows children’s preferences can change overnight and focuses on nutritious, flexible meals families genuinely want to eat.
Now, referrals are fueling her next chapter. Greenfield hopes to grow beyond her current “mighty team of one,” bringing on people who share her approach to food and hospitality without sacrificing the personal connection behind her business.
“As parents and working people, we are in this together,” she says. “If I can take one thing off someone’s plate and help make their week feel a little easier, that’s meaningful to me.”
And if it happens to be epically delicious, even better.