We had a wonderful experience! Chef Jamell was highly responsive, professional, and a pleasure to work with. The food was outstanding, from the hors d’oeuvres through dinner, and everything was absolutely delicious. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed the meal, and we would gladly recommend him!
Meals In Motion(Jamell)
In high demand
- 217 hires
- Based in San Diego, CA
- 6 years in business
- 25 employees
- Responds in about 15 minutes
- Background checked
About Meals In Motion(Jamell)
Hello! I’m Chef Jamell, a personal chef and the owner of Meals In Motion, a full-service catering company with more than 10 years of professional culinary experience. Cooking has always been more than a career for me—it’s my passion. I take pride in creating unforgettable dining experiences that bring people together through exceptional food, personalized service, and attention to every detail. I received my culinary training at the Culinary Arts Institute of Las Vegas and have had the privilege of working in acclaimed fine dining establishments, including Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Throughout my career, I’ve prepared meals for distinguished clients, including Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmi Simpson, Jessie Garcia, NFL players, members of Congress, mayors, and nationally recognized R&B groups, among many others. Whether you’re planning an intimate dinner, a corporate event, a wedding, or a special celebration, I offer both on-site and off-site private chef and catering services designed to exceed expectations. Signature experiences include authentic Brazilian BBQ, interactive on-site pizza preparation, and customized menus tailored specifically to your event. At Meals In Motion, we believe every client deserves a menu that reflects their unique tastes and lifestyle. We specialize in a wide variety of cuisines and dietary accommodations, including: • Comfort food • Keto • Gluten-free • Vegan • Vegetarian • Pescatarian • Blood Type Diet meal plans • Custom health-conscious menus Every menu is thoughtfully crafted using quality ingredients and prepared with professionalism, creativity, and care. My goal is to provide an elevated culinary experience that is as memorable as the occasion itself. Whether you need weekly personal chef services or full-service catering for your next event, I look forward to serving you. My pricing is flexible, competitive, and customized to fit your needs while delivering exceptional value.
Reviews
We had Jamell cater our mother’s memorial service. Jamell is incredibly responsive, returning calls and texts immediately. He was flexible on the menu, providing multiple options. He arrived ahead of time, worked well with the venue and had everything ready even when the service ended a bit earlier than planned. He was also able to improvise additional food when things were running low because we materially underestimated the turnout. From all reports the food was excellent and filling (I was too tied up to eat unfortunately). An excellent experience all the way around!
I booked Jamell + team for a celebration of life event for 70 people in a private home and I can't recommend him highly enough. From initial contact to planning to final execution, everything was handled with grace and professionalism. The food was delicious and prepared perfectly for what we wanted it to be. The staff provided were courteous, punctual and efficient. Thank you Meals in Motion!
Jamell was very responsive and worked with me to create a delicious meal within my budget for my bachelorette party. He also put me in touch with a local event equipment company so I could order tables and chairs. The food was delicious. Thanks to Jamell, Irina, and team for a job well done!
Jamell prepared a wonderful 4 course meal for my parents anniversary. He was very professional and responsive from Day 1. He worked with me to create a custom menu and did a great job. He was very accomodating to everyones preferences. The Oscar was delicious. Everyone loved the way their steak was prepared. My parents were very pleased with everything and we would definitely invite Jamell to do another private dinner for us.
We had an amazing night with Jamell - super friendly and professional, good food, and very easy to deal with throughout the whole planning process. Would definitely use him again, wouldn’t hesitate to recommend.
When I tell you about the experience we had with JaMell, I'm not just talking about service—I'm talking about a memorable celebration. JaMell took my wife's 40th birthday and elevated it to an extraordinary level. He didn't just provide a service; he crafted an experience. From custom-building a menu that was both vibrant and delicious to personally making and serving each dish, JaMell's dedication was evident in every bite. But what truly set him apart was his role as a host. He wasn't just there; he was present, ensuring every moment was perfect. If you're looking for someone who will go above and beyond for your events and dinners, JaMell is your guy. Highly, highly recommend!
Jamelle was perfect! He showed up on time, well prepared, and was very friendly. He made us the most beautiful pineapple surf and turf boats and they tasted great! We hired him for my sister’s bachelorette party and everyone was so impressed. He really elevated the evening. One of the best parts was he also plated the food, served it, and also cleared the table and did the dishes! It was truly wonderful!
If I could give Jamell and his team a MILLION stars I would. I am BEYOND thankful that I found Jamell. We hired him to cater our wedding of about 80 people in my parents backyard. He brought along three team members to help him. I hired Jamell back in November of last year for our November wedding this year. I didn't have much planned for the wedding at the time I hired him, but I knew I needed to find an amazing caterer. When we first hopped on the phone Jamell was so helpful in preparing a menu and also offered to help find tables and chairs for our guest that I knew I had to say yes. But the thing that truly sold me was that he agreed to make a bread pudding as our dessert even though it was not on his original menu. We decided to do a taste test prior to the wedding to try four menu options. We tried the Steak's Oscar, Salmon, Spinach and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Breast and the Sea Bass. We knew we could only pick 3 for the wedding but honestly it was so difficult because all 4 dishes were absolutely delicious. We basically inhaled the food, it was that good. Fast forward to our wedding, Jamell followed through with renting the tables and chairs, the glassware, tablecloths etc. They were the ones to set the tables and they even moved our ceremony chairs to the dinner tables, even though they were in the middle of cooking a 4 course meal for 80 people! He was set up in my parents small kitchen, which isn't that big I might add, and everything was prepped/chopped once they got there so we knew everything was as fresh as possible. This team worked SO DANG HARD to make sure that it was the best dinner ever. People usually say that the bride and groom never eat at their wedding, but Jamell and team's cooking is so good that I made sure to eat it! By dessert, I was walking around too much that I had missed the serving of bread pudding, but I just went inside and they made me a bowl even though they were already working on cleanup. Throughout the wedding people were telling us how great the food was. One of our friends, who is a very picky steak eater (he frequents all the nice steakhouses) said it was one of the best steaks he had ever had. Another favorite was the bacon wrapped dates that were passed around as appetizers, they were so good that my husband grabbed all of the extra and handed them out on the bus to the bar after dinner! Jamell is truly a GREAT chef, but a great person. He is passionate about making a great meal and making sure that his clients truly enjoy their experience. I will be cheering him and his business on from now on. I've already asked my husband if we can hire him every year for our anniversary dinner!!
Best Homemade Fried Chicken and Cornbread i’ve ever had! Ribs were cooked to perfection with a classic bbq sauce and a spicy Hawaiian glaze, mac n cheese was melt in your mouth good. Jamell was an amazing cook for me and my 6 friends, and an even better person attentive and helpful to every ste along the way. Do yourself a favor and hire this man!
The FOOD Was DELICIOUS. Chef Jamell was Very PROFESSIONAL And On Time and had AMAZING Time Management with Appetizers and Main Course . Thank You for this AMAZING EXPERIENCE With My Family and My Mom For Mother’s Day
The food was excellent, and they were easy to work with. Could not recommend enough.
He was very responsive and professional. Thank you !
Meals In Motion met all of my expectations! They’re a full service caterer that checked every box for what I needed during my Housewarming (Brunch) party. When millionaires are impressed by the quality of service, you know you’ve hit the catering service “jackpot”. I will be utilizing Jamell and his team for my future catering needs!!
We had a great experience with Meals in Motion. There were a couple small details that were overlooked but otherwise, the whole experience was fantastic. I would hire Jamell again and recommend him to others. Our family was blown away by the experience.
Thank you for your great communication and promptness! We really enjoyed the food and it was a great pleasure.
Jamell and Sam prepped the most amazing dinner for our bachelorette weekend celebration! Jamell was in constant communication with me regarding the menu and all the details for a couple weeks leading up to the event and made sure to keep me up to date with any changes. The food was perfectly coursed out and cooked (to name a few- lobster tail, garlic mash, butter cake- WOW!). After the meal, they went above and beyond to clean up the kitchen area and left the space spotless! All the girls could not stop talking about this experience for days to come. I would highly recommend Jamell and his team for any type of event you are planning.
From start to finish the process was seamless. Meals in Motion worked with the dietary restrictions of our guest. The food was out quick and the taste was AMAZING! I will consider hiring Jamell/Meals In Motion for my next event.
Jamell is amazing!! I hired him for my fiancé’s 27th birthday and he did a great job. He curated a delicious Italian, 3 course meal for us along with appetizers and dessert! He communicated effectively from the beginning of the process and is super polite. We overall had a great private chef experience with him :) ps his bacon wrapped dates are EVERYTHING.
My name is Gianni I was planning a birthday even for my daughter who is turning 1 on 12/19/2020 of very few close family and friends. Due to covid me and the family had been tested knowing people would be coming to our home to celebrate. I was looking for a personal chef and reached out on the application to a chef which he was not available. I then got a message from (Jamell) who I’m writing the review for. My sister who is helping and doing the majority of the planning sent a few people that could maybe assist and I notified her I found a guy being (jamell) because he reached out in a timely manner, read reviews and seemed pretty legit. Boy was I wrong. Upon sending (jamell) ideas I had for a menu and what I was looking for which I have placed pictures and videos on the review he said don’t worry I can do everything and this will be great I was excited to move forward and without signing the agreement I sent him a deposit of $850.00 to get moving forward. He literally had to not make a menu cause I told him what I wanted also didn’t not have to purchase food or do anything. I reached out to (jamell) to notify him that I tested positive for Covid-19 and had to promptly cancel the event. Devastated for what happened cause it’s my first child and now I am sick asked him to please refund my deposit and that he could keep 25% of the funds. Which he then told me he has a non refund policy and he was keeping all but 25% of my deposit. In the process of me also wanting to support a black owned business he was rude and told me to contact his attorney because I sent him ideas being a picture attached below of what I had pictured and was happy to pay for of the meal I wanted my guest to have. So that was considered a red flag! And also because I told him my sister would reach out to him cause being she is doing the planning and I’m paying that also that was a red flag which I would expect you want all of your customers to be involved and give ideas of what they want or expect. After a back and forth conversation of him basically saying I was trying to defraud him, he asked for me to email him an (affidavit) being my results to my positive test to make sure it was legit, as if I would lie about my situation. I then let him know I would reach out to thumbtack because they have a protection policy for their consumers. And that he would get the test results as well. This experience has been horrible, and for the effort of nothing he had to put in, his excuse was he lost 8 clients because my date that was booked which caused him to loose clients because it blocks that date on thumbtack. He has created false red flags in order to keep my money in which should be a criminal activity. I have submitted a dispute to thumbtack with proof of a positive test result as well as documentation and pictures and videos of what we discussed. My deposit that was paid through zelle in which you can’t dispute a quick pay with zelle with your bank, which is why he had, me send the deposit that way. I thought this guy was really going to be something special, but just turns out he is looking for ways to survive by preying upon people and using the economic disaster taking place as a reason to do nothing and keep peoples money. PLEASE STAY AWAY YOU WILL REGRET THIS SERVICE THANK YOU. If I helped one person the time I took to write this review was worth it.
Services
Meals In Motion(Jamell)★ 4.8
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