Long Island restaurants that cater

If you're entertaining at home this summer, there's a way to lighten your workload and wow your guests in a single stroke: Hire a restaurant chef to cook in your backyard.

Of course, most restaurants are happy to deliver cooked food to your home. But having a chef on the premises takes the party to a whole new level.

Besides eating, guests can learn a thing or two about cooking. Kevin Judge, owner of Maple Tree BBQ in Riverhead, put it this way: "Having a chef at the party is entertainment, and it's also educational. When we smoke meat in someone's backyard, everyone wants to know exactly what we're doing and how we're doing it."

Theresa Kane of Manorville hired Maple Tree to cater her daughter's high school graduation party. "I'd done parties with caterers and servers," she said, "but this was a first for me. The chef was so passionate about what he was doing, and having the food being cooked fresh right there in front of you -- even guests who didn't think they liked barbecue loved it."

Having a restaurant set up shop at your home isn't the most economical way to entertain, but it's a reasonable alternative to conventional caterers. According to Derek Kaye, who runs the pizza truck for Eddie's Pizza of New Hyde Park: "People are moving away from traditional parties. For the same price, we can show up and make fresh pizzas in your driveway." (Kaye can serve 50 people for less than $2,000.)

When Hope Duarte of Sands Point threw a party to celebrate her daughter's high school graduation, she hired Shiro of Japan in Carle Place to make sushi and Churrasqueira Bairrada in Mineola to make rodizio, traditional Portuguese grilled meats. "Not only was the food fantastic," she said, "it was basically like hiring a magician for the adults."

Here's a sampling of restaurants that will cook at your house.

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401 Old Country Rd., Carle Place, 516-997-4770

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2048 Hillside Ave., New Hyde Park, 917-710-4757 (catering only)

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820 W. Main St., Riverhead, 631-727-2819

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90A Washington Dr., Centerport, 631-424-4545

There's more to a party than the food -- and more to pay for as well. The prices listed reflect the cost of having the food prepared and, where indicated, served in your home. Tables, chairs, plates, glasses, utensils, drinks, desserts, tents and additional servers will cost extra. Most restaurants can supply these extras (for a fee) or can recommend rental agencies that specialize in catering services.