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When chef Marc Thuet launched a catering company out of his Toronto bistro in July, he figured his cooks would be serving high-end finger foods at events for the corporate crowd.

The ebullient, French-trained restaurant owner quickly realized that deep-pocketed gourmets didn't want to stand around eating snacks. They wanted an eight-course dose of Thuet haute cuisine delivered to their dining room table.

So for anywhere from $200 to $800 a plate, Mr. Thuet has joined the ranks of celebrity cooks who stage dinner parties, where both the food and the chef are part of the show.

"This is simply a great way to entertain," says Mr. Thuet, who cooked at three private gatherings in December. "The host and their guests get to watch us prep the dinner, we all share some great wines, we cook together, then we all enjoy the meal."

For a crowd that pulls the corks on $3,000 bottles of wine when friends drop by for Saturday dinner, bringing a top-name chef into the kitchen is becoming a small price to pay for a stand-out dinner party. The cozy feeling that comes with being at home - controlling the music, dressing casually - can be blended with the cult of the chef that's been built up by restaurant reviews and ever-increasing television exposure.

Anna Olson, a noted pastry chef and host of the Food Network Canada show Sugar, gets lured out of her Port Dalhousie, Ont., bakery every few months when clients drop up to $20,000 at charity events for the honour of having her and husband, chef Michael Olson, cook in their kitchens.

"What you're creating is an intimate dining experience, with some pretty incredible menus," says Ms. Olson, who had been preparing this week for a private Valentine's Day dinner party.

It's that sense of intimacy, combined with exclusivity, that is creating enormous demand for these experiences. It may be tough to get a table at Mark McEwan's One restaurant in the newly opened Hazelton Hotel in Toronto. But it's even harder, and therefore more desirable, to lure Mr. McEwan into your own kitchen.

"The connection between the guests and the chef is tremendous," says Mr. McEwan, who personally does four or five private events a year. "The guests are behind the stove with me, standing and talking about the food and the wine."

While guests can cook with the chefs, and even share a glass, they don't always get to eat with them. Ms. Olson says: "People are always very generous, setting a place for us at the table, but we seldom get to sit down."

Adding to the exclusivity is the fact that flashing cash isn't enough to reel a big-name chef into your home. All the chefs say they turn down far more opportunities than they accept. Ms. Olson used to do the occasional cooking class in homes, helping customers learn to better use their own appliances, but now only ventures out for charity events.

Mr. McEwan, who is launching a line of eponymous gourmet take-home meals and also has a Food Network Canada show called The Heat, will only drop by kitchens of faithful clients at his restaurants, which also include Toronto favourites Bymark and North 44. That means well-heeled financiers, lawyers and entrepreneurs who can afford frequent meals at expensive restaurants are the only ones who can host these parties with the top chef.

When price is no object, the fare on the table will match the sensibilities of the chef, and the wine cellar of the host. The chefs all enjoy sitting down with the homeowner to pair food with the available wines - and the cooks all rave about the quality of their customers' wine collections.

Mr. Thuet, with his roots in France's Alsace region, did an eight-course dinner for 10 guests that included deer loin with a dogberry reduction and canary mushrooms, and a black truffle risotto with white chocolate for dessert.

Mr. McEwan says he always opts with seasonal produce at his private parties - he shops that day for the evening meal - and tries to cap proceedings at six courses. But he adds: "I always try to have foie gras in the mix somewhere, because it's always such a hit."

Foodies can delight in the fact that chefs often use these meals to try out new recipes. One recent event, for example, saw Ms. Olson successfully introduce a variation on a Japanese dessert, with spongy rice dumplings stuffed with Niagara strawberries rather than the traditional red bean filling.

Let's face it, everyone can tune in to top chefs on TV and learn their recipes. Most of us can afford to drop by their restaurants for a meal and, if we're lucky, catch the chef's eye. But to throw the entertaining budget to the wind and have a top chef in the home kitchen, sharing secrets and stirring sauces - that's priceless.

awillis@globeandmail.com