Menus for a single night
No restaurant brand to maintain. Brief Carte for one evening, publish a menu just for that night, archived forever after.
Dinner parties · Private chefs
A printed menu means you thought about them.
For private chefs with discerning clients, and home cooks who throw real dinner parties. Brief Carte once, get a designed menu back, print one at every setting. The menu becomes part of the night.
What it covers
Hospitality as craft — for the table you set yourself.
Print one at every setting
A cardstock menu at each guest's place — like a real tasting. Print on the home printer or send to a print shop the same afternoon.
Brainstorm dishes with the AI
Stuck on the third course? Ask the AI for pairings, swaps, dessert ideas. A co-cook for hosts who aren't chefs.
A signature for the host
Even a home cook can have a voice. Carte writes in your tone — playful, refined, ceremonial — for every dinner you throw.
Allergens and dietary notes
You know your guests. Tag dishes with vegetarian, gluten-free, allergen notes — printed inline so no one has to ask.
A library of every night
Every published menu stays live forever. For chefs: a portfolio to share with new clients. For hosts: a memory of the table you set.
Designed for one specific night
Design the menu the same week you plan the dinner.
Brief Carte with the cuisine, the guests, the occasion — a Saturday tasting for six, a 40th birthday, a client's anniversary, a New Year's Eve. A polished menu arrives in minutes with sections, dishes, descriptions, and the right voice for the room.
Refine with the AI design partner. Then publish — one menu, one night, archived forever afterward.
At every place setting
A printed menu at every plate.
Export a print-ready PDF in single-card or folded formats. Run them through the home printer, or send to a print shop the morning of. The menu standing upright at each plate is the first thing your guests notice when they sit down.
It's the small detail that turns a Saturday dinner into a tasting menu — and tells your guests, without saying it, that you thought about them.
A library of nights
Every dinner stays live, forever.
Every published menu stays on its own permanent URL — long after the candles are blown out and the wine is gone. For private chefs, that's a portfolio you can share with new clients: proof of the kind of nights you cook.
For home hosts, it's a memory book. A small archive of the tables you set, the friends you fed, the years you marked together.
Common questions
Do I need to be a restaurant to use Carte?
Not at all. Private chefs, dinner-party hosts, supper clubs, pop-up dinners, anniversary tasting menus — Carte works for anyone designing a menu for guests. There's no business-license requirement, no recurring subscription, no expectation that you keep using it after one night.
What if I only host once or twice a year?
That's a great fit. Drafting and editing are free; you only pay $4.99 when you publish a menu, and there's no subscription. A two-dinners-a-year host spends $9.98 a year and ends up with two beautifully designed, archived menus.
I'm not a chef — can the AI help me plan the menu?
Yes. The AI Assistant in the editor knows the whole menu in context. Ask it for course pairings, dish swaps, a dessert that matches the main, wine suggestions — it's a back-and-forth, not a one-shot generator. You stay the decision-maker; the agent is the sous-chef.
Can I include allergens and dietary notes for specific guests?
Yes. Each item supports allergen and dietary metadata that renders inline on both the printed menu and the live link. Particularly useful for personal cooking — you actually know your guests' restrictions.
Can the menu include a note from the host?
Yes. Add a free-text section anywhere — a welcome note at the top, a thank-you at the bottom, a story about a particular dish in the middle. The voice is yours; the design is Carte's.
The menu that makes the night.
Brief Carte for your next dinner. Print one at every setting. Stays archived forever after.