Private Chef

A private chef is one of the services our guests ask for most, and it changes the shape of a villa week. Instead of booking tables and driving back after dinner, you eat on your own terrace, at your own pace, while the sea goes dark behind the table. A chef can cook one celebration dinner, a few evenings, or breakfast and dinner every day of the stay.

We work with independent chefs on the island rather than one kitchen, so we can match the cook to the group. Tell us the kind of food you like, whether that is French cooking, Caribbean and Creole dishes, a barbecue by the pool or simple meals the children will eat, and we suggest a chef whose cooking fits and send menu ideas before anything is booked.

Local produce sets the menu. Fish is the obvious choice here: mahi-mahi, snapper, wahoo and tuna come in off the boats, and Caribbean lobster is a favorite for a celebration. Chefs also cook with the island's fruit and spice, from mango and passion fruit to christophene and pumpkin, and the guavaberry that turns up in desserts and rum punch.

On the day, the chef arrives with the shopping done, cooks in the villa kitchen, serves each course and leaves the kitchen clean. You do not need to buy anything. If you would like the kitchen stocked for the rest of the week too, we combine the chef with grocery pre-stocking.

The price depends on the menu, the number of guests and whether you want a server as well. Every quote spells out what is included, from groceries to service, and you confirm the menu and the quote before anything is booked.

Two practical notes. Villa kitchens vary, so we check that yours suits the menu, and for large groups we ask whether the chef should bring a helper or extra equipment. Over Christmas and New Year the chefs are booked early, so mention a chef when you first ask about a villa if those dates matter to you.