Private Chef at Home in Mallorca

A private chef is not a catering delivery: it is a cook who takes over your kitchen for an evening and gives it back spotless. The per-head fee covers five things:

• A menu written for you. Agreed a few days ahead, with allergies and dietary rules flagged in advance.
• Market shopping. Fish, vegetables and meat bought that morning, inside the per-head rate unless you ask for wine pairings or luxury produce.
• Cooking and plating in your kitchen. The chef arrives two or three hours before the first course.
• Table service. Up to eight guests the chef often serves alone; above that, add a waiter per 10-12 seated guests.
• Clearing up. Washing up done, bins out, surfaces wiped before anyone leaves.

Drinks are rarely included, and nor are hired crockery and furniture; a long drive to the other side of the island is normally charged on top. Quotes on the island are given without VAT — IVA in Spain — which is 10% on cooking and table service and 21% on anything hired in.

The island average runs €46-73 per person, from €21 for simple menus to €160 a head for exclusive services. Group size matters more than anything else, and a table of three or four sits between the dinner-for-two rate and the group-of-six rate, nearer the first: the chef still gives up the same evening, just split between a few more people.

A villa chef sits in a band of €55-130 per person, and what sets the bracket is how many sit down to eat. Breakfast at the villa for eight to twelve guests is quoted as a lump sum of €150-250, and dinner by a Michelin-trained chef for eight to ten guests starts at €700-800.

The 25-40% surcharge is not charged all summer, only on peak dates between May and October. A Saturday costs 15-20% more than a weekday, while booking three nights or more earns a 10-15% discount.

The gap between a brilliant evening and an awkward one sits in the conversation beforehand, not in the chef's CV. Worth asking:

• Who is actually cooking? Some arrive alone, others bring an assistant. Above eight guests, working solo stretches the gaps between courses.
• Will your kitchen cope? Old village houses often have two burners and no oven, which changes the menu.
• Is the shopping included? Get it in writing: produce inside the rate, or invoiced separately.
• How many courses, starting when? Five courses for twelve will not fit into two hours.
• Which languages? Most chefs working with holiday villas handle English, but confirm it when allergies are involved.

Private chefs working on the island include Private Chef Mallorca est. 2012, Delle Vedove, Private Cooking Mallorca and Concept Events Mallorca. Ask two or three for the same thing — same date, same head count, same menu — or the quotes will not be comparable. The form on this page reaches several at once.

Most chefs cooking in private homes are based in Palma de Mallorca and around the bay, and each one sets its own no-charge radius, so confirm whether Calvia, Marratxi, Llucmajor and Andratx fall inside it. The north and the far east — Pollensa, Alcudia, Arta and Santanyi — usually carry a travel charge on a single-night booking, though it shrinks across several consecutive nights at the same villa.

One week is the usual lead time, enough to agree a menu and shop. That rule tightens in summer: between May and October the chefs in most demand close their diaries weeks ahead, so book as soon as the villa is confirmed.

Rural fincas without enough electrical supply need a generator, quoted separately at €300-600, and bookings on Menorca, Ibiza or Formentera carry a logistics supplement because the team and the ingredients have to travel by boat. A deposit of 20-30% is requested at confirmation.