You have booked a villa, the dates are set and someone suggests a chef for one of the evenings. What actually happens, from the first message to the morning after? Here is the whole evening, in order, as we do it in Ibiza and Formentera.
Before the evening: a proposal, not a price list
It starts with a message: the date, how many of you and what the occasion is. We answer within 24 hours with a proposal written for your group. You read it, you tell us what you would change, and we adjust it by email, WhatsApp or a call until it is right. When you accept it, a 20% deposit holds the date and the balance is paid one week before the dinner. A last-minute booking, a few days ahead or even the same day when the diary allows it, is paid in full when booked, always before the service. Once your date is confirmed it is yours, even months ahead, so the earlier you write, the better.
One meal, whether it is a dinner, a lunch or a brunch, is booked as Private Dining for 4 to 20 guests, or as Villa Catering from 21 to 50. The food and the service are included in the price per guest. Drinks are not: if you want them, we arrange them and charge them separately, or you book a private bartender for the evening and the drinks come with the bar.
What the villa needs
A kitchen. We cook in the kitchen of the villa; in a place without one we do not cook, so if the house is unusual, tell us early. Tableware and kitchen equipment are the house’s, and we can rent them, or arrange a special decoration, if you ask. For a paella we bring everything, pans included, and cook on gas, so all we need is a space outside on earth, grass or a corner that will not stain; we protect the ground around the pans and, where the space allows, cook it in front of your guests. For a barbecue we use the grill of the house, or rent one.
Allergies, intolerances and dietary needs go into the first message. We adapt every menu to them, and they go into the proposal from the start.
The evening itself
You choose the time your dinner starts; we arrive ahead of it, cook in your kitchen and set the table. We serve at the table, so nobody from your group has to get up; for larger groups, the team grows with the table. Nothing about the format is fixed. If there is a snack, it is individual; starters usually come to share; the main course is plated or served family style, in the middle of the table, as you prefer. The exception is the Gourmet Tasting Menu, served course by course and only for 8 to 25 guests.
You will not be asked to choose dish by dish from a long list. We talk about the kind of table you want (a seafood dinner, a paella, a barbecue, tapas to share, a Mediterranean menu, a tasting) and write the proposal from the card you choose among our catering menus in Ibiza.
After dinner: the kitchen as we found it
When the last plate is cleared we clear the kitchen completely. The dishwasher is running, everything else we used is washed, dried and back in its place, and the floor is swept and mopped. You will not find the pans in the morning. We deal with whoever booked and with any guest who wants to talk, so nobody has to play host to the kitchen.
A dinner, a party or the whole stay
A dinner is not the only shape. The big group at the villa (a family reunion, a big birthday, friends on holiday), from 21 to 50 guests, is Villa Catering, with formats made for a crowd: a paella or a barbecue for fifty, a long table to share, grazing tables. A celebration with a host or an organiser (a company dinner, an organised party) is Private Events. A wedding meal for up to 50 is Wedding Catering. Everything we cook for groups is under catering in Ibiza.
If you are staying a week, you may not want to book a meal at a time. Villa Chef is a chef in the house for the stay, from three days; most stays are a week. All day, or just the meals you want: every day is up to you. Villa Chef is charged by the hour, and the food shopping is paid separately by you. There is no menu to choose from: the chef cooks what you feel like. A group retreat, from 15 to 50 guests and from three days, has its own service: Retreat Chef. A set menu for every day of your retreat, designed around your group.
Where and when
We cook across the five municipalities of Ibiza and in Formentera, in villas, on yachts and in retreat houses. We cook all year round; the high season runs from March to October, and July and August are the busiest months. Any notice works: two months or two weeks ahead, a few days or even the same day, when the diary allows it; the only thing that matters is that the booking is paid before the service.
That is the whole evening. The rest is yours: the table, the people and a kitchen you never have to think about. When you know your date, tell us the occasion and how many of you, and we write the proposal: get a quote.
