PRIVATE CHEF
Private Chef Dinners in Cape Town — Restaurant Craft in Your Own Kitchen
Your chef shops, cooks, serves and cleans. You own the evening and none of the work.
Fixed itemised quote before you pay a deposit · Reply within 1 hour, 08:00–20:00 SAST.
A private chef dinner brings a professional chef to your villa or home for one evening: menu consult, shopping, cooking, plating, table service and a spotless kitchen at the end. It suits tables of two to fourteen guests, from Camps Bay to Constantia to the Winelands. from R850 pp per person · Min invoice R3,900.
What happens, hour by hour
A private chef dinner brings a professional chef to your villa or home for one evening: menu consult, shopping, cooking, plating, table service and a spotless kitchen at the end. It suits tables of two to fourteen guests, from Camps Bay to Constantia to the Winelands.
The menu consult happens on WhatsApp within one business day. On the day itself we shop that morning — linefish from Atlantic Seaboard fishmongers, produce from the Oranjezicht market and Gardens delis. Your chef arrives three to four hours before the first course and works quietly around your afternoon.
Canapés land at 18:30 if you have booked them. First course at 19:00, mains paced to your table's rhythm, dessert and coffee to finish. By 22:00 the kitchen is cleaner than we found it, and the rest of the night is yours.
Who books this: families celebrating something, groups of friends on holiday, couples marking an anniversary, executives hosting quietly at home. The format flexes from a relaxed family-style spread to a plated four-course menu — the consult sets the register, and the price bands are published either way.
Packages, published
Every package shows its from-price and its minimum before you speak to us. The classic three-course dinner suits most tables. The signature adds canapés, an amuse and a palate cleanser. The dinner for two is built for anniversaries and proposals — see our romantic dinner page for styling options.
Private chef dinner (10+ guests)
fromR850pp
Min invoice R3,900
Signature dinner (4 courses + canapés)
fromR1 050pp
Min invoice R3,900
Dinner for two
fromR1 450pp
- Or couple package from R3,900
A sample signature menu
Menus are written around your table after the consult — this is a recent signature arc to show the shape. Kreef appears only when licensed and in season. Every course can be reworked for dietary needs, including halaal-friendly service with strict protocols.
The Cape leads the menu. Snoek from the West Coast, waterblommetjies when the season opens, springbok, naartjie, moskonfyt. If your table wants a specific direction — a braai-forward evening, a seafood arc, a Cape Malay spread — the consult shapes the courses around it.
- 01Snoek pâté, moskonfyt, charred sourdough
- 02Burnt leek and waterblommetjie velouté
- 03Cape linefish, lemon butter, samphire
- 04Springbok loin, rooibos jus, pumpkin fritters
- 05Milk tart, naartjie, toasted meringue
Included, and quoted separately
The honesty table runs both columns, always. Your fixed itemised quote lists every line before you pay the 50% deposit that locks the date.
Included
- menu consult and planning
- shopping, cooking, plating and table service
- full kitchen cleanup
Quoted separately
- groceries at cost, receipts attached
- wine and pairing add-ons
- rentals, Zone 2–3 travel, festive multipliers
Upgrades, priced
Add-ons attach to any dinner package. A sommelier pairing, a waiter for a larger table, a bartender for a long evening — each priced on the rate card, each itemised on your quote. Kreef in season and cake coordination are quoted per event.
| Service | From |
|---|---|
| Sommelier wine pairing add-on | fromR450–650per person |
| Waiter4-hour minimum | fromR195per hour |
| Bartender4-hour minimum | fromR225per hour |
Verified October 2026 · Festive 1.5×–2× · Prices include VAT where stated.
Kitchens, areas and timing
A standard home kitchen is enough: hob, oven, counter space, running water. Beach houses and off-grid villas get induction backup, and we plan around load-shedding windows with you in advance.
Zone 1 — City Bowl, Atlantic Seaboard, Southern Suburbs, Constantia and Hout Bay — carries no travel fee. Stellenbosch and Paarl sit in Zone 2, Franschhoek in Zone 3; the full travel table is published on our pricing page.
Lead time is five to seven days for most dates, longer over Ke Dezemba. Tell us the date, the guest count and the suburb, and the menu consult starts the same day.
Why a fixed quote matters
The price you approve is the price you pay. If a course needs something out of the ordinary — truffles, kreef at the top of the season — we quote it before we buy it. No surprise lines appear after dessert.
And if your chef falls ill the day before, the replacement-or-refund guarantee applies: a vetted replacement chef steps in, or you take your deposit back. The full guarantee set is published on our booking protection page.
In writing, not in vibes — read the full booking protection terms.
Questions, answered.
Anything else? One WhatsApp message is enough — reply within 1 hour, 08:00–20:00 sast.
Related services
Tell us the date, the guests and the place.
We handle everything else — menu, shopping, cooking, service, cleanup. Guaranteed.
Replacement-or-refund · Fixed itemised quote · Published cancellation tiers