Private chef in a villa: how a dinner for your group works

At Chef a Puerta Cerrada we cook in exactly those spaces: houses, villas and terraces along the coast. Below is how the service works, so you know what to expect before you write to us.

What a private chef dinner in a villa involves

A private chef cooks where you are. He arrives with the produce, works in the kitchen of the house and serves the dishes at your table. You book no table, you drive nowhere and nobody has to go into the kitchen. The menu is decided with you beforehand: the courses, the pace of the evening and the style of cooking. When it ends, we clear up.

How it differs from catering

Catering usually arrives with the food already finished and sets it out on site. Here the cooking happens in the villa, during the evening, and every dish leaves the kitchen at its best: a red prawn rice with its socarrat, the toasted crust at the base of the pan; octopus straight off the grill; a tataki sliced there and then.

How it differs from going out to a restaurant

A restaurant has sittings, a closing time and strangers at the next table. In the villa you set the terms: the pace, the music, the children getting up from the table, the long stretch of talk after the meal. And the question of the cars, and of who has to go without a drink, disappears.

It is a good fit if:

• You already have the space: a rented villa, a house with a garden or a terrace.
• You are a group and you want everyone at the same table.
• The occasion calls for a particular place: a birthday, an anniversary, a family lunch or a company dinner.
• You want a menu designed for you, not a card with options.
• You would rather not cook, not serve and not clear up.

It is less of a fit if what you want is to go out, move around the city and end the night somewhere else.

Where we cook: Barcelona, Castelldefels, Sitges and the Garraf coast

We work in Barcelona, Castelldefels, Sitges and the Garraf coast. It is the stretch where the rental villas with a terrace, a garden or a pool are concentrated, and it is familiar ground: we know what those kitchens are like and how a long table is laid outdoors.

The rest of Spain and Ibiza, on request

Outside that area we look at each request case by case. In the rest of Spain and Ibiza we cook on request: tell us where it is and what dates you are working with, and we will tell you whether we can. The team has to travel and the produce has to be bought, so the sooner you raise it, the better.

You do not need a professional kitchen

It is the question that makes people hesitate most when the house is a rental and you do not know what you will find. You do not need a professional kitchen or restaurant equipment.

Home kitchens, villas and terraces

We cook in home kitchens. A hob, an oven, some free worktop and a sink are enough for a full menu. The usual thing in a villa is to cook inside and lay the table outside, on the terrace, in the garden or by the pool. We also cook and serve outdoors when the space allows it. If the kitchen is small, we adjust the menu to the space and not the other way round.

What we go through with you before the service

Before finalising the menu we go over the space and the equipment together. A few photos and a handful of details are usually enough:

• What there is in the kitchen: hob, oven, fridge and work space.
• Where you eat: dining room, terrace, garden or pool.
• How many of you there are and whether there are children at the table.
• Allergies and intolerances in the group.
• Whether it is lunch or dinner, and what time you want to start.
• Whether you want extras: front of house, setup, cocktails or music.

With that, the menu is fitted to the house before anything is bought.

How many guests: from an intimate table to 40 people

We serve from a table of two up to forty guests in a single service. As the group grows what changes is the logistics, not the cooking: more hands front of house, more setup time, and deciding in advance how the tables are split. It is also worth checking how many can sit down to eat, because the type of menu and the pace of the service depend on it.

Small groups: the Private Experience

For an intimate table, the Private Experience is the natural format: dinner in your own space, with the pace, the menu and the service adapted to you. It fits an anniversary, a small celebration or dinner for six friends in a rented house.

Large groups and events in villas

When the group grows, the format becomes an event in the villa: dinners, brunch and celebrations with cooking, front of house service and a professional team. Here the setup counts as much as the menu. You have to decide where the aperitif is served, how the tables are laid out and where the service moves without crossing the guests. We go through it with you beforehand.

What the service includes

A single point of contact for the whole food side: we arrive with the team, set up, serve and clear away. These are the parts we can cover, and not all of them go into every proposal.

Signature cooking with seasonal produce

The menu is designed for your group with seasonal produce. This kitchen turns out rice dishes with red prawns, with lobster and with queen scallops; grilled octopus and squid; bluefin tuna tataki; a crisp sphere that breaks as you bite it and releases the yolk; tartare brioche; oxtail. And a dessert of stones that looks as if it had been picked up in the garden.

Front of house service, setup and mise en place

The service can include a front of house team that serves each course and looks after the table; it is agreed according to the number of guests and the type of menu. On the day of the dinner we arrive early, set up and leave the mise en place ready before the first guest appears. When it ends, we clear away. The idea is that in the house you notice none of the work, only the result. Moneim puts it like this:

The real dining experience happens when everything flows in silence.

Table decoration, cocktails, live music and extra staff

If you want, the whole evening can be put together:

• Table decoration in keeping with the menu and the occasion.
• Cocktails: a welcome cocktail or a bar during the event.
• Live music, with a musician or a DJ.
• Extra staff front of house or in the kitchen, according to the number of guests.

Ask for it when you write to us and it goes into the proposal. If you only want the cooking, that is fine too.

Three ways to approach the menu: Private, Gourmet and Fusion

They are the four ways we can host you: three affect the menu and the fourth, the format. The Private is the intimate dinner in your space, adapted to you in pace, menu and service. The Gourmet is a signature tasting menu, where technique and produce are held in balance. The Fusion is a journey where cultures, flavours and techniques live together. The fourth is the event in a villa: the same cooking, with the format and the team of a celebration. You choose one on the form, but it is not final: we settle it together.

The menus change with the season

Each season inspires three seasonal menus. In spring, vegetables and flowers lead; in summer, the sea and freshness; in autumn, deep flavours and long cooking; in winter, stews and stocks. You can take one as it is or ask us to adapt it to your group.

Allergies, intolerances and adapted menus

Yes, we cater for them. The form has a field for allergies, intolerances and any detail about the group: say it there from the start, because it shapes the whole menu. If you prefer, tell us on WhatsApp. The sooner it is known, the more room there is to build the menu around it, instead of changing a dish at the last minute.

Service in Spanish and English

We work in Spanish and in English, in the planning and during the service. A good part of the groups who rent a villa on this coast are international, and it is common for one person to write and for the group at the table to speak another language. The proposal, the way you are looked after during the evening and the explanation of each dish can be in either language.

How to request a date

You request it through the form on the website. Tell us the date, the place and the number of guests, choose an experience and a sitting, lunch or dinner, and add whatever you want about the group and the space: city and type of place, house, villa or terrace. The more you say in that first message, the more specific the answer will be. Moneim reviews the request and replies with a menu proposal and a quote.

A request is not a booking

Sending the form does not block the date, does not commit you to anything and nothing is paid when you send it. The date is held when both sides confirm service, menu and price. Until then it is still a conversation: ask whatever you need before deciding.

If you manage a villa, a hotel or an events agency

If you are not organising your own dinner but someone else's, there is a separate route for villas and holiday rentals, hotels without their own kitchen, events agencies, companies and brands. The approach changes there: the service can run through the whole stay, with breakfasts, lunches and dinners for the guests. It works with a partnership agreement, with its own menus and terms.

If you already have the villa, the date and the group, the next step is to request a date and tell us how you imagine the night.

Frequently asked questions

Do you need a professional kitchen in the villa?

No. We cook in home kitchens, villas and terraces. A hob, an oven, free worktop and a sink are enough for a full menu. Before the service we go over the space and the equipment with you, to fit the menu to what is there.

How many guests can you serve?

From a table of two up to 40 guests in a single service. Past a certain number more staff come in front of house and in the kitchen, and the setup is planned with you beforehand.

Which areas do you cook in?

Barcelona, Castelldefels, Sitges and the Garraf coast. In the rest of Spain and Ibiza, on request.

Can you cook and serve on the terrace or outdoors?

Yes, when the space allows it. The usual thing in a villa is to cook inside and lay the table on the terrace, in the garden or by the pool. We look at it with you before finalising the menu.

Does a front of house team come, or only the chef?

It depends on the service. It can include a front of house team that serves each course and looks after the table, as well as the setup and the mise en place. It is agreed according to the number of guests and the type of menu.

Do you adapt the menu to allergies and intolerances?

Yes. Note them in the notes field on the form, or tell us on WhatsApp if you prefer. The sooner they are known, the better the menu can be planned.

Can you also handle the setup, the table decoration, the cocktails or the music?

Yes. As well as the cooking and the front of house service, it can include setup, table decoration, cocktails, live music and extra staff. Each proposal is put together with the services you need; not every service goes into every proposal.

Do you work in English?

Yes. We work in Spanish and English, both in the planning and during the service.

Does sending the request confirm the date?

No. The request is not a booking. Moneim reviews it and replies with a menu proposal and a quote; the date is held when both sides confirm it.

Is anything paid when the request is sent?

No. Nothing is paid when you send the form.