Private Chef Services

'Good food, good wine, good friends, good times'

Private chef services are available upon request when booking a villa from Island Escapes. We are unable to provide private chef services independently unless a villa is booked with us.

Part of the magic of a private villa vacation in Turks and Caicos is being able to tailor your dining preferences and setting meal times just to suit your personal pace. After all, you are on vacation!

Those seeking relaxation can sleep late and have breakfast at 11 am or whenever. Unlike staying in a resort, you don't have to worry about missing rigid meal times; some days you may just feel like a late morning in bed and private coffee time while enjoying your ocean view. Mom can tinker around in the kitchen putting together grab and go snacks and goodies for the kids who're busy having fun by the pool or beach. This is what laid-back Caribbean style is all about.

Why not step it up a notch and consider having your own private chef to cater a special occasion at your Turks and Caicos villa. Choose from a one-off sumptuous meal or a chef to cook for part or all of your holiday – it’s as flexible as it is delicious!

Our chefs will take pride in using their culinary skills, adding an infusion of local flavors and tasty creations to satisfy your palette. This will give you time to relax with family and friends, take a day cruise along Provo's coast, go windsurfing in Long Bay, kayaking in Chalk Sound, check out the beach or snorkeling on Grace Bay, etc. knowing that a fabulous meal awaits you back at your villa. What better way to ensure you completely unwind and relax when on vacation!

We at Island Escapes work with a select group of private chefs, professionals with many years of experience with fine dining, some of whom have worked in world-class restaurants or resorts, or owned their own restaurant or catering services. Our chefs will work closely with you to develop personal menus that suit the entire party, meeting any nutritional or dietary requirements you need taken into account.

For those special occasions and events, allow your villa chef to lay the foundation for a memorable gathering, from island weddings to birthdays, anniversaries and reunions. Your villa chef will offer a range of options:

• Continental cuisine
• Island and Caribbean flavors
• Grilled selections
• Hors-d'oeuvres
• Desserts and baked delights
• Breakfasts
• Lunches
• Dinners
• Drinks, cocktails and aperitifs

The service provided includes doing the food shopping, in-villa food and drink preparation, set up, serving of the meal and cleaning up at the end, so you really can just sit back and let the wine flow. For larger groups the Chefs will have an assistant working alongside; and if a bartender or butler is required, this can also be arranged.

What to expect from your Chef

The following is a list of typical responsibilities that you can expect when you hire a private villa chef. These responsibilities will vary depending on the type of job, the number of other staff employed, the number of guests and of course any other specific requests. However, unless otherwise stated your chef will typically be responsible for the following:

• Planning menus (liaising with you or your guests before the job starts and agreeing menu plans)
• Managing special dietary requests
• Agreeing and managing a budget for food
• Food provisioning/shopping
• Meal preparation
• Setting the table, serving and clearing
• Keeping kitchen spotlessly clean
• Washing up
• Observing Food Safety Standards and any other relevant codes of practice

Food Provisioning, Budgeting, and Chef Fees

All of our chefs will take time to discuss with you and your guests specific food likes and dislikes and any dietary requirements. They will then prepare a menu plan in accordance with your and your guests needs. Most of our chefs take pride in using ingredients that are local and in season. If the chefs are given flexibility to use ingredients that they find fresh in the market on that day then often you will end up with some of the best tasting dishes, even if you have not planned for them! Island Escapes TCI recommends the clients discuss and agree a food budget with the chef at the same time as discussing the menus and always in advance or on the first day of the job. For short term jobs we recommend that an allowance for the food should be given to the chef up front and our chefs will keep a record of all food purchases, keeping all receipts.

You will have agreed on pricing with your Chef at the outset based on your menu selections, number of guests, alcoholic and other beverages and frequency of service. Your chef will require an initial deposit to cover outlays for food and beverage purchasing and balance of payment during and at the end of your stay will need to be made directly to the Chef.

Other Ideas

If you prefer not to hire an on-site Chef our partner chefs can prepare the meals that you want and deliver them to the property on the agreed day with full cooking instructions, saving you time and allowing you to make the most of your holiday. This catering option is perfect for hosting special meals for friends or family without losing too much time to the lengthy food preparation process. Catering, on-site preparation and meals ready-to-eat are available.

Advance arrangements are highly recommended for this exclusive service and of course early booking for private chef services is advised especially during holiday peak periods.