July 28, 2025
Why I’ll Always Choose the Slow Way
In a world that is obsessed with speed—fast food, express delivery, instant everything—there is something powerful about slowing down. As a private chef in Cornwall, I have learned that the best meals, the best nights, and the best memories come…
July 21, 2025
Pairing Plates and Pours: How I Build Menus Around Great Drinks
Food and drink go hand in hand. Always have, always will. But when you get the pairing right—when the wine lifts the sauce or the beer cuts through the fat—something magic happens. As a private chef in Cornwall, I spend as much time thinking about…
July 14, 2025
Five Mistakes Hosts Make (And How a Private Chef Fixes Them)
Hosting a dinner party sounds simple enough. Invite a few friends, cook something nice, pour some wine, job done. But as anyone who has actually tried it knows, that is rarely how it plays out. Things go wrong. Timings slip. Guests get hungry…
July 7, 2025
Private Chef on the Road: What Really Goes Into a Pop-Up Event
When people hear the term "pop-up dinner," they picture fairy lights, rustic tables, and beautiful food served under the stars. And yes, sometimes it is exactly like that. But behind every polished photo is a van full of prep, a long list of things…
June 30, 2025
The One Dish Every Client Asks For (And Why It Never Gets Old)
Some dishes are flashy. Some are showstoppers. And some—some just work every single time. If I had a pound for every time a client requested slow cooked lamb shoulder, I would probably be writing this from a beach in Portugal with a spritz in hand.…
June 23, 2025
Burnout, Balance and Braised Beef: Finding a Sustainable Life as a Private Chef
If you have ever worked in hospitality, you know the feeling. The long shifts. The missed birthdays. The relentless pace. The industry is full of passion and adrenaline, but it is also full of burnout. And I have been there more than once. Before…
June 16, 2025
What Goes Into a Tasting Menu? Behind the Scenes of Building a Five Course Experience
When people sit down to one of my private dining experiences, the first thing they usually comment on—after the food—is the flow. How each course feels connected. How nothing is too heavy, too similar, or too much. That balance does not happen by…
June 9, 2025
Dinner Party Disasters (And How to Avoid Them)
When you have cooked as many private dinners as I have, you learn one truth very quickly: something will always try to go wrong. It could be a forgotten ingredient, a broken oven, a guest arriving three hours late, or someone deciding to switch the…
June 2, 2025
Cooking in a Castle, a Campsite, and a Kitchenette: My Wildest Private Chef Locations
When people picture a private chef at work, they often imagine a sleek, high end kitchen with marble worktops, professional ovens, and a whole team backing them up. The reality? Well, it is a little more... creative. One of the things I love most…
May 26, 2025
Lessons from the Pass: What Working in Top Kitchens Taught Me
Every chef has a starting point. For me, it was the pressure cooker world of restaurant kitchens. Before I became a private chef in Cornwall, I spent years behind the pass, working long shifts, getting shouted at, pushing plates, and learning what…