Private cooking at the top end is a migratory trade. A chef who cooks a chalet season in St. Moritz from December to March will spend July and August on a villa retainer in Ibiza or on the Côte d’Azur, and quite possibly January in the Caribbean or the Gulf. The best of them are booked a season ahead by the same families.
The calendar
December and January: the Alps and the Gulf. February and March: the Alps, with the best rates in the first half of January and the last week of March. April and May: the shoulder, when everyone is available and nobody thinks to ask. June to August: the Mediterranean, with July the hardest month to book anywhere. September: the arbitrage month, when the same chef costs a third less than in August. October and November: cities, corporate dinners and the game season.
What it means for a host
Book against the circuit rather than against your diary. A chef for a villa week in August is contracted in February; a chef for the same week in late September can often be found six weeks out at a quarter less. And a chef who has just finished a chalet season is at their most organised in April, which is the best month of the year for a trial dinner.
