I am Giuseppe Manzoli, an Italian-trained private chef who travels to Edinburgh to cook dinner in the house where you are staying or living. Everything is cooked from scratch in your own kitchen — shopping, cooking, service and the clean-down afterwards.
At a Glance
- What it is: a private chef cooking in your home or holiday property, not a restaurant and not a delivery.
- Where: Edinburgh. City flats, townhouses and New Town apartments, plus the villages around the city.
- Suits: birthdays, anniversaries, dinner parties, hen parties, weddings and self-catering house stays.
- Included: menu planning, shopping, cooking, service and a full kitchen clean-down.
- Price: menus from £75 per person, VAT and travel included. Travel is included, so distance changes the drive, not the price.
- Chef: Giuseppe Manzoli — 35+ years cooking professionally, trained in Italy, 220+ five-star Google reviews, cooked for the First Minister of Scotland in 2024.
I’m Giuseppe Manzoli, a private chef cooking in Edinburgh and across Scotland for 35+ years — plated dinners, celebration weekends and multi-day stays in holiday lets, townhouses and family homes. In August 2026 I cooked a four-day stay for a family visiting from America at a six-bedroom house in Ravelston, ten minutes from the West End: one Italian dinner, three full breakfasts, and a kitchen handed back clean every morning.
This page explains what a private chef in Edinburgh actually does, what a multi-day stay looks like, how dietary requirements — including kosher-style cooking — are handled, and how to get an exact price for your own stay.
- Services: plated dinners, multi-day stays, breakfast service, celebration weekends, family gatherings.
- Where: across Edinburgh — Ravelston, Murrayfield, the New Town, Stockbridge — in holiday lets, townhouses and private homes.
- Pricing: private dinners from £75 to £180 per person, VAT included; stays quoted per booking.
- Dietary: allergies designed into the menu from the start; kosher-style cooking with notice.
- Get a quote: tailored proposal within 24 hours via the booking form.
What does a private chef in Edinburgh actually do — one dinner, or the whole stay?
Whichever shape your trip has. The American family’s four days in Ravelston are a good example, because the service followed their holiday rather than the other way round. On the first evening, a plated Italian dinner: handmade ravioli, roast chicken, beef fillet, and my sticky toffee pudding with homemade ice cream, among other dishes. After that, their days were full — castles, tours, the city — so what they needed wasn’t more dinners but proper mornings: three full breakfast services, a full English alongside a European table, omelettes cooked to order, beef sausages, fresh fruit, fresh juices and fresh-brewed coffee. Fed properly, out the door, no dishes left behind.
That is the real difference between a private chef and a restaurant week: the cooking bends around your plans. Some groups want dinner every night; some want one big evening and quiet mornings; a wedding weekend wants both. You tell me the shape of the trip and the menu follows.
The Ravelston house that keeps calling back
I’ve cooked at that six-bedroom Ravelston house several times over the last couple of years, for different guests each time — the house itself recommends me to the people who stay there. That, honestly, is the reference I value most: not a review written on a good day, but a property that has watched me work in its kitchen repeatedly and keeps handing my name to its guests. It is the same pattern behind the self-catering houses and lodges I cook in across Scotland, arrived in the capital.
For visitors from abroad planning an Edinburgh stay, this is worth knowing: many of the city’s larger holiday houses have no restaurant, no room service, and a booking platform that ends at the front door. A private chef is how a rented house becomes a hosted one.
Can you cook kosher-style, coeliac or vegan in Edinburgh?
Yes. At that same Ravelston house I have cooked for Jewish guests who asked for kosher cooking. I’ll say this precisely, because it matters: I am not kosher-certified — no private-house kitchen can be — but I followed the rules, and the guests ate well and with confidence. If you keep kosher, tell me at booking and we will talk through exactly how I’ll run the kitchen for your stay.
The same care applies to coeliac, vegan and allergy cooking: because everything is cooked from scratch, requirements are designed into the menu from the start rather than adapted at the stove, and in 35+ years I have never had an incident. The vegan at your table gets the best plate on it, not the afterthought.
Which parts of Edinburgh, and what kind of properties?
All of it — Ravelston and Murrayfield’s big family houses, New Town townhouses, Stockbridge flats with surprisingly good kitchens, and the holiday lets in between. Rented kitchens hold no fear: I bring my own equipment, and if you’re unsure whether your holiday house can host a dinner, my guide to what I actually need in a self-catering kitchen answers it — or simply send me the listing link and I’ll read the kitchen for you.
One piece of Edinburgh-specific advice: book early for August. Festival season fills the city and the best dates go first — the same is true of Christmas, Hogmanay and summer Saturdays. A tailored quote arrives within 24 hours of your enquiry whenever you write.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a private chef cost in Edinburgh?
From £75 to £180 per person for private dinners, VAT included — full details on the pricing page. Multi-day stays and breakfast service are quoted per booking, in writing, within 24 hours.
Do you cook breakfast as well as dinner?
Yes — whole stays, not just evenings. The recent Ravelston booking was one plated dinner and three full breakfast services: full English and European tables, omelettes to order, fresh fruit, juices and fresh-brewed coffee.
Can you cook kosher-style meals?
I’m not kosher-certified — no private-house kitchen can be — but I have cooked for Jewish guests following kosher rules, and I’m happy to do it again with notice at booking.
Do you cook in rented holiday homes and townhouses?
Yes — most of my Edinburgh work is in holiday lets and rented houses, including repeat bookings at the same properties over several years. I bring my own equipment and leave the kitchen clean.
How far ahead should we book?
As early as you can for August — Festival dates go first — and for Christmas, Hogmanay and summer weekends. Shorter notice is sometimes possible; just ask.
About Private Chef Giuseppe Manzoli
Giuseppe Manzoli is a private chef cooking across Scotland — Edinburgh, self-catering houses, lodges, country houses and multi-day stays. Born in Modena and cooking for 35+ years, trained at Istituto Etoile under Rossano Boscolo and Luca Montersino. Private dinners from £75 to £180 per person, VAT included, with a tailored quote within 24 hours of every enquiry. Rated five stars across 220+ Google reviews. Check availability here. Last updated 12 August 2026.
This is the kind of evening I cook most often. My guide to private chef dining in Scottish self-catering houses, lodges and holiday cottages sets out how it works from first enquiry to the last plate cleared away.