On Monday 21 September 2026 I cooked a private dinner at Brewlands Estate in Glenisla, on the edge of the Cairngorms National Park. I am Giuseppe Manzoli, an Italian private chef based in Fife, and Brewlands is one of the estates I come back to again and again. The guests were staying in the house. I arrived with the shopping, cooked in their kitchen, served every course at the table and left the kitchen clean.
In short
- A private chef at Brewlands Estate cooks in the house you are staying in and serves each course at your table.
- This September menu: two puff pastry canapés, courgette rounds with hummus, a spinach and goat’s cheese tart, then seared beef fillet with roasted potatoes, peppers and onions.
- Everything is shopped, cooked and served on the day, and the kitchen is cleaned down before I leave.
- Private dinners start from £75 per person, VAT and travel included.
Canapés while the guests gathered
I always start with something small in the hand. The first canapé was a square of puff pastry baked crisp, spread with soft goat’s cheese and topped with a slice of pan-fried mushroom and spring onion. Half of them got a curl of prosciutto on top, so there was one for the meat eaters and one for anyone who prefers to skip it.
The second was lighter: thick rounds of roasted courgette, a spoon of smooth hummus and a strip of sun-dried tomato. No pastry, no bread, and gone from the board in minutes.
The starter: spinach and goat’s cheese tart
For the starter I made individual puff pastry tarts, each one spread with goat’s cheese and topped with wilted spinach, sun-dried tomato and grated cheese. They came out of the oven golden and puffed at the edges, and I finished each plate with a handful of fresh rocket.
The main course: seared beef fillet
The main was beef fillet. I seared it hard in a hot pan to build a proper crust, rested it, then sliced it and laid it on its own juices with good olive oil and parsley. Cooking it in the house’s kitchen means it goes from pan to plate in minutes, which is the whole point of having a chef in the house rather than food brought in.
Alongside it: potatoes roasted with rosemary, and sweet peppers roasted with onions until soft and a little charred. Simple sides, served family-style so everyone helps themselves.
Cooking at Brewlands Estate
Brewlands is an old estate in Glenisla with several self-catering houses, a little over an hour and a half north of Edinburgh. Groups come for the scenery and the peace, and a chef in the house means nobody has to leave it to eat well. If you are planning a stay there, my guide to having a private chef at Brewlands Estate covers the houses and how I work there, and my Perthshire page covers the rest of the area I cook in.
Frequently asked questions
Can I hire a private chef at Brewlands Estate?
Yes. I cook at Brewlands regularly, in the main house and in the estate’s other self-catering houses. I bring the food, cook in the house’s kitchen, serve at your table and clean down afterwards.
How much does a private chef cost in Glenisla?
Private dinners start from £75 per person, with VAT and travel included, so there is no separate mileage charge for Glenisla. Multi-night group stays are quoted per booking.
Do you cook in the holiday house’s own kitchen?
Yes. Everything on this menu was cooked in the house on the day. I bring any specialist kit I need and leave the kitchen as I found it.
Can the menu work for vegetarians or mixed dietary needs?
Yes. On this evening one canapé was served with and without prosciutto, and the courgette canapé had no meat at all. Tell me about dietary needs when you book and I build them into the menu from the start.
How far ahead should I book a chef for a stay at Brewlands?
As soon as your dates are confirmed. Weekends in autumn and December fill first, and I can only be in one house per evening.
I have been cooking for more than 35 years and have 220+ Google reviews from clients across Scotland. If you are staying at Brewlands or anywhere in Glenisla, send me your dates and I will come back with a menu.