On Saturday 19 September 2026 I cooked Liz’s 60th birthday dinner at Carsaig, a lodge on the shore of Loch Venachar near Callander, in the Trossachs. I am Giuseppe Manzoli, an Italian private chef based in Fife. The family of six were staying at the house for the weekend, and everything on the table — the focaccia, the linguine, the gnocchi, the ice cream — was made by hand, by me, that day.
The house
Carsaig sits right on the water. The dining table runs down to one big window, and the window is the loch: trees, a strip of shingle beach, and Loch Venachar moving behind them. The kitchen is open to the same room, so the family could watch the dinner come together while they had a drink.
I arrive with everything: food, pans, boards, plates if needed, even my own ice-cream machine. A holiday-house kitchen is almost always enough. This one was more than enough.
To start: canapés on the boards
We began with canapés served on wooden boards while everyone was still standing: king prawns wrapped in cured ham, arancini, vegetarian haggis bonbons, salmon croquettes and warm cheesy quiches with pea shoots, with Parmesan grated over the boards at the last second.
Linguine cut by hand that morning
That morning I cut the linguine by hand — no machine, so no two strands are quite the same width — and rolled the gnocchi one by one. In the evening two of the six had the linguine with mushrooms and thyme, and four had the gnocchi in a chorizo and mascarpone sauce.
The main course
The main course was chicken stroganoff, served in bowls with fresh thyme. And my own focaccia on the table — baked first thing that morning — because a sauce like that should not be left in the bowl.
Dessert: crème brûlée and ice cream churned in the house
Dessert was a crème brûlée turned out of its mould, a shard of meringue, and homemade vanilla ice cream. I churn the ice cream in the house on the day; it goes from the machine to the freezer to the plate, and that is why it tastes the way it does.
Then I cleaned the kitchen down, packed the van and left the family to their evening by the loch.
In short: Liz’s 60th birthday dinner at Carsaig on Loch Venachar was a private chef dinner for a family staying in a Trossachs holiday lodge — canapés, hand-cut linguine and gnocchi, chicken stroganoff with homemade focaccia, and crème brûlée with ice cream churned in the house — cooked, served and cleared by me.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a private chef cook at a holiday lodge on Loch Venachar or elsewhere in the Trossachs?
Yes. I cooked this dinner in the kitchen at Carsaig, on the shore of Loch Venachar near Callander. I bring the food and the equipment I need, including my own ice-cream machine, and I cook across the Trossachs, Perthshire and the rest of Scotland.
Is the food really made by hand?
Yes. For this dinner I baked the focaccia, cut the linguine, rolled the gnocchi and churned the ice cream myself on the day.
Do you clean the kitchen afterwards?
Yes. I clean the kitchen down completely before I leave, so the family stays at the table.
How much does a private chef birthday dinner cost?
Menus start from £75 per person, VAT and travel included.
I’ve been cooking professionally for 35+ years, with 220+ five-star Google reviews from clients across Scotland. If you are staying in a house like this and have something to celebrate, get in touch and check a date. For more on how it works in a rented house, see private chef dining for self-catering houses, lodges and holiday cottages.