Tasting Menus
italian, bespoke, cooked in your kitchen. Scotland · UK · Beyond.
where i learned to cook
Modena, Emilia-Romagna. Born on a small farm where, if you wanted to eat, you cooked. My grandmother, Maria, was the first teacher. We grew the vegetables, raised the animals, made the bread, the pasta, the cured meats, the preserves. Italian families like ours did not order in.
THE KITCHENS, LODGES AND CASTLES I WORK IN
I cook in private kitchens — yours, your venue’s, your lodge’s. The full Italian kitchen comes with me; everything is finished in front of the guests.
Five-star hotels and resorts:
The Balmoral Hotel and Prestonfield House in Edinburgh; The Old Course Hotel, The Fairmont, and Rufflets Hotel in St Andrews; Cameron House Lodges on Loch Lomond; Gleneagles Lodges and Crieff Hydro Lodges in Perthshire; Fonab Castle in Pitlochry.
Castles and country houses:
Kinblethmont House (Arbroath); Mar Lodge (Cairngorms); Kinkell Byre (St Andrews); Dairsie Castle (Fife); Camisky Lodge (near Fort William); Dungarthill House (near Dunkeld); Boreland Loch Tay; Drumkilbo House, Alexander House, and Gargunnock House across Perthshire and Stirlingshire; Glamis House; Balmule House; Fern View at Abriachan; Beechwood House, Moffat House, Telford House, and Clift Hill in the Moffat area.
Lodge collections:
Seasgair Lodges in the Highlands and the properties managed by Morachd around Edinburgh and The Lochieheads Estates Properties
Internationally:
Cluj-Napoca, Romania, where I catered two grand openings for Pizzeria D’Autore. I’ve also cooked privately In Belgium , Gran Canaria and France .
Recent dinners
In 2024 I cooked a private dinner for First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf and 30 guests.
I have cooked privately for Baroness Fiona von Thyssen.
I have cooked three times for the British illustrator and bestselling author Luke Adam Hawker — repeat work I take as the highest compliment in this trade.
I cook for Ashtead Technology, the international subsea engineering company; their CEO Allan Pirie has become a personal friend.
I catered a private dinner for Trident Maintenance Services, and the grand opening of Spectrum Property’s new Glasgow office.
I cooked the special birthday dinner of Andrew Brookes, Edinburgh’s bespoke tailor, and the special birthday dinner of award-winning Edinburgh patissier Catherine Paratian of Caked by Catherine.
I have cooked privately for the owners of Château Canet, the family vineyard in the South of France.
I work alongside BIKO Adventures, one of the world’s leading premium private-event providers in their class.
where the food comes from
Italian cooking depends on Italian discipline about ingredients. The Scottish producers I work with regularly include Butchery Bowhouse and Dunkeld Butchers for meats, C. Sinclair Fish for the catch, and The Buffalo Farm in Fife for venison and proper mozzarella di bufala.
Cheeses, cured meats, oils, vinegars, and the harder-to-find pasta shapes come direct from Italy when the dish needs them — heavy on Emilia-Romagna, the region I grew up in: Parmigiano Reggiano DOP, Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena DOP, Prosciutto di Parma DOP, Prosciutto di Modena DOP, and Mortadella di Bologna IGP.
The pasta shapes are mostly the ones that are quietly disappearing from menus outside Italy: tortellini in brodo, agnolotti del plin, ravioli, gnocchi, and the half-forgotten passatelli — bread, egg, Parmigiano, served in broth.
from recent guests
“I engaged Giuseppe for a recent private dinner… perhaps the best decision I have taken in some time. Giuseppe is a great chef, and a true gentleman.”
Stuart McCormack, Google review
“His food was really quite something. All organised and presented by Giuseppe and his trusty assistant Lyn, who again could not have done more to make our evening exceptional. Top marks.”
Mark Petty, Dungarthill House, Dunkeld — Google review
“The food was incredible — beautifully presented and full of flavour — and he created such a relaxed, special atmosphere for the evening.”
Louise Thomson, partner’s 30th at Beechwood House, Moffat — Google review
TASTING MENUS — QUESTIONS GUESTS USUALLY ASK
Q. How many courses are in a Giuseppe Manzoli tasting menu?
Anywhere from five to twelve, depending on the evening. Most clients land between six and eight. The structure is decided in the planning conversation, alongside guest count, dietary considerations, and the wines you want to drink.
Q. Do you publish a sample tasting menu?
No. Every menu is built privately, after a planning conversation. A standing menu would mean cooking the same evening twice — and that is not what this service is. What I draw from are the regional Italian dishes I trained in directly: Emilia-Romagna pasta (tortellini in brodo, agnolotti del plin, passatelli), Adriatic fish, slow-cooked meats, regional cheeses, and Italian patisserie under masters Stefano Laghi and Luca Montersino at Istituto Etoile.
Q. Where will you cook?
In your kitchen. Whether that is a self-catering lodge in the Cairngorms, a private estate near Loch Lomond, a Mayfair flat, or a five-star hotel suite — I bring the equipment, finish everything in front of you, and leave the kitchen as I found it. Past venues include Cameron House Lodges, Gleneagles, Mar Lodge, The Balmoral Edinburgh, Prestonfield House, The Old Course Hotel St Andrews, Kinkell Byre, and Fonab Castle.
Q. Do you handle dietary requirements — gluten-free, vegan, allergies?
Yes, fully — designed in, not substituted. The menu is built around the dietary lines from the start. Coeliac, vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, kosher-style, low-FODMAP, allergen-conscious — handled in the planning, not on the night.
Q. Do you offer wine pairings?
Yes. I trained as a sommelier (two full courses) before I trained formally in the kitchen, so wine selection is part of the menu, not bolted on. I will work with your existing cellar or recommend pairings — Italian, French, Scottish whisky finishes — to match the menu.
Q. How far in advance do I need to book?
Four to eight weeks for most evenings. Peak summer (July–August) and the December festive period book six months ahead. I take last-minute enquiries when I can.
Q. Is there a minimum or maximum guest count?
From two guests for an intimate anniversary or proposal dinner, up to fifty for a private wedding or corporate event. For dinners beyond fifty guests, please get in touch
I’ll discuss the right approach for the evening, including the team setup.
Thirty-five years of cooking.
Four businesses I built and ran in Italy. Trained at Istituto Etoile under Rossano Boscolo, Stefano Laghi, Luca Montersino, and Enzo Saracino.
London at Corrigan’s Mayfair, Quaglino’s, and Le Pont de la Tour.
Edinburgh since 2012. Recent dinners for the First Minister of Scotland, European aristocracy, bestselling authors, and FTSE-scale companies.
Now: in your kitchen, for the evening that matters.
Send me the date, the venue, the guest count, and the occasion. The rest we plan together.
