A long table laid for dinner on a villa terrace at dusk, lamps and candles lit, beside a pool looking out to sea

Private chef, Gran Canaria

European technique, Asian flavour, Canarian ingredients.

Cooked in your kitchen, served at your table, and cleared away before I leave. Five menus, written out in full below.

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The island’s private chefs are almost all Italian and Mediterranean. I am not.

Where it starts
A farm childhood. I learned what a tomato tastes like picked at the right hour, and how an animal should be raised, long before I learned to cook one properly.
Where it was trained
Over a decade in Cambridge’s best kitchens, then an island that grows papas antiguas, cherne, baifo and palm honey.

At market price

The lobster

Bogavante, erizo de mar, bisque. Lobster poached slowly in butter enriched with sea urchin, with its own bisque reduced to a single dark spoonful.

Available as either a first course or a main on any of the three menus, at market price, because it moves week to week. Every restaurant you have eaten in does the same thing.

The chef

I grew up on a farm. That is still the part that matters most.

I learned what a tomato tastes like when it is picked at the right hour, and how an animal should be raised, long before I learned to cook one properly.

The technique came later, over a decade in Cambridge’s best kitchens: the University Arms, Autograph Collection by Marriott; DoubleTree by Hilton; Quy Mill. What I cook now sits between the farm and that training. French and English method, Asian flavour, and whatever the island gave up that morning. Cherne with green chilli and coriander mojo. Mojo picón with papas antiguas. Baifo, the island kid goat, slow cooked with palm honey and star anise. Local prawns with XO butter and gofio. Vieja line-caught off Arguineguín and cured the same morning. I cook it in villas and homes across Maspalomas, Meloneras, Mogán, Puerto Rico, Playa del Inglés and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

I write every menu for the table that booked it. Vegetarian guests get their own three courses, not the side dishes. Tell me you hate coriander and you will never see it.

I arrive two hours before service with everything, including my knives. I only need your oven and two burners. I cook in your kitchen, serve each course at your table, and leave it cleaner than I found it. You do not shop, plate, pour or wash up.

Trained under
Lee Clarke, whose restaurants Clarkes and Prévost earned Michelin Guide recognition and three AA rosettes, and who learned his craft from Marco Pierre White at the Mirabelle and Albert Roux at Roux Fine Dining.
Languages
Fluent English, native Romanian, and Spanish improving every week. Menus available in German on request.
Credentials
Spanish food handling certificate and full public liability insurance. The fourteen EU allergens are declared on the back of every menu card.
A large rib of beef resting on a tray in a working kitchen
A decade of kitchens before the island.

How an evening works

You do not shop, plate, pour or wash up

  1. I shop that morning

    The market first, then the fish counter. The menu is finished after I have seen what is actually there.

  2. I arrive two hours early

    With everything, including my knives. I only need your oven and two burners, and a photograph of the kitchen beforehand.

  3. Served at your table

    Each course plated and brought out in its own time. No buffet, no chafing dishes, no queue at a counter.

  4. The kitchen goes back cleaner

    Everything washed, put away and wiped down. You are left at the table for the sobremesa.

The work

Plates from the last year

Photographs of dishes I have actually cooked and served. Nothing here is a stock image.

A strawberry and meringue dessert plated on speckled ceramic, with further plates behind
Four bowls of fish plated together during service
A board of cheeses with grapes, pomegranate and herbs
A crisp fried starter over dressed leaves and edible flowers on a white plate
A tray of individual desserts plated for a large party
Individual chocolate desserts finished with edible flowers
A plated brunch dish with cured salmon and a poached egg
A full table of plated courses, bread, cheese and wine served by a private chef in Gran Canaria

Practical

What is included, and what to tell me

Every menu covers the same thing end to end: designing it around your table, the shopping, all the ingredients, the cooking, service at your table and the cleaning up afterwards. Nothing is added on the night.

Custom menus

If none of the five is quite your evening, tell me what is

These are where most evenings start, not where they have to end. A dinner built around one ingredient, a tasting for two, canapés for forty, a birthday built around a dish somebody has been talking about for years, a week of cooking for a villa full of people who all want something different.

Nothing is too small or too large. I write every menu for the table that booked it, and that includes tables that want something not written on this page.

[Tell me what you have in mind]
How pricing works
Quoted per booking, because it depends on the menu, the size of the table, the date and where you are on the island. Tell me those four things and you will have a full price the same day, all in.
Larger tables
Groups of nine or more are quoted at a lower rate per person. Real economies exist at that size and you should see some of them.
Where I cook
Maspalomas, Meloneras, Mogán, Puerto Rico, Las Palmas and the villas between them. Anything beyond about 30 km carries a small travel supplement.
Short notice
I take late bookings, including inside 72 hours, when the date is free. Ask, even if it feels tight.
Residents and long stays
Weekly meal prep and multi-day villa or yacht service, both quoted separately. Good for holiday lets and anyone living here year round.
Dietary needs
Vegetarian guests get their own three courses, not the side dishes. The fourteen EU allergens are declared on the back of every menu card.

Questions

The things people ask before they book

If your question is not here, ask it in the form below and I will answer the same day.

What does a private chef in Gran Canaria cost?

Pricing is quoted per booking, because it depends on which menu you choose, how many are at the table, the date, and where you are on the island. Every quote is all in: menu design, the shopping, all ingredients, the cooking, service at your table and the cleaning up afterwards. Nothing is added on the night. Tell me those four things and you will have a full price the same day.

What services does Alex Chelaru offer as a private chef?

Private dinners in villas and homes, celebrations and private events, barbecue cooked over coals, late breakfast and brunch, weekly meal prep for residents, and multi-day villa or yacht service. Custom menus are written on request for anything not on the standard list, from a tasting for two to canapes for forty.

Does the chef bring the ingredients and clean the kitchen?

Yes to both. I shop that morning, arrive two hours before service with everything including my own knives, cook in your kitchen, serve each course at your table, then wash up and put everything away. You do not shop, plate, pour or wash up at any point.

Do you cater for dietary restrictions, gluten free or vegan?

Yes. Vegetarian and vegan guests are given their own courses rather than the side dishes from everyone else's plate. Gluten free, dairy free, shellfish and nut allergies are all accommodated, and the fourteen EU allergens are declared on the back of every menu card. Tell me at the enquiry stage and the menu is written around it.

Which areas of Gran Canaria do you cover?

Maspalomas, Meloneras, Mogan, Puerto Rico, Playa del Ingles, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and the villas between them. Anywhere beyond about thirty kilometres carries a small travel supplement. Yachts at Pasito Blanco and Puerto de Mogan by arrangement.

How far in advance should I book a private chef?

At least five days. That is the minimum I need to source properly: the fish, the heritage potatoes, the island cheeses and the kid goat all come from specific suppliers rather than a supermarket. In high season, November to March, earlier is better because dates go quickly.

What do you need from my kitchen?

An oven and two working burners. I bring everything else, including knives, board, thermometer and pans. Villa kitchens are often sparse, which is why I travel with a full kit. A photograph of the kitchen and the table when you book prevents surprises on both sides.

What kind of food do you cook?

European technique, Asian flavour and Canarian ingredients. Cherne with green chilli and coriander mojo, mojo picon, baifo slow cooked with palm honey and star anise, papas antiguas, Flor de Guia cheese set with thistle flower, local prawns with XO butter and gofio. Fish is line caught off Arguineguin and cured the same morning.

What languages do you speak?

Fluent English and native Romanian, with Spanish improving every week. Menus are available in German on request.

Enquire

Tell me the date and who is at the table

I answer every enquiry the same day. Send a photograph of the kitchen too if you have one, it prevents surprises on both sides.

Vegetarian guests get their own three courses, not the side dishes. Tell me you hate coriander and you will never see it.

Prefer WhatsApp? [Send the same details there]

Or reach me directly

Email
alexpetruchelaru@gmail.com
Phone and WhatsApp
+34 641 275 731

Message on WhatsApp