Bought for your table
Nothing is ordered in bulk and kept in storage. Fish, vegetables and fruit are chosen in the days before your service, so they arrive at the table as close to the sea and the soil as possible.
Private chef in the Algarve, Chef Filipe Vaz
There is no menu yet.It begins at the market, the week of your dinner.
Private dining, multi-day residencies and events in villas across the Algarve. Every service is planned, bought and cooked by me personally, with the freshest produce I can find and organic wherever it is genuinely available.
The ingredient decides.
Cooking well is mostly buying well. I do not work from fixed menus because the best fish, fruit and vegetables of the week cannot be known a month ahead. We agree the direction together; the produce settles the details.
Organic, honestly
I choose certified organic produce wherever a producer I trust offers it. Some of the finest things in the Algarve come from small growers and day boats with no certificate at all. When I buy from them, I buy from people I know, and I will always tell you which is which.
Portugal at its source
I grew up among farmers, olive oil and wine producers. Oil, wine, cheese, cured ham, citrus and figs ripened in the Algarve sun: I know what good tastes like where it is made, and that is where I buy it.
I'm Filipe.
I was ten when my mother opened her restaurant, and that is where I started, behind the bar. My family were farmers, olive oil and wine makers, and restaurant people, so food was never a hobby. It was the house we lived in.
Since then I have lived and cooked in the United States, Belgium, Austria and France, including private residencies in the French Alps and the French countryside. In 2023 I was the chef of the Ordre des Coteaux de Champagne's Champagne Dinner in Linz, Austria. Then I brought it all home to the Algarve.
I keep the number of services I take each season limited on purpose. It is the only way to be in the kitchen for every one of them, to choose every ingredient myself, and to answer every message myself.
Luxury without stiffness. The Mediterranean, through the Algarve.
What I cook for.
Four ways of working, one standard. Each is planned around your guests, your house and the season.
Private diningOne evening, in your villa or home
From a quiet dinner for two to a long table for a celebration. A menu built around your guests and the week's best produce, cooked and served in your house, and the kitchen left as I found it.
ResidenciesFor stays of several days
Breakfasts, lunches, dinners and everything in between, planned around the rhythm of your family and your days out. You stop thinking about food; the house simply takes care of it. In the Algarve in summer, and in the Alps in winter.
Events and wine tablesCelebrations, gatherings, producer lunches
Larger tables, birthdays, wine lunches with the producers in the room. I lead every event in person, with a small team I train and supervise myself.
Performance cookingFor athletes and serious training
I cook to the plan set by your nutritionist or coach, turning targets into food you actually look forward to, adjusted as your training changes.
How it works.
Simple, personal, and in writing before anything is confirmed.
We talk
Send a message with the date, the place and roughly how many guests. My first question is always about allergies and dietary needs, guest by guest.
A proposal
You receive a menu direction and a clear written quote. Nothing hidden, nothing added later.
The market
In the days before, I buy for your table and finalise the dishes around what is truly at its best that week.
Your evening
I arrive with everything the menu needs, cook, serve and tell you where each thing comes from. Then I clean down and leave you to the rest of your night.
In their words.
"It is never easy to have someone foreign to the family to join us and Chef Filipe was amazingly gentle and kind with all of us so that quickly he was part of the family also. [...] Everyday we were all excited to see what Chef Filipe would prepare for us."
"A thoughtfully curated meal rooted deeply in the history and culture of Portugal and made with the finest ingredients available."
"We had multiple food sensitivities in our group and he not only managed them all, he made everyone feel part of the meal and not singled out."
"Hands down the best private chef we've ever had. [...] He left the kitchen spotless at the end of the night!"
"Each dish blew us away. [...] It's obvious the care and talent he has."
From guests' reviews on Google and Take a Chef.
Questions people ask.
Do you cook with organic ingredients?
Yes, wherever a certified organic producer I trust exists. Some of the best produce in the Algarve comes from small growers and day boats that have no certificate; when I buy from them, I buy from people I know. If a dish depends on a certified organic ingredient, I will tell you, and if it does not, I will tell you that too.
How do you handle allergies and dietary needs?
It is the first thing I ask, before any menu is written. Allergies, intolerances, religious or ethical choices and simple dislikes are all planned for, guest by guest.
Where do you cook?
Mainly in private villas and homes across the Algarve, from Portimão and Lagos to Vilamoura, Vale do Lobo and Quinta do Lago. Residencies elsewhere in Portugal and in Europe are possible by arrangement.
How much does it cost?
Every menu is quoted individually, based on the number of guests, the produce and the service you need. You receive a clear, written quote before anything is confirmed, with no surprises afterwards.
How far ahead should I book?
For summer, as early as you can; the calendar from May to September fills quickly. Outside the summer a couple of weeks is usually enough. Send a message and I will confirm availability the same day where possible.
Which languages do you speak?
Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and Italian.
Tell me about your table.
A few details so my first reply can already be useful. I reply to every message personally.