By Yohann Perié, private chef
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On holiday on Arcachon Bay, the question of dinner comes up every evening. You book a restaurant, improvise at the villa, or take turns in the kitchen. Bringing in a chef for the stay often seems like something reserved for special occasions. Yet when you set the two options side by side, it is a closer call than you might think. Here are the criteria that really matter, and what my stays in Pyla have taught me.
What I saw in Pyla
I have cooked for several stays in Pyla-sur-Mer, for families from all sorts of backgrounds, gathered four, eight or ten to a large villa. All of them had chosen the full package, with every meal of the day. At the end of the stay they thanked me, and several made a point of saying so in a Google review.
What they appreciated was not just the food. It was no longer having to think about the shopping, the menu planning and the clearing up. Around a big table, not everyone lends a hand, and the chores always fall to the same people. A restaurant takes care of one evening's dinner; it does not solve the problem for an entire week.
Booking, especially in summer
In July and August, the most popular places in Pyla and Cap Ferret are booked up well in advance: without planning ahead, there is simply no room for eight or ten. And once you do have a table, other diners are waiting behind you. It has to be freed for the next sitting, and the evening goes by before you have really had time to enjoy it. With a chef at the villa, the problem disappears: your table is reserved for the whole stay, at whatever time suits you.
The drive home, and who takes the wheel
Around the Bay, distances look short on the map but feel long in high season. The real issue, though, is the drive home: after a dinner where a bottle has been shared, someone has to get back behind the wheel, and that is never ideal. At the villa, nobody has to drive. You can open a bottle, linger at the table until sunset and head up to bed without arranging a thing.
Children and mealtimes
At a restaurant, children wait, get restless, and the whole evening revolves around them. At home, everyone starts with drinks together. The children go back to playing while the adults talk, then come to the table and eat at their own pace. They often finish before the grown-ups and go back to what they were doing. Or they can be served first: the children run off to play, and the adults enjoy dinner in peace. I plan menus for the youngest as well as the adults, and everyone eats their fill.
Diets, allergies and individual tastes
A shellfish allergy, a vegetarian guest, another who does not eat gluten: at a restaurant, everyone has to make do with the menu. With a resident chef, we discuss it before the stay and the menus are adapted. Nobody eats separately, and nobody has to settle for a substitute dish.
Eating light on holiday
A week of restaurants often means a week of heavy meals. At the villa, I plan the menus day by day, according to the market and what you feel like. In summer, the cooking naturally leans Mediterranean, fresh and light: fish from the Poissonnerie du Pyla, vegetables from the market at La Teste, oysters from the Bay, herbs and olive oil. Produce-led cooking you are happy to come back to every evening without ever tiring of it.
The budget: comparing like with like
Take a family of ten. On the Bay in summer, even a simple place soon tops €50 a head with drinks, and a classic restaurant easily comes to around €100. For ten people, the bill for a single dinner is close to €1,000.
The same evening at the villa, on Confort: €400 for my work and, allowing generously, around €200 of produce for a fine dinner. Total: €600, or €60 a head, served at home, at the time you choose. And the difference leaves you room to treat yourselves on the produce: a seafood platter, a fine line-caught fish.
My packages are priced by the day, with the same rate for 2 to 10 guests: Confort from €400 for one meal a day, Sérénité from €500 for two meals, Prestige from €600 for every meal. On top, for the stay as a whole, come my travel costs and my accommodation locally. Wine is your choice, at whatever price you pay for it, well below wine-list prices.
The larger the group, the wider the gap in your favour.
What the restaurant does better
It would be dishonest to claim that a private chef wins on every count. A restaurant is also an outing: dressing up, a change of scene, discovering a new place. Nothing stops you keeping one or two evenings out during the week. That is exactly what the Confort package allows: you leave just one meal a day to me and keep the rest of your time free.
Private chef or restaurant on Arcachon Bay: at a glance
| Criterion | Restaurant | Private chef |
|---|---|---|
| Booking | Every evening, early in July and August, at whatever time is left | Once, for the whole stay, at a time that suits you |
| The drive home | Someone has to drive, and stay off the wine | Nobody drives |
| Children | They wait, and the evening revolves around them | Drinks together, then they eat at their own pace, or first |
| Diets and allergies | Everyone makes do with the menu | Menus adapted, agreed before the stay |
| Shopping, menus, clearing up | The restaurant handles one evening's dinner | Taken care of for the whole stay, kitchen tidied after every meal |
| Budget | Easily €100 a head at a classic restaurant | By the day, from €400, €500 or €600 depending on the package, same rate for 2 to 10 guests, plus produce, my travel costs and my accommodation |
| The outing | A change of scene, a new place to discover | One or two evenings out remain possible with the Confort package |
Your questions about a private chef on Arcachon Bay
Private chef or restaurant: which should I choose?
For a single evening, the restaurant. For a stay of three days or more with a group, a resident chef: the shopping, menus, service and clearing up are handled for the whole stay, and you dine at your own villa.
Is a private chef worth it?
The larger the group and the longer the stay, the more clearly the answer is yes. The rate stays the same from 2 to 10 guests, and the time you get back is spent on holiday rather than in the kitchen.
Does the chef clean the kitchen?
Yes. The kitchen is put back in order after every meal. It is one of the things families appreciate most.
Can I rent a villa with catering included?
Some rentals come with staff, but most villas are let on their own. When a chef is included in the rental, the letting company takes its margin, and it is often the chef's share that gets squeezed: to make it work, it may hire less experienced cooks. A resident chef is booked separately and directly, for your group, in the villa you have chosen.
Will the chef adapt to the villa's kitchen?
Yes. The kitchens I came across in Pyla were all well equipped, and I check the equipment with you before the stay to avoid any surprises.
In short
A restaurant is still a lovely night out. A resident chef, on the other hand, takes care of meals for the whole stay: no bookings, no drive home, menus suited to everyone, and a tidy kitchen after every meal. As one guest wrote in her Google review: "All weekend the food was flawless. Delicious, fresh and beautiful."
For full details of the packages and costs, see the Arcachon Bay page, or read how much a private chef costs on Arcachon Bay. For a special occasion, there is also a birthday at the villa.
