What to Ask Before Booking a Private Chef or Experience

Booking a private experience — a chef's dinner at home, a sailing day with lunch on board, a wedding by the water, or a day of wellness in the mountains — is nothing like booking a restaurant table or a packaged tour. There's no fixed menu, no generic itinerary: every detail is designed around you. And that's exactly why asking the right questions before you confirm makes the difference between an experience that feels truly made for you and one that falls short of what you imagined. This is the list we'd recommend to anyone about to book, whether it's with us or with any other serious provider.

About the menu and the culinary concept

The menu is almost always the heart of the experience, so it's worth understanding just how flexible it really is.

• Is the menu built from scratch around my taste, or am I choosing from a set of fixed options?
• How are allergies, restrictions, or preferences handled — vegetarian, gluten-free, no spice, and so on?
• Are the ingredients local and seasonal? Can I request a specific product that matters to me?
• Will there be a tasting or a conversation with the chef beforehand, or is the menu settled purely over email or WhatsApp?
• For a special celebration, can the chef build the menu around a symbolic moment — a toast, a surprise course, a memorable closing dish?

A good private chef doesn't just cook well — they listen well. If the answers feel generic, or you sense you're being sold a fixed package dressed up as "custom," that's a sign to keep asking.

About the staff and on-site service

Behind a well-executed dinner or experience there's a team, not just a cook. It's worth knowing who does what.

• Who else is coming besides the chef? Is there a server, a sommelier, someone to set up and manage the space?
• If the experience involves a third party — a boat like Sailing Hotai's, a club like Hansa or El Portillo, a spa like Club Duchi, or a farm like La Tartaria — who coordinates the logistics between everyone involved?
• Does the team already know the venue, or are they arriving for the first time on the day itself?
• How many people can be served comfortably, and what happens if the group grows or changes size?
• Is there a direct point of contact on the day of the event, or does everything go through an intermediary agency?

This question matters especially for experiences away from home — aboard a yacht on Tominé, at a sailing club, up in the mountains of La Calera — where coordination between providers is what separates a smooth day from one that feels improvised.

What's included and what isn't

This is where unpleasant surprises tend to show up if you don't ask for detail from the start.

• Does the price include ingredients, setup, tableware, linens, and cleanup afterward?
• Is transportation for the chef and team included, or billed separately depending on location?
• Are drinks — wine, cocktails, pairings — included, or quoted separately?
• If the experience takes place at a third-party venue (boat, club, farm, spa), is that venue's cost already built into the quote, or paid separately?
• Are there additional charges for guest count, extended hours, or special decor?

Always ask for an itemized quote in writing. A provider with clear processes will have no trouble walking you through exactly what your investment covers, line by line.

Cancellation policy and flexibility

Weather, health, changing plans — life happens, and a good private experience should have clear terms for when it does.

• How far in advance can I cancel or reschedule without a penalty?
• If the experience is outdoors or weather-dependent — like a sailing trip or a day of horseback riding at La Tartaria — is there a backup plan or an alternate date at no extra cost?
• What percentage of the deposit is refundable, and under what conditions?
• What happens if the guest count changes just a few days before?

A cancellation policy explained clearly, in plain language and without fine print, is usually the best sign you're dealing with a professional, transparent team.

Asking these questions isn't about distrust — it's about making sure the experience you're dreaming of, whether it's dinner by the water, a wedding facing Tominé, or a day of disconnecting in the mountains, is built on clear agreements from the very first message. If you're thinking about a private experience in Bogotá or around the Tominé Reservoir, get in touch and let's design every detail together, from the menu to the last toast.