Private chef in Pals
Gourmet dinners cooked in your Pals holiday home. Shopping, cooking, serving and cleanup all handled.
Pals is one of the Costa Brava's most beautifully preserved medieval villages, its Gothic stone streets ringed by the rice fields that give the famous Pals rice, with a long beach and golf close by. As your private chef in Pals, Lara brings that terroir to your table: paella and rice dishes made with local grain, fresh seafood and Catalan classics, cooked and served in your villa or holiday home. She handles the shopping, the service and the cleanup, so your stay is all enjoyment and no cooking.
- Begur
- Palafrugell
- Platja de Pals
- L'Estartit
Dinner in Pals
The old quarter of Pals, the Pedró, is a hush of golden stone: vaulted passageways, a Gothic tower and flower-filled balconies set above the surrounding plain of rice paddies. Many guests stay in restored stone houses within the village or in villas out among the fields, where the light turns amber as the sun drops behind the Gavarres hills. It is a quiet, storied place to gather around a table.
An evening with Lara is built for that calm. She arrives in the afternoon, settles into your kitchen and lets dinner unfold gently while you and your guests relax with a glass of Empordà wine. She serves at your own pace, course by course, and clears everything away at the end, so the only thing you do is stay at the table a little longer.
Flavours of the Empordà
Pals is rice country. The arròs de Pals grown in the paddies around the village is prized across Catalonia, and it is the natural heart of Lara's cooking here, in a paella or a slow seafood rice. Around it she draws on the gamba de Palamós from the fish auction, L'Escala anchovies, and the catch for a suquet de peix or fideuà.
She shops the markets in Palafrugell, La Bisbal d'Empordà and Palamós for vegetables, olive oil and the day's fish, and pours Empordà DO wines alongside. Whether you want a generous paella for a long lunch with the family or a refined tasting menu for a celebration, the rice of Pals can sit proudly at the centre of the table.
Beaches and coves
Beyond the village lies the long, open Platja de Pals, a wide sweep of golden sand backed by dunes and pines, perfect for slow days and long walks at the water's edge. Just behind it, the Basses d'en Coll wetlands draw birdwatchers to their reedbeds and still water, and a golf course sits close by among the pines.
Spend the morning on the sand or with binoculars at the wetlands, a round on the course in the afternoon, then come home to a table already set. A long beach day followed by a private dinner of Pals rice and fresh seafood is exactly how this corner of the Empordà is meant to be enjoyed.
Frequently asked questions
Does a private chef come to villas in Pals?
Yes. Lara comes to your holiday home anywhere in and around Pals, from the stone houses of the medieval quarter to the villas out among the rice fields and near Platja de Pals. She handles the shopping, the cooking, the service and the cleanup, so you and your guests simply enjoy the evening.
What local dishes can Lara cook in Pals?
In Pals, the famous Pals rice takes pride of place: Lara cooks paella and slow seafood rice with the local grain, alongside gamba de Palamós, suquet de peix, fideuà and esqueixada with L'Escala anchovies. Everything comes with Empordà olive oil and DO wines, and she also prepares Catalan classics and tasting menus to suit your table.
Is travel to Pals included?
Yes. Travel within the Costa Brava, roughly 30 to 50 km, is included, and Pals sits right in Lara's home territory beside Begur and Palafrugell. There is no extra travel charge for your dinner here, so the price you see is the price for the full experience.
What we do
From a quiet villa dinner to your wedding day
One chef, tailored entirely to your stay.
Loved by villa guests
Holidays they still talk about
Real guests, real evenings, and the reviews to prove it.
“Lara is INCREDIBLE. We had her cook for a retreat of 11 of us, and she blew us away with her delicious, nourishing dishes. She accommodated dietary needs with so much thought, making every single guest feel so special. We will be booking her again and again!”
“Five star service and food! We were in Pals for a week as a group of 6 adults and 7 children… Chef Lara made our adult dinner night so special. Stand-outs were the rock mussels and gambas. A total pro who set up everything and tidied up perfectly.”
“Lara cooked the most exceptional meal for our party of 7, to celebrate two big birthdays. The food was beautifully plated and delicious, with a fascinating range of flavours. She explained each dish, its origin and where the ingredients were sourced.”
“Lara was extremely professional and detail oriented. We learned so much about Spanish cuisine and especially enjoyed her Paella class. We were two families and couldn't have asked for a better experience.”
“I highly recommend Lara! I booked her for a birthday dinner and the whole process was completely effortless. The food was extremely delicious and the presentation beautiful. She created a wonderful memory for me and my family.”
“Lara cooked for us in Costa Brava. She did everything perfectly. She went beyond when it was necessary, because she cared about what she was doing.”
“Lara's cooking and service was sensational! Highly recommend.”
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