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01Private chef · Banff

You bookedthe house.I'll bring dinner.Private chef in Banff — chalets, rentals & lodge suites

Twelve people, a big rented kitchen and nowhere in town that will seat you all on a Saturday. That is the evening this exists for.

Check a dateHow it works up here
A multi-course dinner plated in a Banff vacation rental
Chef Marina cooking in a mountain rental kitchen
02Why a chef in Banff

Nobody comes to Banffto book a table.

The maths of a group holiday in a resort town is always the same. You find somewhere that sleeps fourteen, and then discover that feeding fourteen means either a two-hour wait for a table split across three bookings, or somebody spending the first evening of their holiday in a supermarket.

A chef solves it in the house you already paid for. I shop in Calgary, drive up, cook in your kitchen, serve at your table, and leave it cleaner than I found it. Nobody drives. Nobody misses the conversation because they are plating.

It works just as well for the quieter version — two people, a fireplace, and a dinner nobody has to book three months ahead.

From Calgary
About 1 hr 30 by road
Group size
Up to about 16 in most rentals
Notice
6–8 weeks; longer over ski season
03Evenings that fit up here

Four ways thisusually goes.

Every one of them ends the same way — everybody at one table, and a kitchen that looks untouched.

  • 01

    The full house

    A group who rented somewhere with a long table and want one proper dinner in the middle of the trip. Usually the night everyone remembers.

  • 02

    Après, properly

    You come off the hill late, cold and hungrier than planned. Something warm is already waiting, and the rest is timed to when you actually sit down.

  • 03

    The occasion

    A birthday, an anniversary, a proposal with a mountain behind it. Tell me what the night is for and the menu bends around it.

  • 04

    Company offsites

    Retreats that want a real dinner instead of another catering tray — or a hands-on cooking session that does more for the team than the agenda did.

06Questions

Things peoplealways ask.

The ones that arrive in my inbox most weeks. If yours isn't here, send it over.

01Do you travel to Banff, and is there a travel charge?
Yes — Banff is a regular part of the calendar, not an exception. It is about an hour and a half from my kitchen in Calgary. Travel is quoted as a clear line on the proposal rather than buried in the per-guest price, so you can see exactly what it adds.
02Can you cook in a rented chalet or vacation home?
That is where most Banff dinners happen. Holiday rentals usually have more counter than equipment, so I bring my own knives, pans and serving pieces and plan the menu around what the house actually has. Send a photo of the kitchen when you book and I will tell you honestly if anything needs adjusting.
03What about a hotel suite or lodge with a small kitchen?
Workable more often than people expect. A two-burner suite rules out some dishes, not the evening — the menu shifts toward courses that are prepped ahead and finished in front of you. Tell me what the space has and the menu is designed around it.
04How far in advance should we book for ski season?
For December through March, six to eight weeks, and earlier for Christmas week, New Year and the Family Day long weekend — those go first and they go early. Summer dates are easier, though July and August weekends still move quickly.
05What does a private chef in Banff cost?
From $100 per guest for a four-course tasting menu, the same starting rate as Calgary, with travel to the mountains quoted separately. Wine pairings, extra service staff and rentals are itemised in the proposal — no surprises on the night.
06We're arriving the same day and might be late off the hill. Does that work?
It is the normal Banff evening. Give me a realistic window rather than an optimistic one and I will build a menu that holds — something warm waiting when you walk in, and the rest timed to when you actually sit down rather than when you said you would.
07How many guests can you cook for in a rental?
Comfortably up to about sixteen in most Banff houses, and more with a second pair of hands and a plan for how the table works. Above twenty it becomes a question of what the room can seat, not what the kitchen can produce.
08Do you clean up afterwards?
Fully. The kitchen is left as if nobody had cooked in it — which matters more in a rental than at home, because someone is going to inspect it. You get the evening; the dishes are my problem.
09Can you handle allergies for a big group?
Yes, and please send them all at once when you book rather than in pieces. Allergens are non-negotiable; preferences are welcome. The menu is designed so the whole table eats the same meal instead of one person getting a separate plate.

Also available

05Let's cook

Tell me what you'rein the mood for.

Booking from this summer onward.

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Chef Marina
Chef Marina.