James Mitchell Private Dining

Private chef dining across the West Midlands

James Mitchell Private Dining is a private chef service that cooks in clients' own homes rather than in a restaurant. The company describes its offer as luxury private chef experiences for intimate dinners, celebrations and special occasions, covering everything from menu design to clean-up. Its stated aim is to remove the shopping, cooking and clearing that hosting normally involves, so that hosts can spend the evening with their guests.

The service is built around bespoke menus designed for each event. The company states that it caters for all allergies and intolerances, sources ingredients from its own trusted suppliers, and brings its own equipment, utensils, crockery and cutlery. On the day, the chef serves and clears each course, describes each dish and answers questions, and handles special requests such as a birthday cake. A full clean-up is included at the end.

Menus and occasions

The published menu structure covers several formats rather than a single fixed offer:

• Dinner menus
• BBQ and garden menus
• Weekend retreat menus
• Afternoon tea menu
• Canapé menu
• Celebration cakes

The company says menus can be tailored to the occasion, mood and guests' tastes, citing birthdays, hen parties, garden gatherings, weekend retreats and afternoon teas as examples. Dietary requirements named in the material include gluten-free, vegan, keto and severe nut allergies, with the stated intention that menus feel inclusive and carefully considered.

How a booking works

The process is described in three stages: the client explains the event, preferences, dietary needs and vision; the company designs a bespoke menu; and the chef then cooks, serves and cleans. Enquiries begin with a form giving the date, number of guests and any dietary requirements, after which a quote is sent.

On payment terms, the site states that a 25% non-refundable deposit secures the booking, that moving a date may be possible subject to availability, and that full payment falls due seven days before the event. It recommends booking two to four weeks ahead to secure a preferred date and allow time to source seasonal ingredients and build the menu. Ingredient costs are typically included in the service.

On pricing, the material indicates that bespoke dinners start from £70 per head, with a minimum spend or flat base fee possibly applying to gatherings of fewer than four guests. The company also advertises a 100% satisfaction money-back guarantee.

Coverage area

The service operates within an 80-mile radius of Stratford-upon-Avon. The areas listed are Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick, Leamington Spa, Oxford, Banbury, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Worcester and the Cotswolds, including Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold and Chipping Campden, plus surrounding towns. The company notes that enquiries from just outside this radius can be made.

Experience and client feedback

The site refers to more than 60 years of culinary experience behind the service and frames its approach around the pressure of hosting. It includes three short client accounts: one from a first-time user of a personal chef service who describes a simple booking process and a successful evening; one from a couple with busy careers who value handing over ingredients, serving, cooking and cleaning; and one from a household dealing with strict dietary requirements, where the chef is said to have met the requests for a special birthday. These are individual testimonials rather than an aggregate rating.