Holiday menus · Rhode Island & Massachusetts

A holiday worth remembering.

A private chef holiday menu for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Friendsgiving, Super Bowl, and the celebrations that don’t fit any traditional template.

Reserve Your Holiday Date
Why holiday menus

The private chef holiday menu: meals that get remembered.

Holidays are the meals that get remembered. Thanksgiving with the in-laws meeting your fiancé for the first time. Christmas Eve with the cousins flying in from out of town. Easter with the babies who weren’t there last year. The food gets talked about for years. The hosting gets quietly judged for almost as long.

A private chef holiday menu means the food is the part you stop worrying about. You’re not braising the short ribs at 8 AM while trying to find the good linens. You’re not running to the market a third time because you forgot the heavy cream. You’re with your people, the table is set, and the kitchen smells like a place you’d want to be.

I cook every holiday menu fresh in your home, from a custom menu built around the holiday and around what your family actually loves. The sourcing is local. Newport Seafood for the fish and shellfish. Aquidneck Meat for the prime rib, the turkey, the roast goose, and the holiday lamb. Clements for produce and the holiday pantry. Narragansett Creamery for the cheese boards (Atwells Gold and Divine Providence are the regulars). Provençal Bakery for the rolls, the breads, and the morning-of pastries. Newport, Providence, Cape Cod, the Boston metro suburbs, anywhere across Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Sample menus

A private chef holiday menu for winter.

Three sample menus for the winter-holiday core: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Yours is built around your family, your dietary mix, and the dish that has to be there because grandma always made it.

SAMPLE MENU

Thanksgiving

FIVE COURSES

FIRST

Butternut Squash Bisque

SECOND

Roasted Pear & Arugula

MAIN

Herb-Crusted Prime Rib

SIDE

Truffle Mashed Potatoes

DESSERT

Salted Caramel Apple Tart

SAMPLE MENU

Christmas

FIVE COURSES

FIRST

Oysters with Champagne Mignonette

SECOND

Beef Wellington Bites

MAIN

Roast Goose with Cherry Glaze

SIDE

Yorkshire Pudding

DESSERT

Sticky Toffee Pudding

SAMPLE MENU

New Year’s Eve

TASTING MENU

FIRST

Caviar Service

SECOND

Lobster Bisque

THIRD

Foie Gras Sear

MAIN

Filet Mignon with Truffle

DESSERT

Champagne Sabayon

Sample menus only · Yours is built around the holiday and around your family.

The holiday kitchen

What the day actually feels like.

A holiday with a private chef changes the rhythm of the day. The night before, the brine is mixed and the proteins go in. The morning of, I arrive two and a half hours before the first plate. The kitchen lights come on, the oven preheats, and the prep starts. The smells start filling the house early. Sage browning in butter, citrus zest hitting hot oil, a roast settling into a low oven. By the time guests arrive, the place smells like a holiday is happening.

You’re not in the kitchen. You’re at the table or by the door, glass in hand, hosting. Every dish lands hot, on time, plated or family-style depending on what the table needs. After the meal, the leftovers go into labeled containers, the kitchen gets returned to a clean state, and you go back to your people without a sink full of pans waiting for you the next morning.

Holidays we cover

Every private chef holiday menu format.

Thanksgiving

Brined turkey, prime rib, vegetarian Wellington

The full traditional menu, or modern with a twist. Brined turkey, roast duck, prime rib, vegetarian Wellington, whatever fits the table.

Inquire → Christmas Eve & Day

Italian Feast of Seven Fishes, beef tenderloin

Italian Feast of the Seven Fishes, beef tenderloin and Yorkshire pudding, a goose for the traditionalists.

Inquire → New Year’s Eve

Multi-course tasting, caviar, lobster

Multi-course tasting menus, caviar service, lobster, oysters, the kind of dinner that earns the night.

Inquire → Easter, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day

Brunch or dinner format

Roast lamb, glazed ham, Easter brunch with stuffed French toast and Lobster Benedict. Father’s Day surf-and-turf.

Inquire →
How a holiday night runs

Three steps. One holiday.

01
Reach out
Send the holiday, the date, and the headcount. I usually reply within 24 hours.
02
Menu design
I build a custom menu around your family. Traditional dishes done the way you expect them, plus a few new courses. The dish that has to be there because grandma always made it.
03
Holiday day
I arrive early, prep, season, baste, brine, braise. By the time guests arrive, the kitchen smells like sage browning in butter and a turkey three hours into the oven.
What’s included

What’s in the booking.

Every holiday booking includes:

  • A custom holiday menu designed around your family
  • Full ingredient sourcing from Newport Seafood, Aquidneck Meat, Clements, Narragansett Creamery, Provençal Bakery, and other Rhode Island specialty purveyors
  • All shopping done before arrival
  • Full on-site preparation in your home kitchen
  • Table setup assistance (linens, place cards, centerpiece direction)
  • Service through the meal, course by course
  • Complete kitchen cleanup before departure
  • Leftovers packed and labeled with reheating instructions
  • Dietary accommodations
  • Wine pairing recommendations on request

Not included by default: wine and spirits, specialty rentals (linens, glassware, larger serving pieces), additional staffing for larger groups or for hors d’oeuvres receptions, travel surcharges (events more than 90 minutes from Newport), and gratuity. Wine, spirits, rentals, staffing, and travel surcharges are typically discussed upfront with the quote if relevant.

You arrive to a set table. You leave the night with nothing to handle.

Common holiday questions

Questions about a private chef holiday menu.

How far in advance should I book a holiday dinner?
For Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve, book three to four weeks minimum. Most peak holiday dates fill six to eight weeks out, especially for multi-course New Year’s Eve dinners. For smaller occasions like Mother’s Day brunch or a Super Bowl dinner, two to three weeks is usually enough.
Can you accommodate dietary restrictions for the holiday?
Yes. Vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, pescatarian, severe nut allergies, celiac, kosher-style, and halal are all accommodated. The menu is built around the most restrictive eater so no one gets an afterthought plate.
How many guests can you cook for?
Most holiday dinners land between six and fourteen. For smaller dinners, I cook and serve solo. For larger groups, I bring additional staff.
Do you bring everything you need?
Yes. Knives, mise en place containers, plating tools, sheet trays, and any specialty equipment for the menu. I cook in your home kitchen using your stove and oven.
What if I want to use my grandmother’s stuffing recipe?
Send it. I cook family recipes alongside the rest of the menu when they matter to you. A handed-down dish on the table is part of what makes the holiday feel like the holiday.
Do you handle table setup and cleanup?
Yes. Table setup assistance before service. Complete kitchen cleanup after, with leftovers packed in labeled containers and reheating instructions.
Can you cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving for the whole table?
Yes. Vegetarian Thanksgiving menus are a regular booking. The centerpiece is typically a stuffed butternut squash, a wild mushroom Wellington, or a celery root pot pie.
Do you do Christmas Eve Feast of the Seven Fishes?
Yes. The traditional Italian Christmas Eve format, with sourcing from Newport Seafood. Course count and exact dishes get built during the consultation.
Where do you serve for holiday dinners?
All of Rhode Island plus Cape Cod and the Boston metro suburbs. Travel surcharges apply for events more than 90 minutes from Newport.
Can you do an Easter brunch instead of an Easter dinner?
Yes. Easter brunch is one of the most-requested holiday formats. Stuffed brioche French toast, smoked salmon Benedicts, lobster Benedicts, ham roast carving station, spring vegetable frittata, herb-roasted potatoes, and the dessert course built around lemon, rhubarb, or strawberry.
Can you cook a Friendsgiving for a younger crowd?
Yes. Friendsgiving menus tend to lean more relaxed and modern. Less of the classic stuffing-and-gravy core, more around a roast bird, family-style sides, a dessert that travels (sticky toffee pudding, hazelnut tart, salted caramel apple), and three or four heartier passed bites for the cocktail hour.
Do you handle multi-day holiday weeks (Christmas Eve through New Year’s Day)?
Yes. Some families book the full Christmas-week stretch. Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas brunch, Christmas dinner, an in-between dinner on the 27th or 28th when extended family is in town, then New Year’s Eve. The menus are built across the week so nothing repeats and the leftovers carry into the in-between meals.
Can you do a kids-friendly version of the holiday menu?
Yes. The adult menu lands on the table, and a parallel kids version (or an adapted kids portion of an adult dish) gets plated for the younger guests. The kids menu is built around what the family knows their kids actually eat, not a generic chicken-fingers default.
Do you handle the wine pairings on the holiday?
Wine sourcing is your call. I do not stock or markup beverages. I will recommend pairings that match the menu and serve what you provide throughout the holiday meal, including champagne service for New Year’s Eve.
Other services

Beyond holiday menus.

Multi-course in-home dinners
Private Dinners
 In-home brunch service
Brunch
 Cocktail receptions
Hors d’Oeuvres
 Weekly meal service
Meal Prep
Reserve your holiday date

Tell me about your holiday.

Send the holiday, the date, and the headcount. I usually reply within 24 hours.

Inquire About Your Holiday Dinner