What to send a Bali chef before requesting a quote
A copyable checklist of what to send before asking a Bali chef for a quote: dates, villa, guests, meals, diets and kitchen photos. Who confirms each item.
Send five things before you ask a Bali chef for a quote: your dates and villa area, the guest count with children's ages, whether you want full days of cooking or one meal, any allergies or strict diets, and photos of the villa kitchen. Those five answers decide the booking type, the team size, the travel line and whether the kitchen can cope. Everything else can follow once the first proposal is in front of you.
This page is a copyable brief, not a price list. Current rates live on pricing. If you already know you want a chef for whole days of your stay, the service itself is on the full-day stay-chef page. If you only want one dinner, lunch or party, that is catering with food included, and the same brief still works.
Why the first message matters
Most slow quotes are not slow because the chef is busy. They are slow because the first message said "private chef, 4 people, next week" and every answer after that is a question. Is it one dinner or five days? Where is the villa? Is anyone allergic to shellfish? Does the kitchen have an oven? Each missing answer costs one more round of messages.
A complete first message does not commit you to anything. A written proposal is not a booking. At myCHEF the date is only held once the 50% deposit is received, after you have seen the written proposal.
The checklist: what to send, who confirms it, and when
Use the table as a worksheet. The last column is the exact question to settle, so nobody is guessing on the day.
| Item | Why it changes the quote | Who confirms | When | The exact question to confirm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dates and meal times | Sets availability, number of service days and the team's schedule | You | First message | "Which dates, and roughly what time is the first and last meal each day?" |
| Villa area or listing link | Travel is included in some areas and quoted in others | You, then the chef team | First message | "Is there a travel fee for this villa, and is it in the quote?" |
| Guest count, children's ages | Changes portions, team size and whether a day rate still fits | You | First message; final number a few days before | "How many adults and children, and how old are the children?" |
| Full days or one meal | Decides the booking model: stay chef by the day, or catering by the meal | You | First message | "Do we want the kitchen covered all day, or one sitting?" |
| Allergies and strict diets | Changes the menu, the shopping and how dishes are kept apart | You (each guest) | Before the menu is drafted | "Is this a preference, an intolerance or an allergy, and how severe?" |
| Kitchen photos | Shows hob, oven, fridge and prep space before anyone promises a menu | You or the villa manager | Before the proposal is final | "Can you send photos of the hob, oven, fridge and main worktop?" |
| Villa rules and contact | Access times, noise limits, staff on site and gas or power quirks | Villa manager | Before the deposit | "What time can the chef team arrive, and who lets them in?" |
| Occasion and timing | A birthday cake, a speech or sunset timing changes the running order | You | With the brief | "Is there a moment in the evening that the meal has to fit around?" |
| Service extras | Waiters, a bartender or extra equipment are separate lines | You, then the chef team | With the brief | "Do we need anyone besides the chef team to serve or pour drinks?" |
| Groceries and budget | On a stay chef, groceries are billed at cost with receipts, so the menu drives the shopping bill | You | With the brief | "What food budget per day feels right, and are there ingredients you want or want to avoid?" |
| Who decides and pays | Avoids a quote going to one person and the approval sitting with another | You | Before the deposit | "Who approves the menu, and who pays the deposit?" |
Copy this message
Paste this into WhatsApp or email and fill in the gaps. Short answers are fine.
Hi, we are planning food for our Bali stay.
Dates: [arrival] to [departure]. Meals needed: [all day on these dates / one dinner on this date].
Villa: [area, or listing link].
Guests: [adults] adults, [children] children aged [ages].
Allergies or strict diets: [none / details and severity].
Kitchen: photos attached (hob, oven, fridge, worktop).
Occasion: [none / birthday on this date, speech at 8pm].
Extras: [none / waiter / bartender].
Food style: [e.g. Balinese, Italian, seafood, plant-forward].
Decision-maker: [name].
Say the booking model up front
"Private chef" can mean two different purchases. A stay chef at myCHEF is a full day of staff, a chef plus an assistant for about ten guests, with three flexible meals and groceries billed separately at cost. One lunch, dinner or party is catering, priced per guest with food included in the menu. If your message does not say which one, the first reply will ask. The comparison is set out in stay chef or catering.
If you are unsure, say so and give the shape of the trip instead: "three nights, we would like breakfast and dinner at the villa most days." That is enough to be pointed at the right model.
What moves the number most
You do not need to know prices to write a good brief, but it helps to know which answers move the total. In rough order:
- Number of days or meals. A day rate multiplies by days. A menu price multiplies by guests.
- Guest count. The stay-chef day rate covers about ten guests. Beyond that, ask how the team and quote change.
- Villa area. Canggu, Seminyak, Kerobokan, Berawa and Pererenan have no travel fee. Other areas carry a travel fee that should appear in the quote before you confirm.
- Menu level and ingredients. Imported ingredients and premium upgrades change the shopping bill or the menu price.
- Service staff and equipment. Waiters, bar staff and hired equipment are extra lines.
For how a day rate and groceries add up, see the grocery, tax and tipping guide. Prices marked ++ exclude the 10% service charge and 11% government tax, so check which figures in any quote are ++ and which are all-in.
Why kitchen photos save the most time
A menu that needs an oven does not work in a villa with a two-burner hob and no oven. A tasting menu for twelve needs worktop space, fridge space and somewhere to plate. We check the villa kitchen before confirming, and photos let that happen before the menu is written, not on the afternoon of the dinner.
Four photos are usually enough: the hob, the oven, the inside of the fridge and the main worktop. If the villa has an outdoor grill or a second kitchen, add those. What makes a kitchen workable is covered in what a villa kitchen needs for a private chef.
What you can leave out of the first message
- A finished menu. Say the cuisines you like and anything you will not eat. The chef drafts the menu.
- An exact final headcount. A close estimate is fine. Confirm the final number a few days before.
- Payment. Nothing is paid until you have a written proposal you are happy with.
- Every meal time for every day. A first and last meal time per day is enough to plan a stay.
After the quote arrives
Read it against your brief. Does it name the dates, the booking model, the guest count and the travel line? Does it say what is included and what is billed separately? If you are comparing two proposals that look different, the side-by-side method is in how to compare Bali catering quotes. The 50% deposit confirms the date. Read the cancellation terms before paying, not after.
FAQ
How far ahead should I send the brief?
As early as you know your dates. Peak weeks fill first, and an early brief leaves time to sort out the kitchen and diets.
Can I ask for a quote without a villa booked?
Yes. Give the area you are considering. The travel line and kitchen check can follow once you have the villa.
Do I need to send every guest's diet?
Send every allergy and strict diet, with severity. Preferences can be a short note.
What if the villa has its own cook?
Say so. It changes what you need from a chef team. The split is explained in private chef vs villa staff.
Where to go next
- Full-day stay chef for whole days of cooking at the villa
- Catering for one meal or party with food included
- Stay chef or catering if you have not chosen the model yet
- How to compare quotes once two proposals are in hand
Send your dates, villa area, guest count, meal plan, diets and kitchen photos. We can suggest the right booking model and prepare an itemised written quote.
