What Private Chefs Cook for Birthdays: What 4,275 Chef Menus Reveal

Italian and French are neck and neck at the top

The clearest pattern is at the top of the cuisine list, where two heavyweights are almost tied. Italian appears in 1,060 of the birthday menus and French in 1,026, a genuine photo finish. Mediterranean follows close behind at 801, then fusion at 581, Asian at 455 and Japanese at 421.

So the most likely birthday menu a private chef will build is Italian or French, with Mediterranean a strong third. That fits what people tend to want on a celebration: generous, shareable, familiar food with a sense of occasion, the kind of cooking that fills a table and invites everyone to dig in.

One result surprised us. Despite ChefMaison being a Dutch company, Dutch cuisine sits right at the bottom of the birthday list, named in just 9 menus. When people mark a birthday with a private chef, they reach past the everyday and toward something that feels like a treat, and the menus reflect exactly that.

A birthday dinner is usually four courses

There is a standard shape to a private-chef birthday dinner, and it is remarkably consistent: four courses. Of the 4,275 menus, 3,988 are built as four courses, with almost all of the rest landing at three or five. In practice, more than nine in ten birthday menus follow the four-course format.

That is a useful anchor if you are planning your own. Four courses is enough to give the evening a proper arc, a shared start, a lighter middle, a hearty main and a dessert to gather around, without dragging the night out or overwhelming the table. It is the format chefs land on again and again, and a sensible default to build from before you tailor it to your group.

Birthday chefs span more than 30 countries

The birthday menus in our data come from more than 30 countries, which is a reminder of how widely the private-chef idea has spread. The largest clusters are in France, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada and Belgium, reflecting where ChefMaison's chef community is most established.

Zooming into the Netherlands, Amsterdam leads the way as the most active city for birthday menus, followed by Rotterdam, then smaller hubs like Almere, The Hague and Amstelveen. If you are celebrating in a Dutch city, there is a good chance a private chef nearby already has a birthday menu ready to adapt.

What this means if you are planning a birthday

Read together, the menus sketch a clear picture of a private-chef birthday. It tends to be Italian, French or Mediterranean, built as four generous courses, and it happens wherever suits you best. None of it is fixed, though. The whole point of a private chef is that the menu is shaped with you: you can lean into the popular choices or go somewhere completely different, from a cuisine you have always wanted to try to a spread built entirely around your group's favourites.

And it does not have to be at home. A private chef can cook at your own place, a house, apartment, garden or boat, at a holiday house, outdoors, or at one of ChefMaison's private dining locations you can book directly. The food and the service come to the setting you choose, and the chef handles the shopping, the cooking and the clean-up.

Thinking about a private chef for a birthday? Browse private chefs on ChefMaison, or explore private dining locations.

Methodology

The figures come from 4,275 birthday menus listed by private chefs on ChefMaison, identified by birthday-related words across 15 languages in the menu descriptions. They describe what chefs offer for birthdays rather than a survey of what every guest ordered. Because a single menu can list more than one cuisine, cuisine figures count how often each cuisine appears across the menus, so they add up to more than the total number of menus. Country and course figures count each menu once. Data pulled July 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Across 4,275 birthday menus on ChefMaison, Italian and French are the most common by a clear margin and almost tied, appearing in 1,060 and 1,026 menus. Mediterranean is a strong third at 801, followed by fusion and Asian. These are the cuisines chefs most often build a celebration menu around.

Four courses is by far the most common format. More than nine in ten of the birthday menus we analysed are built as four courses, with almost all of the rest at three or five. A four-course structure gives the evening a shared starter, a lighter course, a main and a dessert, which is why chefs land on it so often.

Most often Italian, French or Mediterranean food, usually served as a four-course menu. Fusion, Asian and Japanese are also popular. In practice, a private chef shapes the menu with you, so you can follow the popular choices or pick a cuisine and dishes built entirely around your group.

Yes. Vegetarian and vegan menus both appear widely in the data, and private chefs routinely cook for vegetarians, vegans, allergies and other dietary needs. You share the details when you plan the menu, and the chef tailors each course so every guest is looked after without a separate fuss.

A very wide range. The birthday menus alone span Italian, French, Mediterranean, fusion, Asian, Japanese, Spanish, Mexican, Greek, Thai, American, Indian and many more, plus vegetarian and vegan options. You agree the direction with your chef in advance, so the menu can match almost any taste or theme you have in mind.

Wherever you want to celebrate. A private chef can cook at your home, whether a house, apartment, garden or boat, at a holiday house, outdoors, or at one of ChefMaison's private dining locations you can book directly. The menus in our data span more than 30 countries, with Amsterdam the most active city in the Netherlands.

Any size. A private chef can cook an intimate birthday dinner for a few, a group party, or a large celebration. Many chefs work to a minimum total spend rather than a set number of guests, and the per-person figure usually comes down as the group grows.

You plan it together in advance. You share your group's tastes, the occasion and any dietary needs, and the chef proposes a menu, often four courses, that you refine together. Popular starting points are Italian, French and Mediterranean, but you can shape the whole thing around whatever you want to eat.