Cooked in your kitchen
Private chef in Southend-on-Sea
Your table in Southend-on-Sea, my kitchen for the night: a bespoke menu written for your table, cooked in your home — prep, service, and a spotless kitchen before I leave.
In the borough this year I’ve cooked a 40th in Thorpe Bay and a birthday dinner party in Leigh, both in private homes. SS postcodes get the weekday lunch boxes too.
Southend-on-Sea is 7 miles by road from the kitchen in Rayleigh.
Who is cooking
A private chef in Southend-on-Sea, from a kitchen in Rayleigh
I’m Mike Sutton: 20 years in professional kitchens, nearly a decade running my own restaurant, trained under Gennaro Contaldo and Jamie Oliver. Tipsy Squirrel Events is what I did after I sold the restaurant — the same cooking, brought to your home instead.
The kitchen is in Rayleigh, 7 miles by road from Southend-on-Sea, and I cook across Essex, London, the South East and East Anglia. Every menu is written from scratch for your table, with 43 sample menus from six regions of the world to start from, and every dietary in the room handled within the same courses — nobody gets a visibly different plate.
How it works
Tell me the date, the headcount, and the occasion — four fields or a WhatsApp message.
I write the menu around your table and every dietary in the room, and we refine it together.
On the night I arrive early, cook, serve, and leave your kitchen spotless.
The practical bits
From £75 per head, £449 minimum spend
Travel to Southend-on-Sea is quoted with the menu, based on the distance from Rayleigh.
Ingredients, menu design, chef and service, equipment and a full clean-down included
Every dietary catered — nobody gets a visibly different plate
From recent tables
In their words
What guests said
“Wow, what a chef!! Mike cooked amazing food, was great company and left the kitchen completely spotless. He also went above and beyond to help us make cocktails when we realised we didn't know what we were doing!”
“Amazing experience with Mike. Food was truly excellent and he was so engaging with everyone. We all loved it and will be recommending him to friends. Brilliant. Thank you so much.”
Questions from Southend-on-Sea
Before you book a private chef in Southend-on-Sea
How much is a private chef in Southend-on-Sea?
From £75 per head with a £449 minimum spend — ingredients, menu design, the chef on the night, the equipment I bring and a full clean-down are all in that figure. Tell me the date, the headcount and the occasion and you will have the exact price the same day.
Do you charge travel to Southend-on-Sea?
Travel to Southend-on-Sea is quoted with the menu, based on the distance from Rayleigh, and shown as one line on your quote before you commit — nothing is added later.
Can you handle allergies and dietary requirements?
Yes. Every menu is built to handle vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free within the same courses, so nobody at the table gets a visibly different plate. Tell me the requirements when you enquire.
How far in advance should I book?
Six to eight weeks for a Saturday in summer. Shorter notice is often possible, particularly midweek. Ask, because cancellations happen.
Do you deliver the weekday lunch boxes to Southend-on-Sea?
Not at the moment: the OuiChef Meal Prep lunch boxes are paused for now. Southend-on-Sea is in the delivery area (SS postcodes around Southend), so leave your name on the Meal Prep page and I will let you know first when they restart.
Planning a wedding? See wedding catering in Essex or all my wedding menus and prices.
Christmas? I cook Christmas Day at home and office Christmas parties from £39 a guest.