Private chef · Costa del Sol
Private chef in Málaga
Nick Toorn is a Michelin-trained private chef who cooks at homes and apartments in Málaga city and the surrounding coast, from the historic centre and Soho to El Limonar and Pedregalejo. He shops at the market the same day, cooks a bespoke menu in your kitchen and cleans up after service. Private dinners, workshops and small events, in English, Spanish or Dutch.
Málaga is where the coast stops performing and starts living. The Atarazanas market alone is worth the booking: when I cook in the city, the menu gets decided there, between the fish counters and the men arguing about tomatoes. City apartments, rooftop terraces, family houses in El Limonar, beach houses out in Pedregalejo: the table changes, the rule does not.
A city dinner has its own rhythm. Smaller kitchens, closer tables, the night leaning more towards conversation than spectacle. I like it that way. You hear the pans. You smell the sherry hitting the steel. That is the show.
How the night runs
We talk it through
Before anything, we shape the night together. The table, the people, what they love and what they won't touch.
I shop that morning
Market in the morning, whatever stands out that day. The menu finishes itself at the stall, not a week before.
Open kitchen, your home
I cook in full view. No hiding behind a door. The kitchen is part of the evening, not a back room.
Course after course, your pace
Nothing rushed. The night moves with the table, not a clock. We stop when you're full, not before.
You wake to a clean kitchen
Shopping, plating, clean-up. You hold your glass and welcome your guests. I handle the rest.
Asked a lot
Do you cook in apartments in Málaga's city centre?
Yes, often. A city kitchen is usually smaller than a villa kitchen and that is fine: the menu is designed around what your kitchen can do. Tell me about the space when you book and everything else follows.
What does a private chef in Málaga cost?
No fixed prices: every menu is built for your table, so every quote is personal. Number of guests, number of courses and the ingredients determine the price. Send your date through the contact form and you hear back within 24 hours.
Where do you buy your ingredients in Málaga?
At the market, the same day, with Atarazanas as the obvious first stop in the city. The morning's catch and whatever looks best at the stalls decide the final shape of the menu. That is not a slogan; it is how the menu literally gets finished.
Do you also serve the towns between Málaga and Marbella?
Yes. Torremolinos, Benalmádena, Fuengirola, Mijas and everything in between fall inside my normal range; my own kitchen sits in the middle of that stretch. The whole Costa del Sol is the working area.
