How long does a tasting menu dinner at home take?

About two and a half hours for five courses and three hours for seven, at a comfortable pace. The chef arrives three to four hours before the first course, and the kitchen is cleaned at the end — so plan your afternoon around the arrival, not the cleanup.

Is my kitchen big enough for a tasting menu?

Almost certainly. A standard kitchen with a hob, oven, counter space and running water is enough. We bring the plating equipment and induction backup for load-shedding, and very compact kitchens move plating to an adjacent counter, agreed in the consult.

Is wine included in the tasting menu price?

No. The sommelier pairing is a published add-on from R450–650 pp, or sommelier hosting from R3,500 per event if you supply the wine. Either way, the wine line appears separately on your quote, with no markup hidden in the menu price.

What does a five-course tasting menu at home cost in Cape Town?

Our five-course tasting starts from R1,200 pp and the seven-course signature from R1,600–2,200 pp, both with a four-guest minimum. Groceries are billed at cost with receipts, and pairing, rentals, Zone 2–3 travel and festive multipliers are itemised before the 50% deposit.

PLANNING — FINE DINING

How to Host a Tasting Menu Dinner at Home — A Host's Checklist

Q: How many guests do I need for a tasting menu at home?

Four is the minimum for our five- and seven-course tasting menus. For two, the dinner-for-two format from R1,450 pp or the romantic package from R3,900 per couple fits better. Six is ideal if you want the chef's-table counter format, which seats exactly six.

A tasting menu at home is mostly the chef's job. The host's job is a short list: the right number of guests, a kitchen check, a timeline and the wine. Here it is.

myCHEF editorialReviewed by the Cape Town teamLast updated October 2026

To host a tasting menu dinner at home, book the chef first and keep the host's list short: four or more guests, a standard kitchen with a hob, oven, counter space and running water, a decision between five and seven courses, and a plan for the wine. Our fine dining at home in Cape Town service runs five courses from R1,200 pp and seven from R1,600–2,200 pp, both with a four-guest minimum and a fixed itemised quote before the 50% deposit. from R1 200 pp per person · Min 4 guests.

The short answer

Everything else — shopping, cooking, plating, pacing and a kitchen left spotless — belongs to the chef. This checklist covers the part that stays with you, in the order you will need it.

Plated tasting-menu course on a dining table with a Cape Town coastal view

Step 1 — Settle the guest count

Four is the minimum for a tasting menu, and the reason is economics: a senior chef, a full shop and three hours of service cost the same whether two people sit down or six. Below four, the per-person rate stops making sense, and our dinner for two — from R1,450 pp, or the romantic package from R3,900 per couple — is built for that table instead.

Six is the sweet spot if you want the cooking to be part of the evening. Our chef's table is a six-seat counter dinner in your villa, Fridays and Saturdays only, where the senior chef cooks arm's length away and explains each plate as it lands. Larger tables still suit a plated tasting menu; the consult checks that the kitchen and plating space can keep pace with the headcount.

Step 2 — Five courses or seven?

Five courses suit most evenings and run about two and a half hours at a comfortable rhythm. Seven add an amuse, a palate cleanser and a slower arc, and take about three hours. The simple rule: five for a dinner that is part of a bigger night, seven when the dinner is the whole point.

Think about your guests as well as the menu. Seven courses reward a table that wants to linger and talk about food; a group with an early start the next morning, or a long Winelands day behind them, is usually happier with five.

Tasting menu, 5-course

fromR1 200pp

Min 4 guests

Signature tasting, 7-course

fromR1 600–2 200pp

Min 4 guests

Step 3 — The kitchen check

Most villa and home kitchens handle a tasting menu, and many we cook in are sight-unseen until the day. These are the things the consult confirms.

Included

Hob, oven, counter space and running water — the essentials. We bring the plating equipment.
Load-shedding: we bring induction backup where the schedule demands it and check outage timing for your area.
Very compact kitchens: plating moves to an adjacent counter, agreed in advance rather than discovered on the night.

Quoted separately

Arrival: your chef arrives three to four hours before the first course, so keep the kitchen free from mid-afternoon.
Cleanup: complete — the kitchen is left spotless at the end, so you don't need to plan for it.

Step 4 — Plan the wine

A tasting menu is where wine pairing earns its price. Our sommelier pairing is a published add-on from R450–650 pp, matching small Cape producers course by course, poured and introduced at the table. If you would rather open your own cellar, sommelier hosting from R3,500 per event has it poured and introduced properly.

Doing it yourself? Buy for the arc rather than for each dish: a Cap Classique for the amuse, a white for the lighter early courses, a red for the main, and something sweet or fortified for the cheese. Our South African wine pairing guide goes grape by grape. Either way, the quote shows the wine line separately.

Service	From
Sommelier wine pairing add-on	fromR450–650per person
Sommelier hosting	fromR3 500per event

Verified October 2026 · Festive 1.5×–2× · Prices include VAT where stated.

Step 5 — Dietary maps, done early

Send every dietary requirement before the menu is written, not on the night. Vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and allergy needs are mapped course by course in the consult, and halaal-friendly service runs with strict protocols — separate prep, dedicated equipment and sourcing agreed in advance. The aim is simple: nobody at the table gets the apology plate.

One line per guest is enough: the name, the requirement, and how serious it is. A preference and an allergy are planned differently, and the chef needs to know which is which before the shopping list exists.

Step 6 — The host's timeline on the night

A worked rhythm for an evening with a 19:30 first course. Adjust it to your table — pacing is yours, and speeches and slow conversations are planned in, not treated as delays.

0115:30–16:30: the chef arrives and takes over the kitchen; you set the table, or agree beforehand what we bring in.
0219:00: guests arrive; drinks and a first glass while the amuse is finished.
0319:30: first course. Courses arrive in sequence, with a printed menu on the table.
04Between courses: toasts and speeches whenever you like — tell the chef and the next plate waits.
05Around 22:00: a five-course evening reaches dessert; seven courses run to about 22:30.
06After service: the kitchen is reset and cleaned while you stay at the table.

What it costs, start to finish

A worked example from the published card: six guests on the five-course tasting at from R1,200 pp is from R7,200, before groceries at cost with receipts. Add the sommelier pairing at from R450 pp and the wine line is from R2,700. Seven courses for the same six start from R9,600. Rentals, Zone 2–3 travel (R300–500 per day for Stellenbosch, Paarl and Somerset West; R500–800 for Franschhoek and beyond) and any festive multiplier are itemised separately.

If you want the menu to carry the Cape, three signature menus have their own pages: the Cape Malay heritage dinner from R1,200 pp, the Cape seafood journey from R1,350 pp and the fynbos tasting menu from R1,600 pp, all with a four-guest minimum. Or brief the chef on something else entirely — a classic French arc can be built in the consult too.