Tuscany Villa Rental with Chef: 11 Villas | Haute Retreats
A Tuscany villa rental with chef works in one of two ways: the chef comes with the villa, or we book one for you. At the eleven villas below, the chef is part of the rent and you pay only for the food; at most of our other houses a chef can be added for as many meals as you like. Here they are area by area, from Siena and the Val d’Orcia to Lucca, Chianti and the Maremma, with exactly what each kitchen covers, so you can compare like with like. All of them are part of our Tuscany villa rentals.
Tuscany villas with a chef included, at a glance
| Villa | Area | Bedrooms, guests | The chef covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Villa Cetinale | Near Siena | 13 bedrooms, sleeps 27 | Every meal, with waiters |
| Veltuna | Maremma, near Orbetello | 7 bedrooms, sleeps 14 | Breakfast, lunch and dinner: eight hours of cooking a day, and a waiter |
| Via del Mare | Maremma coast | 10 bedrooms, sleeps 22 | Lunch and dinner, with table service |
| Villa Marchese | Near Empoli, west of Florence | 9 bedrooms, sleeps 18 | Breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a butler twelve hours a day |
| Villa Contrada | Near Lucca | 12 bedrooms, sleeps 24 | Breakfast and lunch or dinner, six days a week |
| Villa Galileo | Near Lucca | 11 bedrooms, sleeps 22 | Breakfast and lunch or dinner, six days a week |
| Bernardini | South of Lucca | 7 bedrooms, sleeps 14 | Breakfast and lunch or dinner, six days a week |
| Casa Bagnaia | Near Lucca | 7 bedrooms, sleeps 14 | A personal chef, with daily housekeeping |
| Villa Le Masse | Panzano in Chianti | 6 bedrooms, sleeps 12 | Lunch or dinner every day, breakfast, a Saturday welcome dinner and a Wednesday pizza night |
| Villa I Busini | Just outside Florence | 7 bedrooms, sleeps 14 | Lunch or dinner every day with a server, a Tuscan breakfast and a butler |
| Il Principe | Near Montepulciano | 7 bedrooms, sleeps 12 | Breakfast and lunch every day, with a waiter |
In every case the chef’s time is part of the rent and the groceries are charged at cost; Villa I Busini and Villa Marchese also include the breakfast food. Checked against each villa’s listing in October 2026.
Siena and the Val d’Orcia
Villa Cetinale
Near Siena · 13 bedrooms · sleeps 27
Cetinale sits on its own land a short drive from Siena and the hill towns, with two fully equipped kitchens and space for the largest groups in this list. It is also the one villa here where the chef cooks every meal of the day, so the house runs like a private hotel: breakfast when you come down, lunch outdoors, dinner served at the table by the waiters.
For a wedding dinner or a milestone birthday, the chef cooks for up to 30.
The chef: a private chef for all meals, every day, with waiters; the food is charged at cost.
Il Principe
Near Montepulciano · 7 bedrooms · sleeps 12
A villa in the Val d’Orcia close to Montepulciano, where housekeeping comes in five hours a day, seven days a week, and a cook and a waiter look after the first half of the day. Evenings are yours to plan: dinner at the villa, or a night at Osmosi in Montepulciano, one of the Michelin-starred restaurants in Tuscany.
The chef: a cook and a waiter for breakfast and lunch every day; the food is charged at cost.
Lucca: four houses where the chef comes with the villa
The countryside around Lucca has the largest group of chef-included villas in our Tuscany collection, a short drive from the city walls and within reach of the beaches of the Versilia coast. At three of them the chef follows the same rhythm: breakfast and one main meal, six days a week, with Wednesday off. That night belongs to Lucca’s trattorie, or to the starred tables of Viareggio and Forte dei Marmi.
Villa Contrada
Near Lucca · 12 bedrooms · sleeps 24
A restored historic estate in the hills south-east of Lucca, toward Montecarlo, about fifteen minutes from the Renaissance walls. Twelve individually styled suites mean nobody draws the short straw, and there is a tennis court, a sports field and room for a long table under the trees.
Menus are built around Lucchese produce and your party’s tastes; send the concierge a list and the kitchen is stocked before you arrive.
The chef: breakfast every day and one main meal, lunch or dinner as you prefer, six days a week (Wednesday off); groceries at cost.
Villa Galileo
Near Lucca · 11 bedrooms · sleeps 22
A nineteenth-century villa less than five miles from Lucca, with a tennis club nearby and Pisa within twenty miles. For a group of twenty or so who want the city, the sea and the chef in the same week.
The chef: breakfast and one main meal, six days a week (Wednesday off); groceries at cost.
Bernardini
South of Lucca · 7 bedrooms · sleeps 14
A villa built in 1624 in the green valley south of Lucca, with a gardener and a pool attendant on the staff and a porter to meet you.
The chef: breakfast and one main meal every day except Wednesday; groceries at cost.
Casa Bagnaia
Near Lucca · 7 bedrooms · sleeps 14
A Tuscan farmhouse on an estate of terraced olive groves above a small lake, with a tree-shaded island reached by a wooden bridge. Lucca and Pisa are both a short drive away.
The chef: a personal chef is part of the rent, with housekeeping every morning except Sunday; groceries at cost.
Florence and Chianti
Villa I Busini
Just outside Florence · 7 bedrooms · sleeps 14
A Renaissance-era estate of 40 hectares just outside Florence, with a coat-of-arms hall, a glass-domed atrium and an infinity pool built by hand from Tuscan stone. A butler is on duty every day, and housekeeping runs from nine to four.
The chef: a Tuscan breakfast every morning (the food is included) and a cook and server for lunch or dinner every day; the food for that meal is charged at cost.
Villa Le Masse
Panzano in Chianti · 6 bedrooms · sleeps 12
A thirteenth-century house at the centre of Chianti, with a salt-water infinity pool, a courtyard of lemon trees and an old pizza oven built into the wall. The estate grows its own olive oil, vegetables and eggs, and that is what the kitchen cooks with. The villa manager is on hand through the stay.
The chef: lunch or dinner every day, a continental breakfast each morning, a welcome dinner on Saturday and a pizza night on Wednesday with local wine or craft beer; the food is charged at cost.
Villa Marchese
Near Empoli, west of Florence · 9 bedrooms · sleeps 18
An eighteenth-century villa restored in 2018, with frescoed salons, period furniture and a private theatre, on an estate of some 320 hectares with its own winery and a botanical garden of more than 3,000 species. Housekeeping works eight hours a day, Sunday included.
The chef: breakfast every day with the food included, a cook for lunch and dinner, and a butler twelve hours a day; lunch and dinner groceries at cost.
The Maremma
Veltuna
Maremma, near Orbetello · 7 bedrooms · sleeps 14
A contemporary estate on 75 acres of Tuscan countryside near Orbetello and the Argentario, between the beaches of the southern coast and the hill towns of Capalbio and Pitigliano. With a cook for three meals and a waiter every day, it is the most complete kitchen in this list after Cetinale.
The chef: a cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner, eight hours a day, a waiter and daily housekeeping; extra cooking hours can be added, and the food is charged at cost.
Via del Mare
Maremma coast · 10 bedrooms · sleeps 22
Four hectares of wild olive trees, palms and woodland in the south of Tuscany, about twenty minutes from the Uccellina nature park and the lagoon of Orbetello. A house for a large family that wants the sea by day and a served dinner at night.
The chef: a cook with table service for lunch and dinner every day, and daily housekeeping; the food is charged at cost.
What “chef included” means, and what it does not
- The time is included, the food is not. At every villa above, the chef’s hours are part of the rent and the groceries are charged at cost. The exceptions are the breakfasts at Villa I Busini and Villa Marchese, where the food is included too.
- Read the meals. “One meal a day” means lunch or dinner, as you choose; breakfast is often on top. Villa Cetinale, Veltuna and Villa Marchese look after all three.
- Expect a day off. At Villa Contrada, Villa Galileo and Bernardini the chef takes Wednesday off. Plan that evening at a restaurant, and we will reserve it.
- The villa’s own chef. Many Tuscan estates do not allow outside caterers: the cook comes through the villa’s own staff. If you travel with a chef you love, ask us before you book.
- Extra hours and occasions. More meals, more staff, a pizza night, a cooking class for the children or a wine dinner are arranged through our concierge, quoted with the villa.
Villas where we add the chef
Most of our Tuscan villas do not include a chef, and many guests prefer it that way: a chef for the welcome dinner and the last night, a cooking class in between, and the rest of the week at the restaurants. At Villa Teresa a private chef can be arranged for every day of the stay; Casa Bachicche has a marble kitchen built for one; at Villa Zietta guests have added a personal chef to their week; Villa Matteo has a full kitchen and a wine cellar, with a chef on request. Breakfast comes with the house at Villa Palladia, Medea and Villa Sant’Anna.
For houses with a full resident team, from butlers to drivers, see our staffed villa collection.
A day with the villa chef
The day starts with breakfast laid out on the loggia whenever the first of the group comes down: fruit, pastries, local cheese and honey, the coffee kept coming. By midday the heat closes the shutters, and lunch is light and cold by the pool: panzanella, prosciutto and melon, a chilled Vermentino. In the late afternoon the terrace comes back to life with an aperitivo as the hills turn gold, and dinner is served under the pergola as the air cools, paced to the conversation, with the children’s menu sorted before anyone asks. By the time you go to bed the kitchen is clean and set for the morning.
Before you arrive: the brief
The first dinner is planned weeks ahead. We ask for the ages in the group, allergies and diets, how and when you like to eat, any celebration, the wines you prefer and how much of the week you want at the villa table. The chef builds the menus from that brief and from what the season and the estate give; the concierge stocks the kitchen before you land, so the welcome dinner is on the table the evening you arrive. On the chef’s night off, Tuscany has 45 Michelin-starred restaurants to choose from.
When to book
For June to September and the holidays, book 9 to 12 months ahead; for spring and autumn, 6 to 9 months is usually enough. For a wedding or a reunion at one of the large villas, Villa Cetinale, Villa Contrada, Via del Mare or Villa Galileo, hold the dates before anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Which Tuscany villas include a private chef?
Eleven of our villas include a chef in the rent: Villa Cetinale near Siena, Il Principe near Montepulciano, Villa Contrada, Villa Galileo, Bernardini and Casa Bagnaia near Lucca, Villa I Busini just outside Florence, Villa Marchese near Empoli, Villa Le Masse in Chianti, and Veltuna and Via del Mare in the Maremma.
Is the food included when the chef is included?
No. At every villa the chef’s time is part of the rent and the groceries are charged at cost. The exceptions are the breakfasts at Villa I Busini and Villa Marchese, where the food is included as well.
Which Tuscan villas have a chef for every meal?
Villa Cetinale, where a private chef cooks all meals with waiters; Veltuna, where a cook works eight hours a day for breakfast, lunch and dinner; and Villa Marchese, with breakfast, a cook for lunch and dinner and a butler. Via del Mare covers lunch and dinner.
Which villa with a chef is best for a large group?
Villa Cetinale sleeps 27, Villa Contrada 24, and Via del Mare and Villa Galileo 22 each. For a wedding dinner, the chef at Cetinale cooks for up to 30.
Does the chef work every day?
At most of these villas, yes. At Villa Contrada, Villa Galileo and Bernardini the chef works six days a week and takes Wednesday off, which is a good night to book a restaurant.
Can we bring our own chef to a villa in Tuscany?
Often not. Many Tuscan estates do not allow outside caterers and provide the cook through their own staff. If you travel with your own chef, ask us before you book and we will suggest the villas that allow it.
Can the villa chef cook for children and special diets?
Yes. Send the ages, allergies and diets with your brief before arrival, and the chef plans the menus around them, from a pizza night for the children to a wine dinner for the adults.
How much does a villa with a chef cost in Tuscany?
It depends on the villa, the week and how many meals you want. At these villas the chef’s time is already in the rent and the food is charged at cost; extra hours or staff are quoted with the villa. We quote rates for your dates.
How far ahead should we book a villa with a chef?
For June to September and the holidays, 9 to 12 months ahead; for spring and autumn, 6 to 9 months. For a wedding or a reunion at one of the large villas, hold the dates first.
Request a villa with a chef
Tell us your dates, your group and how you like to eat. A Tuscany specialist replies within 24 hours with a private shortlist of villas, with the chef and the staff confirmed in writing.
Request a Tailored SelectionWhatsApp +39 333 206 5514
Toll-free, US and Canada +1 888 279 6444 · Miami +1 305 432 1731
