Private Chef for Christmas Eve Dinner
Seven Fishes or Your Own Tradition — Cooked in Your Kitchen, Served at Your Table
Christmas Eve is its own meal — for a lot of families it is the bigger one. A chef cooks the full dinner in your kitchen, whether that is a traditional Feast of the Seven Fishes or your family's own version of the night, serves it at your table, and cleans everything before leaving. Christmas Eve is $168.75 per person against an eight-guest minimum, so a booking starts at $1,350 before groceries.
Christmas Eve dinners are cooked across South Jersey, Philadelphia and the Main Line, the Jersey Shore, North and Central Jersey, and Myrtle Beach.
Christmas Eve 2026 is Thursday, December 24. Book by early December. The 24th books out alongside Christmas Day — reserve both dates early if your family does both.
The Feast of the Seven Fishes, Done Right
Seven seafood courses is a timing problem as much as a cooking one — every fish has a different clock, and all of them have to land hot. That is exactly the kind of meal a private chef exists for. Send your family's lineup, or let the chef build one.
Or Your Own Tradition
Not every family does Seven Fishes. Whatever your Christmas Eve looks like — a standing menu, a rotating one, something new — the meal is built around your table, not a template.
Christmas Eve Pricing
Christmas Eve carries the 35% major-holiday premium: $168.75 per person, against an eight-guest minimum, which puts a booking at $1,350 before groceries and fees. That covers the full meal cooked in your kitchen and served at your table, with full cleanup. Groceries are billed at cost and a $100 travel fee applies 25 or more miles from the serving base. See the full pricing breakdown for every service and fee.
How the Night Runs
The chef arrives several hours before service and courses the meal at your family's pace — some families want a long, slow succession of plates, others want everything on the table at once. Both are standard. The kitchen is cleaned before the chef leaves, so Christmas morning starts with a clean house.
The same service runs the next day as a Christmas dinner, and a week later as New Year's Eve. For every holiday on the calendar, see the holiday private chef page.
Ideal For
Feast of the Seven Fishes
The full traditional spread, coursed and timed properly.
Family Traditions
Your family's version of the night, cooked exactly as written.
Big Family Tables
Eight to twenty-five guests, more with added chefs.
Hosts Who Want the Night Off
Courses served, plates cleared, the table managed.
Shore & Beach Houses
Christmas Eve at a Shore or Myrtle Beach rental.
Full Cleanup
The kitchen is left cleaner than it was found.
How It Works
- 1
Reserve the Date
Send your date, guest count and town. Christmas Eve is assigned first-come alongside Christmas Day.
- 2
Build the Menu
Seven Fishes, your own tradition, or a mix — plus any recipes you want cooked exactly as written.
- 3
Set Your Service Time
Tell us when you want to eat. The chef works backwards from that around your oven.
- 4
Chef Cooks Christmas Eve
The chef arrives hours ahead, cooks everything on site, and courses the meal at your pace.
- 5
Kitchen Left Spotless
Leftovers are packed and refrigerated, and the kitchen is left cleaner than it was found.
What Our Clients Say
Dean R.
via Yelp
Chef Matt provided an amazing buffet for our Christmas party this year. We had 55+ people who were all raving about the delicious food.
Posted on YelpGail A.
Long Beach Island, NJ
Amazing dinner for ten by Chef Matt in our LBI home. There were constant comments from my family 'this is the best I ever had!'
Posted on YelpMary B.
via Yelp
Every dish was fresh, perfectly prepared and beautifully presented. Chef Matt was professional and easy to work with.
Posted on Yelp
Meet Your Personal Chef
- 18+ years professional kitchen experience
- Executive Chef by age 22
- Academy of Culinary Arts graduate
- USPCA member
- Specialized in dietary-aware cooking
Chef Matt brings restaurant-quality dining directly to your home. Every meal is crafted around your preferences, dietary needs, and lifestyle — sourced with intention and cooked with precision.
Learn More About Chef MattWhere We Serve
Christmas Eve dinners are cooked in homes across South Jersey, North Jersey, and Central Jersey, plus Philadelphia and the Main Line.
Holiday weeks at Jersey Shore houses and Myrtle Beach rentals are common — a rental oven and counter space is enough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Book Christmas Eve Private Chef With Chef Matts
Bringing a chef into your home should feel calm, considered, and personal — not transactional. Every booking with Chef Matts Culinary Creations starts with a real conversation about your household: how many people you're feeding, the dietary preferences and restrictions involved, the kitchen we'll be working in, and the kind of experience you want to create. From there, Chef Matt builds a custom menu and confirms every detail in writing well before the date.
The service itself is fully turnkey. We handle planning, seasonal sourcing, in-home cooking, plating or portioning, and a complete kitchen cleanup before we leave. With more than eighteen years in professional kitchens — including time as an executive chef by age twenty-two and ongoing membership in the United States Personal Chef Association — Chef Matt brings restaurant-level technique into homes across South Jersey, the Jersey Shore, the Philadelphia Main Line, and South Carolina's Grand Strand.
Ready to Get Started?
Fill out our short availability form — no obligation, no pressure. Your custom proposal arrives within 2 hours. Requests after 8 PM arrive by 10 AM.
Check AvailabilityExplore Our Other Services
Christmas Dinner Private Chef
The main event, cooked the same way.
Holiday Private Chef
Every holiday on the calendar, with dates and deadlines.
New Year's Eve Private Chef
Close out the year a week later.
Private Chef Cost
Every rate, minimum and fee in one place.
Private Dinner Parties
Coursed in-home dinners at the standard rate.