HLB Catering relaunches Private Chef Experience for Melbourne in 2026

Mentone-based HLB Catering has relaunched its Private Chef Experience for 2026 as a complete service, bringing a multi-course private chef dinner to homes, offices and venues across Melbourne for groups of 10 or more.

Dishes are mainly cooked in HLB's commercial kitchen in Mentone, then finished and plated at the client's place and served course by course by the chef and serving staff. Table setup, styling and clean-up are all included, and if a menu needs cooking equipment on site, HLB brings it at no extra cost. Menus run to five or six courses, bookings start from $250 per person, and the service is limited to six bookings a month.

Clients can also build the menu around their own wine, whisky or favourite bottles. The team isn't made up of sommeliers, but they design the food to suit whatever is being poured.

Guests choose between two menus. The Classic Experience is five courses at $250 per person, with two canapés, an entrée, a main, dessert and a cheese course. The Signature Experience is six courses at $350 per person and opens with an antipasto board on arrival. Dishes on the current menu include Black Angus eye fillet with red wine jus, herb-crusted lamb rack, pan-seared Tasmanian salmon with dill beurre blanc and miso-caramel crème brûlée, while the Signature menu adds Wagyu eye fillet and lobster bisque. For milestone occasions, HLB also offers a 10-course private pairing experience.

The Private Chef Experience suits anniversaries, birthdays and small celebrations at home, as well as dinners hosted in an office or venue. HLB works with vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, dairy-free, halal and kosher-friendly requirements, and guests with dietary needs or allergies should tell the team when they enquire.

Every booking starts with a one-on-one menu consultation, and dedicated serving staff look after the table from the first course to the clean-up.

HLB Catering was established in 2016 and is led by Executive Chef Leo Valansi, who has almost 20 years of fine dining experience, and Director Angela Valansi, a chef who also manages and supervises events and looks after client bookings. The kitchen draws on European, Middle Eastern, Latin American, Asian and modern Australian cooking, using fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Clients deal directly with Leo and Angela from the first enquiry.

The company has delivered more than 500 events for groups of 10 to 500, across Melbourne and regional Victoria, including Mentone, Bayside, the Mornington Peninsula and the Yarra Valley. It won the Wedding Diaries 2022 Editor's Choice Award and Leading Catering in the City of Kingston at the 2024 Quality Business Awards, and holds a 4.9 out of 5 rating from more than 100 verified reviews on Google and Facebook. The team has more than 30 years of combined experience. Alongside private chef bookings, HLB Catering caters weddings, corporate and office events, engagements, birthdays and cocktail functions.

Enquiries can be made through the form at hlbcatering.com.au, by phone on (03) 8503 7394, or by email at events@hlbcatering.com.au. The events team asks for the event date, the estimated number of guests and the preferred venue location. The kitchen is at Factory 7, 48 Shearson Crescent, Mentone VIC 3194.

https://hlbcatering.com.au/private-chef-melbourne/ https://hlbcatering.com.au/events/private-chefs/