In a world dominated by social media and spectacle, fine dining must not only taste exquisite but resemble art. As a result, UHNWs are increasingly turning to luxury caterers for their events. Tasked with impressing guests at everything from grand galas to intimate dinners, our featured advisers know food plays a central role in ensuring an event is truly memorable.
This year’s index showcases advisers who can deliver exceptional food and drink experiences for any occasion in a UHNW’s life, from a romantic anniversary dinner featuring a six-course tasting menu to a large-scale charity event requiring canapés for thousands. Their mastery over the finest dishes and ability to liaise with teams of event staff single them out as the most capable advisers to UHNW individuals.
Cooking for such events demands a unique skill set. Offering a diverse menu that accommodates specific dietary needs and executing service with precision and efficiency are just the beginning. The caterers featured here elevate their craft to an art form, weaving stories through their courses and setting the tone for the entire event.
Bompas & Parr, for example, are far more than caterers. Their culinary artistry regularly dazzles guests at high-end department stores and exclusive Fashion Week events. Their creations include cooking with molten lava at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hegra in Saudi Arabia, and crafting jelly replicas of Gucci’s Marmont bags for the brand’s 2025 launch.
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After a successful career as a full-time agent for celebrity chefs, promoting their books and television appearances, Borra Garson of DML Talent expanded her business to connect these chefs with UHNWs for private dining experiences. Unlike standard catering services, the firm offers access to top-tier chefs such as James Martin, Ollie Dabbous and Michel Roux Jr. ‘I can access almost everyone,’ Garson tells Spear’s.
A regular presence in our index, Bertie de Rougemont’s Cellar Society has worked with luxury brands including Chanel, Gucci, Rolls-Royce and Louis Vuitton. They were also tasked with catering Kate Moss’s wedding, where they created a champagne tower using 500 glasses.
In 2025, ingredients reign supreme in determining the finest catering menus. Clients prioritise the finest quality, locally sourced foods and often prefer to choose dishes that are in season. This approach not only enhances flavour but also supports sustainability, a growing priority at luxury events. From reducing waste to minimising carbon emissions, these experts know how to deliver indulgence in the most environmentally conscious way.
These caterers and private chefs offer a luxury service, centred around quality ingredients and artistic plating. With experience in some of the world’s most exclusive events, they are able to provide the finest food and drink for any occasion.
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- Methodology
- The best private chefs and caterers: some names to know
- The best private chefs and caterers: the complete list
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Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
The best private chefs and caterers in 2025: some names to know
Borra Garson
- Focus: Celebrity chefs
- Position: Managing director
- Firm: DML Talent
After a successful career as a full-time agent for a variety of celebrity chefs, promoting their latest books and TV shows, Borra Garson expanded her business, and now connects these chefs with UHNWs for private dining events.
Unlike standard catering services, DML Talent’s chefs come at a premium and include James Martin, Ollie Dabbous and Michel Roux Jr.
Read Borra Garson’s full profile on Spears500.com
Ruth Lawton-Owen
- Focus: Catering and events planning
- Position: Managing director
- Firm: The Admirable Crichton
Eighty years after Peter Pan author JM Barrie wrote The Admirable Crichton – a play about a butler who uses his resourcefulness to supply his employers with their accustomed luxury after a shipwreck – The Admirable Crichton was born. Since 1981 the firm has been providing bespoke catering and events planning services for corporations and private individuals.
Having worked in some of London’s most unique venues, Ruth Lawton-Owen now carries on this legacy as managing director, ‘creating bespoke menus or getting entertainment, sourcing photographers, florists [and] production companies, and then bringing it all together on the day’.
Read Ruth Lawton-Owen’s full profile on Spears500.com
Sam Bompas
- Focus: Multisensory culinary experiences
- Position: Director
- Firm: Bompas & Parr
Sam Bompas, co-founder of Bompas & Parr, first came to prominence when he began making jelly creations alongside his lifelong friend, Harry Parr.
Together, the pair create events focused around food and drink as well as brand activations for leading department stores, including Harrods, and some of the world’s largest consumer and luxury brands. Their studio aims to offer ‘polysensory’ culinary experiences that are packed with idiosyncratic delights.
Read Sam Bompas’ full profile on Spears500.com
Jens Nisson
- Focus: Bespoke culinary experiences
- Position: Director
- Firm: Bubble Food
Jens Nisson is the director and executive head chef at London-based Bubble Food, a catering company that creates bespoke menus and luxury culinary experiences. The company specialises in sustainable, refined meals that still offer the familiarity of comfort food – one popular item is its fried chicken doughnut canapé.
Nisson is well-equipped to meet the specific needs of each occasion, from catering large-scale events with 2,000 attendees to designing intimate, interactive dining experiences.
Read Sam Jens Nisson’s full profile on Spears500.com
The best private chefs and caterers: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
Contact us
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