We had the absolute pleasure of hiring Rory as a private chef during our stay in Kefalonia in September 2025, and he exceeded every expectation. From the very beginning, Rory was personable, responsive, and easy to communicate with, making the process of organizing a special dinner from out of the country effortless.

For our group of seven, he created a menu that was absolutely perfect—simple yet layered with beautiful complexity, each dish executed with incredible care. The meal was paired with excellent local wines, which elevated the experience even more. Every course was served beautifully, and the kitchen was left spotless!

Beyond the food, Rory brought warmth and personality to the evening. He shared wonderful stories about the island, and his passion for cooking was evident in every dish he prepared. It felt like more than just a meal—it was a memorable experience we’ll never forget.

We would 100% hire Rory again and recommend him to anyone looking for an unforgettable private dining experience in Kefalonia.

PS- Thanks for the wonderful surprise birthday cake for my wife.

Lonny Frydenlund - September 2025

Rory was the lot! A superb cook, fabulous company and raconteur and his service was immaculate. Great value for money too and we have told all our friends and family about the experience!

Charles Byrne - September ‘25

Rory is an amazing chef! The food he cooked for our wedding was absolutely perfect and finished off our dream day
He had to cook in an unfamiliar kitchen but that did not phase him. The communication with Rory all along was very good and he helped us create our perfect Greek menu. Would highly recommend Rory. Thank you for making our wedding dinner so special.

Laura Cook - August 2025

Our Bond Viveur Chef Rory arrived at our Villa and from the the first introduction to the end of the evening was incredibly friendly, courteous, knowledgeable regarding our local area but most of all, the perfect chef and host. We had the Italian/Mediterranean menu and his food was exceptional with great explanations of his ingredients and how the food had been prepared and cooked…..cannot recommend him more highly!

Garry Hilliard - August 2025

Rory, you made my best friend’s 40th birthday very memorable and special.
The food was amazing, a delicious play of fresh ingredients and carefully crafted dishes. It is clear how much passion you put into each dish from the way you tell its story.
The whole experience was stress free due to your professionalism and attentiveness to details. It was a pleasure eating your creations as well as making your acquaintance.

Tamar Kassabian - August 2025

In spite of my last minute booking, Rory was easy to engage with. Based on my initial inquiry, his first menu suggestion was spot on, including the appropriate wine pairing. The local delivery was also flawless: Rory arrived on time, prepared a deliciously fresh menu in 3 hours and gave helpful explanations about the food and Kefalonia's food scene. I would love to repeat this experience🙏

Felix Krohn - June 2025

Rory catered for our villa neat Fiskardo and a drinks celebration for 60 people (making canapés in a store cupboard!).
He is versatile, super helpful and his food is delicious.
It was the week of my daughter’s wedding and it was very relaxing knowing that I didn’t need to worry about the food and we were in his very capable hands.
On top of that, he’s great fun and a Kylie fan!

Sophie Comninos - June 2025

For a year I had planned the ULTIMATE GREEK FEAST EVENT for my Food and Wine Group from South Africa - I found the idyllic setting at Gentilini Retreat and Natalie introduced us to Rory to create the FEAST.
It was PERFECT..... The setting the food - my guests were blown away - felt they were living a dream - a lifetime memory.... Thank you Rory for the glorious feast...... We will be back next year in May .....

Janet , Sure Voyager Travel, Durban, South Africa xxxx - May 2025

Our first night in Kefalonia was made truly special because of Rory. I cannot recommend him highly enough. From start to finish, the experience was exceptional. The food was absolutely delicious, every dish was thoughtfully prepared, beautifully presented, and bursting with flavour. You can tell right away that he uses only the freshest ingredients and brings a true passion for cooking to the table.

Beyond the amazing food, the service was equally impressive. Rory was professional, punctual, and incredibly attentive to every detail. The kitchen was left spotless, and the whole experience felt seamless and personalized. Whether you’re planning an intimate dinner or a special occasion, Rory delivers a truly elevated dining experience.

We will definitely be booking again.

LOUISE JACKSON & FAMILY - MAY 2025

“Rory has been booked by many of our guests over the past few years. When commenting directly or in our guest book they all tell us the same story … that Rory is an absolute delight and that the range and quality of the fare he provides is magnificent. As a result whenever we learn that Rory has been booked by our guests we know they are in for a real treat!

NIGEL FOSTER - VILLA VENTURI

From start to finish, Chef Rory exceeded expectations. His website is organized and descriptive, which made ordering very easy. He arrived cheerful and professional -- he was a genuine pleasure to have in our home. It's obvious he loves cooking, respects the food, and knows what he's doing -- every dish was fresh, flavorful and creative. His plating was beautiful and the portions are large.

Our only regret was not being able to try even more of his dishes! We highly recommend Chef Rory.

AM

Fantastic evening with Rory and Bond Viveur, amazing Greek menu of three courses, highlight was the lamb. Plenty of delicious food, great detail, care and explanations provided by Rory. Made even better by the fact we didn’t lift a finger! Highly recommended.

ELOISE WETT & FAMILY - VILLA ETERNITY

Rory was outstanding! So hospitable and caring. Fantastic food made with love from local ingredients. So knowledgeable on the food and local area, having lived there for 16 years. Left kitchen immaculate. We loved having him and he felt like one of the family.

A. FREW - DORIAN FISCARDO

I can’t recommend Bond Viveur enough! The grocery concierge is a brilliant idea. It really gets the holiday off to a great start to arrive at a fully stocked villa, with everything unpacked and in the cupboards and fridge, and not have the faff around with supermarkets and shopping. On top of that, the quality of the fresh produce was excellent. Rory is super helpful. He stocked our villa despite being fully booked. I will definitely be using his services again.

STUART HULME @ VILLA LEMONI

Wow! Simply Delightful!

Wow!! What an absolute pleasure to have Rory cook for us to celebrate a cluster of special birthdays at Villa Kaminia Blu in Kefalonia!

Delightful, friendly, truly a master in creating exquisite and aromatic food! Thank you so much Rory for making our evening so enjoyable, we will treasure the experience!

Best wishes, Jan & Alex xx

Rory is outstanding! Not only is he a great chef, but he's courteous, hard working and the ultimate professional on the job. We hired Rory for 4 days and made changes along the way...he took all of our requests in stride and delivered a great product throughout. He does the work of 3 people all by himself...preparing a beautiful table and leaving the kitchen spotless.

I highly recommend Rory and Bond Viveur!

AD

Rory was in charge of our family welcome dinner for an upcoming wedding. He accommodated all our extra requests, including relatively high guest number, vegetarian and gluten free participants, delaying the dinner an hour due to travel issues, and dinner and conversation going late into the night. Not only was the food and presentation excellent, but more importantly Rory is a charming and gracious person.

GREG KNUDSON - U.S.A

I was lucky enough to enjoy an amazing 4 day trip with the girls to beautiful Kefalonia, then even luckier to have Rory come along to the villa and cook for us on the Saturday night! What can I say, what an incredible treat! Rory was fun and professional in equal measure and the food was absolutely delicious! It felt luxurious and special. Rory presented and explained the food with flair and I really enjoyed the whole evening! I would highly recommend!

FELICIA CHAVASSE

We booked Rory for the first night of our stay in Kefalonia on recommendation and we were so glad we did! Booking was very easy and straightforward and Rory arrived at the villa as planned in plenty of time to prepare and cook our meal. We relaxed with a glass of Sarris (delicious local wine) gazing at the stunning views out to the sea, enjoying the delicious cooking smells wafting around, tantalising our taste buds. The meal was divine, so flavoursome - it was as if we could taste each layer of flavour. The presentation of the 3 courses was exceptional too. We appreciated Rory's relaxed and friendly manner, it was like being in our own private restaurant. We loved everything so much we booked Rory for our last night too! This again was as superb as the first night. Thanks Rory, we will remember our private chef experience for a long time, what a way to start and end a holiday.

Rory is a must when visiting Kefalonia! We booked Rory for a Lunch on our recent visit in June 2019. He arrived promptly when arranged and was very charming and easy to talk to. His food is amazing and explained all the dishes during each course. The atmosphere was very relaxed and he was great at entertaining us and very knowledgeable of the Island. We also booked through his concierge service which was a god send when arriving at our villa and the quality of the food was lovely especially the fresh meat, bread and pastries. This service was fantastic as we did not have to worry about groceries and started our holiday right away. Thank you again Rory for the most beautiful lunch and your very friendly and relaxed approach. I would highly recommend Rory and will be booking him again when we return hopefully next year.

JULIE MACKAY-SMITH @ FORGET-ME-NOT-VILLAS

We had a private 40th birthday dinner at Villa Thallasini in Agia Effimia for 14 adults and 4 children. Rory arrived with his assistant bang on time and got on with preparations and setting up the tables with beautiful menus. What a fabulous meal. Delicious meze and whole bream stuffed with pistachios and garlic and leeks and marinated lamb with pomogranate and spectacular sauces and delishes vegetables to accompany. Even the rose water pannacotta with raspberries and Baklava with Madagascar vanilla ice cream was amazing. So professional and all cleaned up whe he left. We would definitely recommend Rory and use him again. It was superb!

Penny Southey, Villa Thallasini

Many thanks for the great meal last night. We all really enjoyed it and chatting to you.

Needless to say, we won't be going out to the taverna nearby tonight, as originally planned, but rather will be working our way through the leftovers as best we can...

Cheers and all the best

Philip

Rory is just simply the best! From the attention to detail in presentation to the most delicious food - I couldn’t recommend him more highly!

RACHEL NICOL @ TURTLE BEACH HOUSE

Hi Rory hope you’re keeping well.

I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you for the BBQ that you arranged. The food that you made was delicious and got so many comments.If we ever return to Kefalonia we’ll be sure to use you again.

SHARON ROWE @ SPARTIA

What can I say Rory...makes you feel like royalty! He's an amazing chef delivering on taste and flavour with every bite. We hired Rory on two occasions whilst staying in a private villa in Kefalonia. The first occasion Rory delivered a "Ready & Waiting" meal to our villa for our first evening. It was waiting in the fridge for us, beautifully presented and completely delicious. He totally took the stress out of late arrival and we were able to get into vacation mode straight away. The second occasion Rory came to our villa and prepared a wonderful bbq completely solo. We did not have to lift a finger, everything was prepared from scratch and served with a smile. I can still remember the taste of the sensational spiced lamb and chicken now. A fantastic way to enjoy time with family, such a treat! I highly recommend Rory and his company Bond Viveur... a true professional, very personable and nothing is too much trouble. Thank you Rory!

KAREN MCKENNA & CO.

We spent two weeks in August in Spartia, Kefalonia at the amazing Vericoco and booked Rory for a few of his excellent services - the grocery concierge twice, an opening night welcome meal for two, as well as a dinner for four halfway through our holiday. 

The grocery concierge service is a genius idea, particularly for the more remote areas. Yes there was a small mini market a mile away, but the only times we went there wasn’t even bread, let alone the array of goodies Rory can offer. He stocked up our entire fridge, freezer and cupboards on the day of our arrival and the food was amazing and saved us driving around looking for where to buy it all.

The Personal Chef first night meal waiting for us was excellent, which meant we looked forward to our Greek dinner for four even more. It didn’t disappoint. A superb menu, we didn’t lift a finger all night, and Rory was a star in an unfamiliar kitchen. We can’t recommend him highly enough (and already have, to friends going to Kefalonia soon!) 

Thank you for a fantastic meal you prepared for us at our hired villa (Eros in old skala) It was amazing and you was so professional and friendly you made us very relaxed in your company. We was here on our honeymoon and the service you provide is fantastic for those who fancy a night in with great food! Our groceries was all packed away an hour or 2 before we arrived at the villa so straight away we didn't need to worry about heading to a shop for basic stuff. Thank you again, we can't stop talking about your food and we even tried to recreate the dish when we got home :) Your service is a must for anyone staying in kefalonia! We wish you all the best for the future.Marie & Nick

MARIE & NICK HAMMOND @ VILLA EROS

Hi Rory, thank you very much for cooking us such a delicious Greek banquet this week. We all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was by far the tastiest food of our week's holiday on the island!

Best wishes

Angus, Rob, Clare, Vick, Natalie and Catherine

Afternoon RoryHope all is well with you in beautiful Kefalonia?Just wanted to say what a great meal and evening we had with you on 30th June 2017 at Villa Ambelonas. We all really enjoyed our BBQ, the food was fantastic and really fresh and tasty. You made the evening really enjoyable with your friendly chat and great local information about the island. We will be returning next year, and hopefully will repeat the occasion!

All the best for the future.Kind regards.

SUE, BILL, KELLY, JODIE AND STEF (THE MASON FAMILY) @ VILLA AMBELONAS

Dear Rory.

A very big thank you for a lovely meal tonight, we all throughly enjoyed it. And also just to say we were all very impressed with your professionalism in all aspects of the meal.When we come back for our next holiday, I will definitely give you a call.

Thank you from all of us. And very best wishes for future.

Kind Regards.Linda 😊"

LINDA POTTER AND FAMILY @ VILLA ANNA REBECCA

We are regulars using Rory's fantastic service. On this occasion he cooked for 4 adults and 2 kids. The adults chose from his fantastic Middle Eastern menu (though they are all great) and we had the best lamb dish ever created by man. He made top end burgers for the kids, which they loved. It was a wedding anniversary celebration, and he supplied a beautiful bouquet, and a selection of great wines from the Sarris winery. Everything he does is of the highest quality but also very reasonably priced. He also provides great advice about things to do and see, and where to eat. We can't have a trip to Kefalonia without a meal from Rory. See you in may Rory!

CHARLIE WHITTAKER & FAMILY @ VERICOCO RETREAT

Having never visited Kefalonia before Rory was recommended to us to provide groceries etc for our stay. What a lifesaver!! Due to various travel complications we arrived much later than scheduled. Thankfully Rory had stocked up our fridge and cupboards with fabulous fresh locally sourced produce and all the essentials we needed. We hope to go back next year and will definitely call on Rory again, excellent service and thoughtfulness. Absolute joy to have shopping ready and waiting on arrival.

LISA BARRETT @ VILLA AMBELONAS

We booked the personal chef experience for my wife’s 30th birthday and we couldn’t have been happier. Usually the minimum for this experience is four people but Rory was very accommodating and so, being only two of us, we agreed to have food for two and an extra two portions in the fridge for the following days — which we’ve been really enjoying! Rory turned up with everything he needed, and a big smile which makes you feel like you’re already friends! Whilst he was cooking we spent some time by the pool and some time chatting to Rory — his knowledge of Greece is great so we didn’t hold back and got loads of great tips. The food itself was delicious and there’s plenty of it! But it really is an experience — Rory explains how the food is made and where the ingredients are sourced from etc. The more you want to know, the more he can tell you! We also very much appreciated the complimentary Prosecco for the occasion which was delicious. As if all of the above wasn’t enough... Rory shot off to the mini-market to buy us some more bottled water in between courses because we’d run out! To summarise, I can’t recommend Bond Viveur enough for delicious food in a professional but personal and friendly way. We will definitely be back to Kefalonia at some point and we’re looking forward to doing this again. Thanks Rory.

CALLUM & OLGA @ TRAPEZAKI BAY VILLA

Rory supplied food and drinks delivered to our villa and the process was efficient, professional and easy. It was so lovely to arrive and to have what we needed for the first few days of our holiday. We wanted to do something special for our wedding anniversary whilst we were staying in Fiscardo and a boat trip was an obvious choice given the beautiful coastline. I immediately thought of contacting Rory to see if he could help. He immediately responded with a couple of great suggestions and we were able to leave it to him to organise the most incredible motor yacht for the day, with Konstantinos at the helm, and Rory serving an exquisite lunch and drinks. It was a memorable experience and Rory’s expertise and care made it something very special. He even delivered the leftovers of the delicious food and drink to our villa the same day! I would thoroughly recommend Rory and his business Bond Viveur without hesitation. He is a real find and when we return to Kefalonia he will be the first person I will contact to help make our holiday very special. PS: he is also a lovely guy!

LINDA FITZSIMMONS, FISCARDO

2020 was our first trip to Kefalonia and given it was during covid we decided that it would be a sensible option to book the grocery concierge and the meal on arrival. Thanks goodness we did - we arrived on the island a day after Storm Ianos had hit the island reaching our villa at about 9pm to find no power as a consequence of the disruption the storm delivered. Rory from Bond Viveur was aware of the power situation ahead of our arrival and had made sure that he timed his arrival so that our food would still be warm He went above and beyond in explaining the storm and the power situation across the island - he also kept our perishable items in his fridge , which was just as well as we actually had to move villa after 36 hours and no power. We had the good judgement to preorder plenty of tonic water for the Gin we purchased on our way out and not 10 minutes after he had left us to our delicious meal, he returned with a huge bag of ice knowing it would complete our G&T's. I can't express enough in the review how professional Bond Viveur were - we were so impressed wiht the service and the food that booked the chef experience at the new villa and we were not disappointed, everything was perfect, the food, the attention to detail, the fact that us 4 Golden girls really did not have to lift a finger that evening it was fabulous. I highly recommend the chef experience , we are planning our next visit to Kefalonia for 2021 and will be pre booking Groceries and a couple of evenings of the chef experience.

LINDA COURTNEY & FRIENDS a.ka. The Golden Girls! @ VILLA ZEPHYROS

Hi Rory ,just like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you for a wonderful evening , excellent food , great host. We will have no hesitation in recommending you to are friends who visit the island and hopefully booking you again when we return.

Kind regards

DAVID PHILLPOTTS AND FAMILY @ VILLA NEO MOLI

I’ve just heard back from the Honeymooners over in Greece to say how thoroughly enjoyably the private dinner was. Everything was very professional and 5*. Pricing was ‘reasonable’ and communication for booking was extremely speedy and detailed. I will report back to the villa owner to add this Company to the recommended list!

JACK OTTON

Rory provided us with the grocery concierge service for our stay in Kefalonia. He accommodated our vegan diet, gathered delicious local food for us and was very easy to communicate with. Once we arrived at the villa after a long road trip it was amazing to find the countertops filled with colourful fresh local produce and the fridge stocked up. It was perfect!

Thank you, Rory for your flexibility and work! It made our stay special and carefree.

Wow!

We decided to treat ourselves to private dining and we are so glad we went for it.

Rory’s food was fabulous, we opted for the Greek menu and our taste buds were tingling as soon as the Meze platter was served.

Over and above the wonderful food, Rory was great company, we could have chatted to him all night.

The 4 of us had a great night (and enjoyed the left over food for lunch 😀)

Totally recommend booking Rory for a private dining experience.

LYNNE & FRIENDS @ IONIAN TRILOGY VILLAS, SAMI

Hello Rory,Just to thank you again for all your help in making my birthday so memorable.  Firstly it was great to come into the villa and find it perfectly provisioned so that we did not have to worry about food (or drink!) shopping and thank you again for sourcing the gin I like!

Secondly my actual birthday meal was just lovely.  From the champagne and dips through to the dessert it was really delicious and I am also grateful for your conspiracy with my sisters in getting the cake! If you would like to use any or all of these comments as a recommendation for your concierge and/or personal chef services then please do so.  I hope we may come over again and if so will definitely be in touch.  With best wishes.  Janet T.

JANET T.