A plate of food, including a poached egg, surrounded by slices of sweet potato or yam, on a wooden kitchen counter. In the background, a person is preparing food with steaming hot dishes, kitchen utensils, and ingredients visible.

Thoughtful Food, Shaped Around the Way You Live and Gather

Samuel Weeks Finnigan creates private chef experiences for homes, villas, yachts, retreats, residencies, and intimate gatherings.

Each engagement begins with the setting, the people, and the rhythm of the experience. Some are built around a single dinner, while others unfold across a weekend, a season at sea, or an extended stay. Menus are shaped by the location, the time of year, the number of guests, and the way you want the experience to feel.

The food is Mediterranean at its core, with seasonal vegetables, fresh seafood, handmade pasta, open-fire dishes, olive oil, citrus, herbs, and layered acidity forming the foundation. The hospitality is attentive, calm, and personal without ever becoming intrusive.

Enquire About an Experience
A white plate with a serving of chicken and mushroom stew topped with two slices of cooked beetroot on a wooden table.

Private Dining

Intimate meals created for the people around the table.

Private dining experiences are designed for dinners, celebrations, hosted evenings, and meaningful occasions in private homes, villas, and carefully chosen venues.

The experience may take the form of a multi-course dinner, a generous family-style supper, a long lunch, or a relaxed evening that unfolds at its own pace. Menus are created specifically for the occasion, with consideration given to the season, the location, dietary needs, and the atmosphere you want to create.

Samuel handles the food with precision, but the experience is never made to feel formal for the sake of it. The aim is to create a meal that feels generous, effortless, and entirely at home in its setting.

Best suited for:

Intimate celebrations, private dinners, villa stays, birthdays, anniversaries, hosted evenings, and small gatherings.

Savory dish with mashed potatoes topped with braised beef, cherry tomatoes, and grated cheese, served on a light green plate.
A white oval plate with decorative green floral border holding cooked small fish topped with chopped garlic, served with olive oil, on a wooden table.
A plate with cherry tomatoes, green beans, and leafy herbs in a tomato-based sauce over a poached egg.

Yacht and Open-Water Hospitality

Calm, adaptable cooking for life at sea.

Samuel’s background as a professional sailor and yacht chef gives him an instinctive understanding of the demands of open-water hospitality.

Life aboard requires flexibility, careful provisioning, confident use of limited space, and the ability to respond calmly as plans, conditions, and guest preferences change. Samuel brings that practical knowledge together with seasonal Mediterranean cooking and a deeply attentive style of service.

Engagements may include private charters, yacht seasons, coastal cruising, multi-day trips, guest and crew dining, or broader support around provisioning and menu planning.

The food remains refined and generous, but always responsive to the movement of the day and the realities of the vessel.

Best suited for:

Private yachts, sailing charters, coastal trips, seasonal yacht placements, and multi-day open-water experiences.

Retreat & Wellness Hospitality

Food that supports the wider rhythm of the experience.

Retreat dining asks for more than a series of meals.

The food needs to respond to the movement, rest, energy, and emotional tone of the day. Breakfast should feel right for what follows. Lunch should restore without slowing the afternoon. Dinner should bring people together and help the day settle.

Samuel creates retreat menus that feel integrated into the wider experience rather than added around it. This may include slow morning tables, vibrant lunches, shared dinners, snacks, juices, and food designed to support movement, recovery, or time outdoors.

The result is thoughtful retreat hospitality that remains pleasurable, generous, and full of depth.

Best suited for:

Movement retreats, creative retreats, coastal escapes, private group stays, restorative weekends, and multi-day experiences.

A bowl of clam pasta garnished with cherry tomatoes and herbs, served on a wooden table.

Brand and Culinary Collaborations

Hospitality created around a shared point of view.

Samuel works with aligned brands, chefs, properties, and creative partners to develop culinary experiences that feel thoughtful rather than promotional.

These projects may take the form of a private brand dinner, editorial event, product launch, residency, hosted gathering, or collaborative hospitality concept.

The strongest collaborations begin with a clear reason to gather and a genuine connection between the food, the setting, and the people involved. The work is then developed around that shared intention.

Best suited for:

Brand dinners, editorial projects, hospitality launches, creative collaborations, product experiences, and destination events.

A plate of seafood chowder garnished with fresh herbs on a wooden table.
Plate of stuffed pasta, likely pasta shells, topped with cheese and served with a light broth and bits of meat, possibly bacon or ham.
A bowl of ramen with sliced pork, soft boiled eggs, chopped green onions, noodles, and a creamy broth, served on a wooden table.

“Samuel is consistently kind, respectful, adaptable, and deeply professional. Guests responded incredibly well to both his cooking and his presence onboard.”

Christian ZUCK
Captain, M/Y High Power 3

Every experience begins with a conversation.

Samuel considers the location, dates, number of guests, kitchen or galley facilities, dietary requirements, desired format, and overall pace before developing an approach.

From there, he may create:

  • A tailored menu or series of menus

  • A sourcing and provisioning plan

  • Staffing recommendations

  • A service and timing structure

  • Travel and accommodation requirements

  • A broader hospitality plan for longer engagements

The process is collaborative, but the experience itself should feel easy.

  • Samuel is available for private dining, yacht chef work, retreats, residencies, long-table gatherings, morning tables, brand collaborations, and selected Forest Salud experiences.

  • Yes. Samuel has professional sailing and yacht kitchen experience and is available for charters, private cruising, seasonal yacht placements, and multi-day open-water hospitality.

  • No. Menus are developed around the season, setting, guest preferences, dietary requirements, and the overall nature of the experience.

  • Yes. Selected projects may incorporate movement, sailing, nature, retreat pacing, or other aspects of the broader Forest Salud philosophy.

Begin with the Place, the People, and the Way You Want It to Feel

Whether you are planning one private dinner, a season at sea, a retreat, or a longer stay, Samuel will shape the food and hospitality around the experience itself.

Share the setting, the dates, and what you are imagining.