My grandmother Madeleine
The first teacher
"She taught me that a good stock will not be rushed, and that a dish without love always tastes unfinished."
The Chef
Thierry Gustin
Private Chef · Madrid
Born in eastern France, in the Lorraine region, Thierry Gustin discovered cooking at his grandmother's stove, where he learnt the absolute respect for produce and time. The memory of family Sundays, of long stocks and patient stews, would forever be the compass guiding his hand.
After French hospitality school and earning his CAP and BEP in Cuisine, he worked in some of the country's most demanding kitchens: starred brigades in Strasbourg, Lyon and Paris, where he refined a classical technique at the service of a living, precise and deeply honest cuisine. He learnt that excellence is not a style but a daily discipline.
More than a decade ago he made Madrid his home. The city's light, the generosity of its markets —La Paz, Chamartín, Mercado de la Cebada—, the Spanish passion for the table and the wealth of Iberian producers captivated him. He found the perfect geography to fuse French elegance with a Mediterranean soul.
Today he places his experience at the service of Madrid's homes and events: intimate dinners in Salamanca, celebrations in La Moraleja, weddings in Pozuelo, weekly menus in Chamberí. Each service is conceived as a unique piece, where technique fades to leave room for shared pleasure.
25+
Years of experience
800+
Events served
100%
Market produce
3
Service languages
Philosophy
Produce rules. A kitchen without exceptional produce is nothing. Markets, local growers and the seasons guide every menu.
Technique serves flavour. No useless effects: every gesture must reveal, never disguise.
The table is a ritual. Cooking for someone is offering them time, attention and memory.
Manifesto
An honest, living, quiet cuisine
I don't believe in spectacle cooking, but in the cooking of care: the kind that listens to produce, respects the guest and steps aside for flavour.
I believe in long sauces, in well-treated butter, in stocks that simmer all morning. I also believe in raw vegetables perfectly cut, in this year's olive oil and in lemon squeezed to the minute.
Cooking is, above all, a form of hospitality. My job is to make you forget mine.
Career
A path between France and Madrid
1998
Initial training
Earned the CAP and BEP in Cuisine at a French hospitality school in eastern France.
2000-2005
Classical brigades
Five years of apprenticeship in traditional and bistronomic restaurants in Strasbourg and Lyon.
2005-2010
Starred houses
Formative stints in Michelin-starred kitchens in Paris and the French Riviera, on fish, sauce and pastry stations.
2010
Arrival in Madrid
Settled in Madrid and discovered the wealth of Iberian markets and producers. Worked as executive chef in French restaurants of the capital.
2014
First private client
A family in Salamanca asked him for a tasting menu at home. The private-chef vocation was born.
2018
Dedicated service
Launched his full-time private chef service in Madrid: dinners, events, meal prep, intimate weddings.
Today
Cuisine of care
More than 800 services delivered in Madrid and the Community. A loyal and demanding clientele.
Training
Technical roots
CAP Cuisine
French cooking diploma, classical technical foundation.
BEP Restauration
Front-of-house and kitchen specialisation, French.
Advanced pastry
Additional restaurant pastry training with an MOF in Paris.
Sommellerie
Tasting and pairing courses at the École du Vin de Bordeaux.
Sous-vide cookery
Certification in low-temperature cooking and modern techniques.
HACCP hygiene
European HACCP/APPCC certification, renewed annually.
Mentors
The hands that guided mine
No chef is self-made. Over the years, certain figures have deeply shaped the way I cook and understand the craft.
Chef Antoine R.
Brigade in Lyon
"Absolute discipline, demand on oneself, respect for every brigade. I learnt in his kitchen what rigour really means."
Chef Pierre H.
Pastry in Paris
"The composure, precision to the gram, sugar as both technique and emotion."
The growers of La Paz
Madrid market
"Every morning, the fishmongers and greengrocers of La Paz keep teaching me the produce: how to look at it, smell it, choose it."
Culinary signature
What you'll recognise in every plate
A French-Mediterranean cuisine, technical yet legible, where produce remains the hero. Three trademarks:
01
Long sauces, short sauces
Reductions of several hours, jus extracted to the minute, beurres blancs mounted in front of the guest.
02
Vegetables treated like a protein
Cooked with the same care as fish or meat, at the centre of the plate, never as a garnish.
03
Bistronomic desserts
Soufflés, warm tarts, herb sorbets: indulgent without ever being heavy.
Values
What's non-negotiable
Local and seasonal produce
We work with producers and markets in Madrid and the peninsula whenever possible.
Respect for the guest
Absolute punctuality, attention to restrictions, discretion in your home.
Sustainable cooking
Zero single-use plastic, rigorous waste management, reusable containers in meal prep.
Transparency
Clear quote, no hidden extras, detailed invoice.
They've talked about us
Quotes and reviews
"One of the finest private gastronomic experiences in the capital."
"Thierry Gustin brings Parisian elegance into Madrid homes, without ever forgetting the soul of Iberian produce."
"Technical and emotional cooking. An evening you leave moved."
The gesture
“Cooking is offering time.”
Every plate is the result of hours of selection, preparation and care. An attention you feel from the first bite.
Questions about the Chef
To get to know me a little better
I work in French (mother tongue), Spanish (Madrid resident for over 10 years) and English. Menus can be delivered in any of the three languages.
For services up to 12 guests I generally work alone. From 12-15 guests, I bring in a commis or a floor team depending on the event format.
Yes, I hold a current professional liability insurance policy, as well as the HACCP/APPCC certification in food hygiene.
Yes, where traceability and quality allow it. We discuss it case by case during the initial consultation.
Yes, I offer private French cooking classes at your home, individually or in small groups. Please ask about availability.