Private chef Mākena.
Mākena is where Maui keeps its trophy estates — properties in the $6–32M range that function as private micro-resorts — plus Kukahiko Estate and Makena Cove, two of the island’s most-booked wedding ground. Base zone, driest microclimate on the island.
The Mākena table
Mākena’s estates were built with catering in mind: big working kitchens, covered lānai, lava-rock edges meeting the sand. The light here is the island’s most reliable — leeward, dry, and golden right on schedule.
Kukahiko Estate and the venue kitchen
Kukahiko’s venue kitchen was purpose-built for outside caterers — the estate’s own line is that caterers love working in it, and it is true. Ceremonies happen at the water; receptions happen on the lawn; the kitchen makes plated service for up to 40 guests straightforward. Makena Cove ceremonies run under the DLNR beach permit: roughly 20 people, no structures, two hours.
What gets booked here
- Estate dinners and chef’s-table evenings, $150–$400+ a guest by tier
- Estate weddings and receptions on the Kukahiko pattern
- Date nights from $500 on very private lānai
- Stay Chef weeks for estate buyouts, from $1,050 a day
Questions, answered
Yes — it is one of the best outside-caterer venues on Maui precisely because its kitchen was built for the purpose. Access runs through the estate’s planner channel; we coordinate with your planner.
No — Mākena is base zone, minutes past Wailea. The published travel lines start at Upcountry.
Not as a catered setup — state beach rules ban structures and cap groups at roughly 20 under the Wiki permit. What works: the ceremony or a toast on the sand, dinner steps away on private ground.
Keep reading
- location Where we cook.
- location Private chef Wailea.
- location Private chef Kīhei.
- location Private chef Kāʻanapali.
- location Private chef Kapalua.
- location Private chef for the condo belt: Nāpili, Honokōwai, Kahana.
- location Lahaina: a note before a sales pitch.
- location Private chef Pāʻia and the North Shore.
Get a written quote
The button is not “Book now.” You tell us the table; we send a written quote — and that quote is the confirmed total.