Most villa kitchens are designed to be looked at. A handful are designed to be cooked in -- and in those houses, the smartest money you spend all week is on a private chef.
How to tell the difference
Look for a second prep sink, a proper range rather than a domestic four-ring, and counter space that does not vanish the moment two people are working. If the photographs only show the island styled with a bowl of lemons, ask for a picture of the working side.
In the right house, the kitchen is the reason to come.
Where the kitchen earns it, a chef changes the whole shape of the week: no restaurant bookings, no drive home, no one missing the sunset because they are watching a pan. You eat where you are staying, which on the Mediterranean is the entire point.