Personal chef: a guide for pros

What customers ask, how to win the job, and what to put on your profile.

Offering personal chef

You plan, shop for and cook meals for households, in their kitchen or in a permitted kitchen. Clients want meals that suit their tastes and diets, stored and labeled properly and a kitchen left clean.

What customers ask

  • Can you cook for a medical diet or a long list of restrictions?
  • Will you cook in my home or prepare meals elsewhere?
  • Who buys the groceries?
  • How do you label and store the meals?
  • Can you change the menu each week?

How to win the job

  • On the first call, ask for the household's tastes, the dietary needs, the schedule and the kitchen setup
  • Bring a sample weekly menu with the labels and the storage guide
  • Ask the client to share any medical diet in writing, and confirm the plan before the first week
  • Put in the quote the number of meals, the days, the hours on site, the groceries and the cleanup
  • Label every container with the name, the date and the reheating instructions
  • Explain how you store the meals and how long each one keeps
  • Confirm the cook location and the permits that apply to it in writing

What to put on your profile

  • Post photos of finished meal prep, labeled and stored
  • List the cuisines you cook and the diets you can plan for
  • Show your labeling and storage practices
  • Describe how you work with a kitchen and the equipment you bring
  • Add your permits and food handler certification status, described accurately

Follow-up that helps the customer

  • Offer a seasonal menu refresh for the household
  • Suggest a holiday or dinner party menu when the household hosts
  • Recommend a cooking lesson for a family member who wants to learn
  • Share a weekly grocery list the household can use between visits

Licenses and permits

Food businesses commonly need a health permit or a food handler card from the local office that oversees food safety. Cooking for pay in a client's home can fall under those rules, and meals prepared in a permitted kitchen have their own rules. Confirm which rules apply where you cook and keep your permits and cards on file.

Questions

Do I need a permit to cook for clients in their homes?

Ask the local office that oversees food safety whether cooking for pay in a client's home needs a permit or a food handler card, and what rules apply to the food you prepare there.

How do I handle a client who wants a diet I do not know well?

Ask the client for the diet in writing, learn what it excludes, and ask the client's doctor or dietitian to review the plan if the client wants that. Do not claim a medical outcome.

What if a client gets sick after eating a meal I made?

Stop serving that food, tell the client at once and keep the food and the label for review. Follow your food safety plan and tell the client what happened.

About this guide

This national guide is written and checked by infinibell. Rules and conditions differ by place, so local pros are credited on guides for the cities they serve, not on national ones.

Edit history

More food and drink guides for pros

Start here

About this guide

Get personal chef requests

Customers pick you by name. Signup is free, and you pay only for leads you accept.

Join as a pro
Sign up free