Personal chef: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What personal chef is

A personal chef plans, shops for and cooks meals in your home or prepares them for later, tailoring dishes to your tastes, health needs and schedule. Households hire one for a regular weekly service, a busy season or a family with particular dietary needs.

Signs you need it

  • You want home cooked meals most nights and no time to plan or shop for them
  • Your household has a dietary need, such as a restriction or a medical diet, and you want a cook who will plan around it
  • You want the meals made in your kitchen with your own equipment and ingredients
  • You are feeding a family with different tastes and need one cook to plan for them all
  • You want meals prepared ahead for the week, labeled and stored safely

What the pro does

  • Meets you to learn the tastes, the dietary needs, the schedule and the kitchen
  • Plans a menu for the days or the week you need covered
  • Shops for the ingredients or uses the ingredients you provide
  • Cooks the meals in your kitchen or prepares them in a permitted kitchen
  • Packs and labels the meals and explains how to store and reheat them
  • Cleans the kitchen and leaves it ready for the next meal

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • Number of meals and the number of people eating
  • Whether the chef cooks in your home or prepares meals in a permitted kitchen
  • How many days of service each week and the hours on site
  • Diet complexity, such as medical diets or many restrictions
  • Grocery shopping done by the chef and the ingredients they buy
  • Whether the chef packs and delivers meals for the week

What a written quote should spell out

  • Number of meals, days of service and the hours on site
  • Whether groceries are included or billed separately
  • Dietary plan and any restrictions the chef will follow
  • Where the meals are cooked and how they are stored
  • Cleanup and kitchen terms

Questions to ask before you hire

  • What permits and food handler cards do you hold, and where do you cook?
  • How do you handle a medical diet or an allergy in my household?
  • Will you use my kitchen and my equipment, or bring your own?
  • How are the meals packed, labeled and stored?
  • Who shops for the groceries, and how do you keep track of the cost?
  • What is your plan if I need to change the schedule or the menu?

Red flags

  • Cannot show a food handler card or describe a food safety plan
  • Will not label the meals or tell you how long they keep
  • Does not ask about allergies or medical diets before cooking
  • Wants to store cooked meals in an unsafe way or leave them out to cool
  • Asks for cash only with no written agreement

What you can do yourself

A household can plan and cook simple weekly meals with a shared menu and a grocery list, using safe storage and reheating. Hire a personal chef when the household has many restrictions, a busy schedule, or a need for meals prepared ahead in a way you cannot manage yourself.

Licenses and permits

Food businesses commonly need a health permit or a food handler card from the local office that oversees food safety, and a chef who cooks for pay may fall under those rules even when cooking in your home. Ask the chef for its permit and card, and check with the local office that oversees food safety about the rules that apply where the meals are cooked.

Personal chef questions

Does a personal chef need to cook in my home?

Not always. Some chefs cook in your home and others prepare meals in a permitted kitchen and deliver them. Ask which one applies and what the storage rules are.

How long do the prepared meals last in the fridge?

Ask the chef for its storage guide for each meal. Cooked food has safe storage times, and the chef should label each container with the date.

Can a chef cook for a household with a medical diet?

Often, if the chef knows the diet and plans for it. Share the diet your doctor or dietitian set in writing, and ask the chef how it checks ingredients and labels. The chef cooks to that plan and does not set it.

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.

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