It wouldn't be fair to make generalizations such as ALL personal chefs do this or ALL personal chefs have this quality. That said, there are a few qualities that would help a personal chef excel in his or her business. 

#1 Personable 

First, it sure does help to be personable. You've probably met or even have friends who have said "I don't like people". Truly, that just means they don't have good communication skills and have difficulty expressing themselves or understanding the expressions of others.  

#2 Enjoyment in Helping 

If you don't enjoy helping others or have patience when it comes to working with people, you may not do well as a personal chef. 

Our profession is all about meeting people in their homes and making them feel comfortable with the fact that the chef is going to be all alone in their house, often having access to door codes and other private information. Making others feel at ease is often something that comes naturally to those who enjoy helpi...

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Myth #1 Personal Chefs Work for the Rich and Famous

Reading headline news, you would think that all personal chefs work for celebrities and the ultra-rich. I suppose it does make great clickbait having a celebrity name in the title of an article. In real life, however, the people that hire personal chefs are those that value time over money.

Most of your clients will likely be average moms and dads with school aged children. They work all day on Zoom and homeschooling their kids then are delighted to have meals waiting for them in the refrigerator. They value their time and are willing to exchange money for time by having someone come into their home and prepare meals for them. The average client of a personal chef is definitely not a celebrity or ultra-rich.

Myth #2 Personal Chef Clients Don’t Know How to Cook

Most people know how to clean a house, but housekeepers are in constant demand. People that hire housekeepers value th...

It's a common question, "What kind of tips should I expect following a meal prep session or dinner party?"

A seasoned business owner knows that tips are not always part of offering a service. There are those who offer generous tips and there are those who are loyal customers, but never ever give monetary tips.

The reality is that just because your client appears to have money to spend doesn't mean you're going to receive a tip. As a business owner, you must come to this understanding quickly or you'll begin resenting your clients, which may result in the downfall of your business.

If you're going into a job expecting a tip, you're setting yourself up for potential disappointment.

You're in the service industry, therefore offering a service in exchange for money. Going into the job, your client is already aware of how much your service costs, so if you feel you deserve more, you should charge a higher service fee.

Offering to perform additional services during the...

Personal chefs bring a small set of essential tools to every meal prep session, including knives, utensils, and dishtowels. This allows you to work efficiently without relying on the client’s kitchen. Most personal chefs develop a simple, consistent equipment box they bring to every appointment.

This personal chef checklist covers what to bring to a meal prep session so you can work efficiently in any kitchen.

I'm often surprised at items that some client kitchens don’t have like a cheese grater, citrus press, or liquid measuring cup. For this reason, I bring along a small box of kitchen gear, but it wasn’t always like this.

When I first started, I would pack specifically for the client’s kitchen I was visiting. If I knew the house didn’t have a good non-stick skillet, I would bring that, my favorite cooking spoon, and of course knives.

As my clientele built up and for ease of packing each morning, I now have a basic checklist of kitchen gear that fits into a small plastic bin brou...

When meeting with a new meal prep client, your goal is not to interview them like a job candidate. The purpose of a personal chef consultation is to understand their needs, eating habits, and kitchen setup so you can determine how to help them.

These are the key meal prep consultation questions personal chefs should focus on to start working with clients effectively.

Before becoming a personal chef, I would peruse the internet for hours trying to find answers to what I thought were common questions about the profession.

One question I could not find an answer to was, what should I be asking new meal prep clients at a consultation?

There were plenty of articles about what to ask a personal chef when hiring one, but almost nothing written by someone actually doing the job.

What Clients Are Really Thinking During a Consultation

As a seasoned personal chef, I can tell you that when someone calls to hire you, they are not thinking about your resume.

They are thinking:

“How can you h...

You may not have started your personal chef business because you can't figure out how to handle the cost of groceries. Okay, maybe that was just me. I was completely stumped in how to begin my business because I couldn't get past the question of how to handle groceries.

• Does the client pay for groceries or do I?
• Do I purchase the groceries with my credit card or my client's credit card?
• Does the client reimburse me individually for the groceries or do I add it to the total bill?
• Should I be charging for groceries or do I offer a flat fee meal service?

Argh, pricing my services was hard. Luckily I figured it all out then designed a teachable system where you can learn to price your personal chef services as well. The course "Pricing for Personal Chefs" is available here >>

The question about whether the client should pay for groceries or should I stumped me for a while before starting my personal chef business. I have to admit that it may have even stalled beginning m...

When I first started as a personal chef, I had no mentor. I didn't know anyone else who was a personal chef and I couldn't find any firm answers online. I had to figure it all out on my own. Obviously, I made a ton of cringe worthy mistakes. I'd love to share them with you so you don't repeat them.

#1 Charging by the hour

For my very first client, I charged $25 an hour.  I soon became more efficient and...wait, I'm still getting paid $25 an hour. I was thinking like an employee and not a business owner. Employees are paid by the hour and now I was a business owner.

After much study, I learned that personal chefs are not paid by the hour. They do not price their services like restaurant chefs either, since food costs are not calculated as part of the meal. More about pricing, click here.

#2 Accepting anyone and everyone as a client

Not everyone is a good fit for your business. You have to take into account whether you can accommodate the client's menu requests follow...

A common reason some never start their personal chef business is that they are under the impression that a business loan needs to be taken out to begin. This couldn't be further from the truth. 

You can really start up your personal chef business for about $500. 

You could most definitely save $500 for your start-up income and not rely on a loan which would charge interest, ultimately paying back $600-$700. Small business loans are intended for those needing $5,000 to $50,000 and have collateral such as a home to back up the loan. These loans are not meant for service businesses which have very little overhead and can easily start tomorrow for as little as $500. 

The first two things you must have before going to a client’s home for your first day as a personal chef are a business license and liability insurance. 

For a personal chef business license, the fees are different in each city, county or state so I can’t provide an exact number of the cost, but you can ...

Personal chefs do not price their services by the hour. Pricing is based on the service you offer, your business model, and the overall value of the experience. Learning how to price personal chef services correctly is what determines whether your business is sustainable long term.

I find some personal chefs not starting their business because they are not sure how to go about charging. Is that you?

It is one of the most common questions I am asked: how much should I charge for meal prep services, and how much should I charge for a dinner party?

Personal Chef vs Catering Pricing

Before pricing your services, it is important to understand the difference between personal chef services and catering.

As a personal chef, you bring groceries to a client’s home and cook everything there.

In catering or meal delivery, food is prepared in a commercial kitchen and transported to the client.

Commercial kitchens must be approved by the health department and follow strict regulations, includ...

Turning your home kitchen into a commercial kitchen requires approval from your local health department and meeting strict fire, health, and business codes. Most standard home kitchens do not meet these requirements without significant upgrades.

Many people want to cook out of their home kitchen and sell food, but it is not legal to do so without proper approval.

So what does it actually take to turn your home kitchen into a health department approved commercial kitchen?

What Is a Commercial Kitchen?

A commercial kitchen is a space that meets local regulations for food safety, sanitation, and fire protection.

You cannot cook food at home and sell it to clients, either for delivery or pickup, without passing a health department inspection.

As a personal chef, you typically work in client homes, which eliminates this requirement. If you're comparing business models, read this next: Personal Chef vs Private Chef

Requirements to Convert a Home Kitchen Into a Commercial Kitchen

Requ...