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Top 5 Reasons to Hire A Personal Chef

by Rebecca Huff // This post contains affiliate links

Last Updated on March 6, 2023 by Rebecca Huff

You want nourishing whole food meals made from scratch. Here’s the perfect low-stress option for the work-from-home professional or the health-conscious family to stay happy and healthy. 

You’ll find everything you want to know about hiring a personal chef here.

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Your family needs your time and attention, but you may be busy with work. When you hire a personal chef, they take care of everything from planning and cooking healthy meals to cleaning up afterward.

1 – You Can Focus on Family Life.

Hiring a personal chef will give you more free time if you’re busy with work, kids, and other responsibilities. It also means you won’t have to worry about ensuring everyone eats right and stays fit.

Personal chefs cook fresh food that tastes gourmet and clean up after themselves.

2 – They Take Care of Everything Else.

You might think that hiring a personal chef would cost an arm and a leg, but it doesn’t have to be expensive at all. Some chefs offer discounts for families who need help feeding themselves.

3 – They Help with Meal Planning.

If you’re looking for ways to save money, consider hiring a personal chef. These professionals will cook high-quality, nutritious meals for you and your family, so you won’t have to spend extra time preparing food. In addition, you’ll likely waste less, too. (Fewer bunches of wilted, unused greens dying in the back of your fridge!)

4 – They Save Time.

You might not think hiring a personal chef would save you much time, but it does. Instead of spending hours in the kitchen, these chefs prepare delicious dishes in minutes. In some cases, you may have access to a team of chefs. Either way, you won’t be cooking, so you’ll have more time for your needs.

5 – They Provide Nutrition Education.

Another benefit of hiring a personal chef is that they provide nutrition education. They may teach you how to cook healthy meals and help you make better food choices. Many personal chefs also offer private cooking lessons, which you can do in your own home!

Personal Chef vs. Private Chef

Chef prices will depend on your needs. If you need a high-end chef in-home most days of the week it will cost you more than one who prepares food for your fridge once a week. Here are some of the difference between a personal and a private chef:

Private Chef

A private chef often lives with and works for one client to shop for and prepare fresh meals on a full-time basis. As a salaried employee, a private chef may create weekly menus, handle meal preparation, and do on-site cooking, all according to their client’s needs.

In addition, the private chef may be expected to prepare food for special events such as birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. These meals may have higher expectations, such as one might find in a fine dining restaurant.

One of the key differences is that a private chef is many times more expensive than personal chef services. Here’s why:

Personal Chef

A personal chef prepares meals for several clients on a recurring basis. Clients may choose twice-a-week, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly meal prep services.

The personal chef will prepare customized menus according to each client’s dietary needs. Some may even offer menu planning and shopping without food preparation, only supplying the recipes and ingredients so a client can cook on their own. However, for the most part, a personal chef plans and prepares meals for each client.

Once the meal planning is complete, a personal chef will then go grocery shopping, bringing the ingredients to the client’s private residence to prepare. After the meals are cooked, labeled, and stored away in the fridge or freezer, the personal chef will clean up the kitchen and leave.

Personal chef services vary, but most will accommodate your dietary restrictions or diet as requested. However, you will likely fill out a form or go through a phone consultation to ensure your daily meals meet your specific needs.

Personal chefs work as much or as little as they choose since most are self-employed.

How Much Does a Personal Chef Cost

The cost of a personal chef depends on several factors such as:

  • cost of living (cities like Miami, San Francisco, or Los Angeles will cost more than smaller towns) – a quick web search will likely deliver results near you so that you can compare the services of personal chefs in your area. *tip – ask your friends for referrals to personal chefs they’ve used!
  • the number of servings and meals you request and the time it takes to prepare – Are you looking for a three-course meal for two or a freezer full of delicious food to thaw and reheat after your baby is born? How many servings and what type of foods you request will be a factor in the cost.
  • food preferences – while most personal chefs do not charge extra to accommodate food allergies or preferences, it’s always a good idea to ask
  • add-ons – many personal chef services have a standard offering of five entrees with four servings each, but will allow you to add on breakfast items or desserts, etc.

Rate of Pay

The annual salaries of each type of chef vary based on education, experience, demand, and location. A personal chef in New York City will likely get paid more than one in a small town with less demand.

The amount of training will also be a factor in pay scale for both a personal and private chef.

Many professional chefs may supplement their income by teaching cooking classes, catering special occasions, and dinner parties.

If you are looking to hire a chef for meal services, consider a consultation with one in your area so you can find out if they charge a flat fee or an hourly rate. During this time, you can also discuss what foods you like or dislike, fitness or other dietary goals, and more.

whole rotisserie chicken on a plate

How Much Does a Private Chef Cost for One Night

Some professional chefs may work on the side doing catering or events. Whether they call themselves a private or personal chef may depend as most people use these job titles interchangeably.

So you want to host a private dinner party with a number of guests being served several courses. The price range for an event like this depends on several factors, mostly whether you hire a catering company or private chef services. Also, what type of dining experience you’re expecting?

A delicious meal with entrees for each guest, plus wine pairing, and dessert will likely be more expensive than a BBQ prepared by a grill master.

The estimated national average cost for a private chef to cook for your dinner party is around $55 per person, depending on the ingredients. Depending on the service and chef, they may charge an hourly rate, but bill you separately for reimbursement of the food expenses. In addition, it is customary to tip your chef.

Some private chefs will charge a per-hour rate plus the cost of food. Depending on the size of your dinner party, this price could go up if the chef needs help, such as servers or a sous chef.

Do your own research into the cost of hiring a chef here.

Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Personal Chef

  • Can you cook according to my diet, food allergy, or fitness goals?
  • Are your meals packaged individual serving style or family style? Can I choose?
  • Will you bring storage containers or should I buy some?
  • Can you shop for my groceries so I don’t have to do that?
  • What other services do you provide?
  • Can you shop at my preferred grocery store?
  • How flexible are you with recipes? Dates for service?
  • Do you require a contract?
  • If I want to learn to cook, will you teach me?
  • When I’m having company, can you cook extra?

Meal Kit Delivery vs. Personal Chef Services

The food cost for a meal kit delivery service will be a little less than what you’d pay a personal chef. However, you’ll have a chef cooking your meals rather than you doing the work!

With meal delivery kits, there are several drawbacks:

  • you still have to cook the food
  • excessive packaging
  • not as much choice over the recipes
  • harder to accommodate personal food preferences or needs such as gluten-free, etc.

While a personal chef service may cost a little more, you also likely have fresher foods. The ingredients aren’t coming from a long distance and the average personal chef will shop local farmers’ markets or focus on farm-to-table meals.

Personal Meal Prep Chef Services in Knoxville, Tennessee

We eat for obvious reasons: we’re hungry and need food to survive. But how and what do we eat? Well, that comes down to lifestyle and personal choices! 

As your chef, I aim to uphold your family’s wellness by creating nutritionally sound menus while creating an awareness of seasonal, local ingredients by incorporating them into dishes that appear on your table each week. Yes, I shop at the farmers markets for local food ingredients.

My goal is to greatly improve the quality of life for you by providing excellent in-home meal prep service so you don’t have to cook or order take-out. I am passionate about sharing nutritious and delicious food and aim to nurture your family through my cooking to help support your well-being.

As a result, the end product is healthy eating, more free time and peace of mind for you and your family. 

If you’re looking for a personal chef to prepare weekly meal prep for your family in Knoxville, Tennessee, look no further! I offer several services to people in my community.

My full-service family-style weekly meal prep includes five entrees with four generous servings each to save you time and deliver a culinary experience you won’t forget! For the mom-to-be in the Knoxville area, I can stock your freezer with meals! You’ll appreciate having them on hand in the weeks after the baby is born, saving time for your precious bundle of joy (and sleep!)

Personal Chef Services by Chef Rebecca Huff

Real food for hungry people. Generous portions like your mom would serve you! 

A study shows that food “made with love” tastes better! That is why each dish I prepare is enhanced by the time, love, and attention put into bringing them to your table.

Nourishing whole food meals made from scratch. The perfect low-stress option for the busy professional or health-conscious family to stay happy and healthy. 

An excellent gift for the new mom.

I offer the most personal and affordable way for families with busy schedules, food allergies, or special diets to put healthy, made-from-scratch meals on the table. I’ll shop, cook, clean up, and stock your refrigerator each week with a week’s worth of tasty, nutritious premade meals to reheat at your convenience. In addition, I’ll leave specific instructions for reheating your meals.

Do you have fitness goals? You’ll appreciate my chef services if you’re trying to follow a diet for weight loss, such as Keto, Paleo, or low-carb and sugar-free diets. I can accommodate your preferences at no extra charge.

In addition, I also offer a delicious romantic five-course dinner for two in the privacy of your home, served directly to you at your table.

Book my services for someone you love! A perfect idea for the new a new mom or seniors who can’t cook but prefer homemade meals. My services also make excellent holiday gifts, anniversaries, birthdays, and surgery recovery.

Choose Your Service

  • Family Service – Five entrees, each with four generous servings. After your discovery call, I’ll create a menu of five entrees based on your preferences and dietary needs. Then, on the designated day, I’ll shop for ingredients, come to your home to prepare the meals, label and store them, clean up, and leave you with delicious food and more free time!
  • Romantic Dinner for Two – Appetizer, Salad, Main Course, Dessert – You want a nice, quiet dinner for two, but you also want to eat well-prepared foods of your choosing! Going to a restaurant just isn’t the atmosphere you have in mind… No worries! After our discovery call, I will shop for ingredients, bring them to your home and quietly prepare a meal in your kitchen, then serve the dishes at your table while you relax and enjoy time with the one you love! I’ll clean up the mess and let myself out so you can continue your romantic evening together!
  • New Mom Meal Prep – Stock your freezer with meals you can thaw and heat when needed after the baby is born. Let’s face it: you want to eat the most nutritious, home-cooked meals right after your bundle of joy is born, but you can’t tear yourself away to cook them, not to mention you need to rest! We can ensure you have those meals you long for right after the baby is born! After your discovery call, I’ll shop for ingredients, bring them to your home, cook, label, and store your meals, so all you’ll have to do is heat and eat!
  • Freezer Meal Stock – This option is very budget friendly. I’ll stock your freezer with meals you can later add to your crockpot in the morning, so you come home to freshly prepared food at night.
  • Private Cooking Lessons or Kid Friendly Cooking Class in Your Home – I’ve taught countless children to cook their favorite foods as well as more complicated fare. Teaching children to feed themselves is the most satisfying part of my job.
  • Kitchen Set Up – Do you ever get the feeling you could be more successful in the kitchen if only it were organized the way a chef would set it up? I can help you put things in order in a way that makes cooking delicious meals a breeze.
  • Custom Requests – You have something in mind you don’t see here? Ask! I’m sure we can work something out.

Here are Some Meals You Might Choose to Start With: 

Meal Ideas for Personal Chef Services
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About Rebecca Huff

Rebecca Huff a.k.a. That Organic Mom is a mother to 6 children. She left the business world to pursue her number one passion, her children. Making a commitment to improving the current and future health of her own family and educating her sphere of influence, she has spent over a decade researching, creating and implementing healthier lifestyle choices. Her goal is to help transform families into Wellness Warriors through Baby Steps that are doable by anyone. Encouraging and coaching other moms has been a passion close to her heart. Her hobbies include collecting cookbooks from all over the world, creating nutritious menus and recipes. Her favorite motto is, “There is no moderate amount of a toxic substance!”

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