Becoming a private chef – what to expect.

Choosing a career of a private chef can be very rewarding and exciting at first sight. However, if you are thinking about changing your career from a restaurant chef to a chef in a private household, there are a few important things which you should consider before making the first step.

Certainly, the career of private chef has many advantages but you should not forget about pitfalls, which may be ahead.

Firstly, being a private chef requires from you a higher level of responsibility. As you are the only person who is in charge of everything what is happening in the kitchen, you do not have much space for mistakes.

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Nevertheless, gratitude and appreciation is the direct result of your own achievements. Therefore, if you are seeking for a personal interaction with your customers and direct appreciation for the work you do – private chef job is definitely the one for you.
As a private chef, you have an opportunity to build personal relations with the customer. You cook for a specific person, with specific preferences and, as a result, your work is 100% personalised.
In contrast, restaurants chefs rarely know the people they cook for, not to speak about their diets and tastes.

Secondly, the flexibility should be your top-one quality. Working holidays, extra hours, weekends, availability at short notice, travelling with the family whenever requested – this all is quite typical and common for a private chef, and the list is not exhaustive.

However, working as a private chef gives you an opportunity to become an essential part of somebody’s life, and it is usually someone you would not typically meet and interact with while working in a restaurant. You have a chance to experience different lifestyles and get to know how HNW people (e.g. celebrities, wealthy business figures, members of royal families, etc.) live their everyday life. You can also choose the freelance position and on-call work for dinner parties or special occasions because the networking in this sphere is extremely fast developing.
​Once you have been offered a position for one occasion and completed it with success, it will open you the door in business of private catering and the net of your clients would grow very quickly.

The demand for good freelance chefs is enormous. 

Another important thing to consider is that this job would definitely not be suitable for people who lack self-organisational skills or may get tired of creating something new every time. While in a restaurant there is usually some specialties of the restaurant, stable menu and fixed working hours, private Chef’s work is certainly more autonomous and creative. Usually, private chefs have more freedom to choose what to cook. Indeed, people who hire private chefs set some food rules regarding diet restrictions and some general preferences, but the rest is left to the chef’s imagination.


​Moreover, during private chef jobs you are the one who organises your time, cooking style, and anything else which is typically strictly ruled in the restaurant.

There is unlimited room for your creativity and it gives you the ability to expand it while creating new recipes. As in the restaurants chefs are usually in charge of cooking one specific course (appetizer, main, second course or dessert), being a private chef will let you grow professionally in every area.

Finally yet importantly, however beneficial and tempting this profession may sound you should not forget that it is more challenging in its turn. Very often, it is quite unstable and unpredictable. Sometimes, the search for a right position and right employer may take up to several years but once you found the perfect family, you would never regret your decision.

Furthermore, it is commonly known that chefs in private sector are likely to have higher salaries than restaurant chefs and sometimes the difference can be tremendous. As a self-employed chef, you are relieved from many different payments, which a restaurant is obliged to pay and deduct it from your salary. 

If you, despite all of the challenges and difficulties, has found yourself in the profession of private chef and at the moment you are looking for your next great employer our chef placement services are here for you!

Submit your application form and our consultants will get in touch with you as soon as we have something suitable for you. 

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