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Morgan & Mallet, as a luxury household staffing agency, places full-time private chefs for high-net-worth families across the US.
If you’re looking to hire a private chef, you’ve probably already decided this is the right move for your household. What you want now is someone who can actually find you the right person, fast.
Every chef does a 90-minute interview with us before we shortlist them for you, and a paid trial meal in your home before you commit.
You’ll see three to five candidates within two weeks for most US private chef staffing searches. We also deal with contracts, payroll, and the legal side, so you don’t have to.
Full-time private chef jobs receive a lot of applicants. Our private chef briefs in the US have had more than 2,400 applicants since 2023, and we narrow them down to the ones who fit your family.
- 10+ Years placing private chefs
- 1 in 4 Applicants accepted into our vetted network
- 35% Of our global chef demand comes from the US
- 91% Of our New York chef placements complete a full annual contract
Contact our private chef agency today to start hiring.
Source: Morgan & Mallet US private chef job ads, May 2023 to February 2026; 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report (US share of our chef requests, New York contracts completed); candidate database, June 2026 (applicants accepted). How we count
What does a private chef do?
That depends on your household, but most of our US clients hire a chef who covers breakfast, lunch, and dinner Monday to Friday. Weekends and entertaining are agreed separately.
Five days was the usual week in the chef jobs in the US we’ve worked on that said which days they wanted up front, but not always Monday to Friday.
One Miami family asked for a chef from Tuesday to Saturday, and a family of six wanted one from Wednesday to Sunday.
The chef of course does cooking, but also menu planning, sourcing, and running the kitchen.
Your chef builds menus around your life and what you want.
Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet:
“The main reason families hire private chefs is they truly appreciate good food but don’t have the time to prepare it.
“It allows the owner to enjoy time with their guests without having to be in the kitchen or handle the service.”
Most clients give the chef a brief and let them get on with it. It could be something like, fish four times a week, no red meat and something the kids will actually eat.
Your chef builds the menus from there, and they change as the seasons change and how often you have people round.
If you have a special diet or you’re working with a personal trainer or nutritionist, your chef can coordinate with them.
41% of the chefs we’ve placed in Los Angeles hold both nutrition and culinary certifications.
Your chef can cook for your guests too. Most families in the US who come to us for a chef entertain.
Guests were part of the job in 68% of their briefs, from dinner parties of ten to parties of 25.
One family also held a dinner every month as well as the daily meals.
A family in Beverly Hills that hosted formal dinners and business events asked us for an executive chef to lead a team of sous chefs and prep cooks.
If you entertain on a large scale like that often, you might want to hire a head chef.
20% of these families also wanted the chef to plate up and serve the meals at the table. In bigger homes that would normally be the job of the butler, as our co-founder Morgan Richez explains:
“Sometimes the chef can … serve as well. Sometimes, you know, if there is no butler, the chef can serve.”
But if you prefer your chef to stay in the kitchen, tell us that on the first call we have together, and we’ll help you hire a butler for the serving.
Discretion is crucially important for private chefs. Your chef is in your home during business calls, family meals, and hears conversations you would honestly probably rather they didn’t hear. NDAs are the norm, but some clients go further.
Morgan Richez, our co-founder, tells us that Russian and Middle Eastern clients often ask specifically for chefs who don’t speak the language of the household. Someone who can’t understand a conversation can’t repeat it.
We can add that into the shortlist if you ask for it.
Families ask for discretion in writing too. It was written into 68% of our chef ads in the US as part of the job.
Language is different though. 8% of our private chef jobs in the US made a second language a must-have, French for one family and Chinese for another.
Between them, the private chefs in our network speak 36 languages, most often English, French, Spanish and Italian, so tell us early if you need one.
| In the brief | Share of our jobs |
|---|---|
| Permanent job | 84% |
| Healthy or diet-led cooking | 80% |
| Cooking for guests | 68% |
| Discretion written into the job | 68% |
| Other household staff or a kitchen team | 60% |
| Formal culinary training named | 56% |
| Fine-dining, Michelin or five-star background | 48% |
| Travel with the family | 44% |
| A diet someone in the household follows | 36% |
| Children in the house | 32% |
| Joining or leading a kitchen team | 24% |
| Culinary training a must | 24% |
| Plating and serving at the table | 20% |
| Food budget or receipts | 20% |
| A second language a must | 8% |
For the full role breakdown, see our personal chef job description.
Source: Morgan & Mallet US private chef job ads and briefs, May 2023 to February 2026; candidate database, June 2026 (languages); 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report (Los Angeles certifications). How we count
What's the difference between a private chef and a personal chef?
A private chef works full-time for one household or family. They cook meals and plan menus around the food they like and any diet specific needs they have.
A personal chef works freelance on different jobs. They might come in for set meals a few days a week, or just do dinner parties.
The families we recruit for want a permanent private chef. Permanent jobs were 84% of the chef searches in the US we’ve worked on since 2023.
A full-time private chef really becomes part of your home and even family. That’s why hiring and personality is so important.
As Laurine, our co-founder, says:
The rest were for a set period with one family, like for a summer in Manhattan, a month in Miami before the holidays, or a winter moving between three places.
Each one was still a private chef job, recruited the same way.
“A truly great private chef is one who doesn’t get offended when a client gives feedback. They need to be diplomatic and humble.
“If a client says they don’t like a sauce, the chef should be able to say, ‘No problem, I will adapt it next time,’ rather than taking it personally.”
Source: Morgan & Mallet US private chef job ads, May 2023 to February 2026. How we count
Can a Private Chef Follow Your Family's Diet?
Yes. Diet is specified in most of our searches for chefs. 80% of the briefs we’ve worked on in the US since 2023 wanted healthy cooking or cooking for a specific diet.
36% asked for the chef to be able to cook a diet someone in the household follows.
The diets were quite specific. One family was vegetarian, another pescatarian, and another needed gluten-free cooking.
One parent followed a bodybuilding diet plan, one client ate no salt at all, and one family had its chef plan menus with a nutritionist.
Some diet rules apply to the whole house.
A family living in New Jersey we recruited for in 2025 wanted vegetarian cooking from USDA organic ingredients only, with no meat allowed in the house at all, even in meals the staff ate.
Religious diets are the same and need as much attention. Laurine Mallet, who trained as a chef, has placed chefs for families who keep them:
“Obviously Muslim people, … they don’t eat pork, let’s say. For example, Jewish people also, they’ve got typical meals.
“We place people like for [a] Jewish client who said, ‘Okay, I would like someone who can follow precisely my diet.'”
Tell us everything you want on the first call, from allergies to the foods nobody in the family will eat.
Source: Morgan & Mallet US private chef job briefs, May 2023 to February 2026. How we count
Private chef salaries in the US
In the private households we recruit for, private chefs in the US earn $100,000 to $300,000+ per year.
The US pays private chefs more than any other country we work in. New York and Los Angeles tend to pay the most, with Miami and the Bay Area often close behind.
Roles where the chef works across multiple properties usually pay more, and travel expenses are covered separately.
Our job briefs for clients show what families actually offered. The private chef jobs we advertised in the US with a yearly salary from 2024 to 2026 offered $80,000 to $180,000 a year, and most were between $100,000 and $150,000.
The highest offer was $180,000 with benefits in 2025, which was for a client who wanted classic Southern cooking at Michelin level.
Some jobs were paid by the hour or the month. Our ads offered $50 to $60 an hour in San Francisco (2024) and $50 to $70 in New Jersey (2025).
A one-month job in Miami before the holidays offered $8,000 for the month in 2023, and one family offered from $13,000 a month after tax in 2024.
| Job | Pay |
|---|---|
| In the private households we recruit for (2025/26 Annual Report) | $100,000 to $300,000+ per year |
| Yearly offers in our US job ads, 2024 to 2026 | $80,000 to $180,000 a year |
| Highest yearly offer, 2025 | $180,000 with benefits |
| Hourly, San Francisco, 2024 | $50 to $60 an hour |
| Hourly, New Jersey, 2025 | $50 to $70 |
| One month in Miami before the holidays, 2023 | $8,000 for the month |
| Monthly, 2024 | from $13,000 a month after tax |
| Travel chef, Beverly Hills, 2024 (three months on, three off) | $100,000 to $120,000 a year |
Total cost goes beyond salary. You’ll also need to budget for food, payroll taxes, benefits, and accommodation if it’s a live-in role.
An NDA adds to the cost as well: in the households we recruit for, staff who sign NDAs earn 15 to 20% more.
Benefits need to be planned for in the costs too. Since 2025, 47% of our chef ads in the United States have had health insurance or a benefits package, and some had paid time off or a bonus.
20% of all our chef ads since 2023 asked the chef to manage the food budget or keep receipts. We’ll help you decide on the pay, benefits and food budget before we start searching.
For full city-by-city breakdowns and salary detail by role and country, see the 2025/26 Household Staff Salary Report.
Source: 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report (salary range, NDA premium); Morgan & Mallet US private chef job ads, 2023 to 2026 (pay as advertised, benefits, food budgets). How we count
Do Private Chefs Live With You?
Not usually. Of the private chef jobs we’ve recruited for in the US that said where the chef would live, 92% were live-out.
Live-out works even with dinner service. The chef for one family in Coral Gables usually finished around 8:30 to 9 pm, and a New Jersey family had the day running from 10 am to 7 pm.
Laurine Mallet on why it’s rare, and what living in does to the hours:
The one live-in job was for a family of four in Atherton, California, in 2025, six days a week.
“[Live-in] chef is really rare. Really really rare.
“… It’s like for every [live-in] position, like okay, he lives just like 10 minutes away from the property, so we can call him. We’ve got an emergency.
“Or okay, you should, let’s say, finish your day at 9 p.m. Okay, we need you just 1 hour more, but it’s fine.”
If you want someone living where you are, you’ll need to have private accommodation for them, or you could look at live-in domestic couples, who often cook as part of the job.
Whether the role is live-in or not, we will put the hours in the offer before your chef starts.
Source: Morgan & Mallet US private chef job ads, May 2023 to February 2026. How we count
How do you find the right private chef?
Families who try to hire a chef on their own often end up back at square one.
The candidate pool looks bigger than it actually is, and the chefs you want are working for someone else.
Using a private chef agency can be far more efficient.
We have lots of applications for our chef roles. Our private chef ads in the US had 35% more applicants each than our average US household staff job ad.
Part of the job our recruiters do is sorting through them, as well as our database of chefs we already have.
Our network includes 1,926 private chefs, and they have eight years of experience on average.
Eric Rios, recruiter at Morgan & Mallet, on application volume:
“It depends on location. A chef role in California or New York could get 200 applicants. Even in Texas, we got over 100 for a chef. The range is about 20 to 200.
“Of those lowest batch of 20, maybe five will be good fits for the role.”
Source: Morgan & Mallet recruitment records, all US client job ads, May 2022 to June 2026 (16,447 applicants); candidate database, June 2026, as in the Household Staff Industry Report 2026; 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report (experience). How we count
What happens when you contact us
When you call us, we’ll take you through a long brief on the first call. About 30 questions covering your household, your kitchen, dietary preferences, who else is on staff, and how often you entertain.
We also ask about any previous chef setup that didn’t work, and why.
That brief becomes the search filter.
From the 50,300+ vetted candidates in our network, we shortlist three to five chefs we think will fit your family. Personality and how someone gets on with your household matter as much as technical skill.
Who you hire can be changed by who already works in your home.
60% of the chef briefs in the US we’ve worked on had the chef working with other staff, from housekeepers and a nanny to a personal assistant, a house manager or a chief of staff.
Laurine Mallet on who your chef answers to:
“If there is a house manager, [he talks] to the house manager because he’s the manager of the [whole] property. If there is[n’t] any house manager, he can talk directly to the housekeeper.”
Tell us who works in the house now and who you want to add later. If you still need to hire a housekeeper or a household manager, we can do those searches now knowing you are hiring a chef too.
Every chef does a 90-minute structured interview with us. We ask questions like this:
We check how they deal with pressure as much as how well they know how to prepare food.
If you are happy with a chef we suggest for you, we can then arrange with them to do a trial meal for you. It’s the best way to see if you are the right fit for each other.
Some families ask for a longer trial. In 2024 a family in Beverly Hills asked for a week’s trial in Italy for the new travel chef they were hiring with us, cooking with the chef they already had.
- a guest arrives with a shellfish allergy they forgot to mention, what do you do tonight?
- The dinner party is in six hours and the supplier just cancelled, what’s your plan?
Laurine on why portfolios aren’t enough:
“Portfolios are helpful, but with Instagram today, you can’t always trust a photo because it can be edited. That’s why a trial meal is the most important step. You cannot hide behind a photo during a trial.
“That’s where you see their organization, their hygiene, and the actual taste of their food.”
We run background checks as standard too. Employment history, three employer references from roles they had before, and any qualifications they claim. Criminal background checks follow the rules of your state and city.
We also look a lot at diplomacy. The chefs who last in private homes are the ones who can take feedback without taking it personally, and that’s harder than it sounds for chefs who came up in restaurant kitchens.
As Laurine puts it: “The biggest source of conflict in this industry is the ‘Chef Ego.'” A chef who can’t adapt to a private household won’t last in one, no matter how good the food is.
Restaurant training is still important for families.
Experience working in fine-dining restaurants, Michelin kitchens or five-star hotels was added to the brief in 48% of our chef briefs in the US, as a must or at the very least a big plus.
Since 2025, every one of our chef briefs in the US that had a minimum wanted at least four years’ experience, and most of them asked for five.
56% of our chef briefs asked for formal culinary training, but only 24% made it a must-have. We make sure to look at the training, the kitchens and the attitude, not just the resume.
A family in Miami made at least two years at a single Michelin-starred restaurant a must.
Source: Morgan & Mallet US private chef job briefs, May 2023 to February 2026. How we count
What happens if it doesn't work out?
We check how things are going every week for the first three months. Most things that stop private chef staffing going well are small things, and just communicating can be the best way to fix any issues.
Most of our chef placements last at least a year: 81% in Miami and 91% in New York complete a full annual contract or longer.
The placements that last a long time are normally because of temperament. Laurine, our co-founder, once placed a chef who’d spent ten years cooking for an international singer.
He left that job in good standing because the travel was getting too much for him, and we matched him with a quieter family with two homes. Easygoing, discreet, flexible. He’s still with them.
A three-month replacement guarantee is there for reassurance. If the chef leaves or the fit isn’t right within the first three months, we will replace at no additional cost.
Across our network, private chefs stayed two years on average in each chef job they finished, so we look closely at how long a chef stayed in each past job.
Some families make character clear in the brief they give us. In 2026 a family from Tampa wanted a chef who was “highly receptive to direction”, and two others asked for a stable, long-term track record.
Morgan Richez saw the opposite as a butler, when a hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant would not send dinner up to his employer’s room:
“This kind of chef, sometime[s], I don’t say the chef[s] are like that, all the chef[s], but sometimes they are very proud …
“But come on, the client is the client, he pay[s] for that. So if he wants the [food in] the room, he can pay for that. So [forget] about your ego.”
We always look for flexibility before we put a chef forward to a client, and it’s what we ask you about in our weekly check-ins, to make sure you’re happy.
We also help with employment contracts, payroll, and putting you in touch with employment lawyers in the state where you’re hiring.
Source: 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report (contracts completed); Morgan & Mallet US private chef job ads, 2025 and 2026; candidate database, June 2026 (finished chef jobs). How we count
What kind of private chef do you actually need?
Most US households hire one private chef who does everything, including meals, sourcing and cleaning the kitchen. But there are a few variations on the role. These are the most common ones below.
Family cook
A family chef cooks every meal for the family with a focus on routine, kids’ preferences, and how the family lives during the week. The most common US placement.
Children were in the house in 32% of our chef searches in the US, up to four of them aged five to ten.
One family even asked its chef for meals that had been approved by a vet for their two dogs.
Head chef or executive chef
Runs the kitchen in larger households. Manages sous chefs, prepares menus for multiple properties, and deals with suppliers and budgets. This is what you need if you have multiple properties, sous chefs, and lots of events.
Laurine on multi-property households:
“When you’ve got multiple properties, it’s really rare to have just one single chef. He needs days off, holidays, and it’s quite rare to be able to travel like that if you’ve got a family or children.
“So usually they’ve got two or three chefs. I know of an international singer who had one chef for Europe and one chef for the rest of the world, each working six months on, six months off.”
24% of our chef jobs in the US fitted the chef inside a kitchen team that was already there, as a member of it or to lead it.
For one family we recruited two permanent chefs, who worked six weeks on and six weeks off.
For that family we also searched for a sous chef to travel with them during the winter.
The travel chef job for a family in Beverly Hills was three months on, three months off, working with a second chef.
The brief we took in 2024 offered $100,000 to $120,000 a year, and the chef was paid for the months off too.
Read more about hiring head/executive chefs here.
Traveling chef
Moves with the family between properties, or on yachts. Pay is usually higher than for a chef who stays in one home, and travel and accommodation are covered too.
Travel has been asked for by clients looking to hire in 44% of our chef briefs in the United States.
A family we worked with in Fort Lauderdale wanted their chef with them from June to September, when they spend some of their time in Aspen.
Travel roles can also get the biggest response. A Beverly Hills travel chef job we recruited for in 2024 had 440 applicants, more than any other job ad we’ve run in the US.
If the job includes your yacht, tell us from the start. Morgan Richez explains why:
“When you work as a private chef in a private yacht, even if the [yacht] is very big, the kitchen it’s almost very small. So the way how you work as a private chef is not the same.
“You know, you work in 10 square meters. So it’s very tricky to provide a Michelin star level cuisine in a very small area.”
Plant-based or wellness chef
A growing category, especially in LA and the Bay Area. Many specialize in low-FODMAP, gluten-free, anti-inflammatory, or other specific diets.
If you’re not sure which structure fits your household, we can work it all out on your first call with us.
Source: Morgan & Mallet recruitment records, US private chef job ads, May 2023 to February 2026. How we count
Private chef job description
This is the kind of job description we would write for a family hiring a full-time, live-out private chef (often called a personal chef) in New York City.
It’s based on a real Morgan & Mallet placement and shows what a brief covers.
Example of a personal chef job description
The example is a typical US household chef hire.
About the family
A high-net-worth family is hiring a personal chef for their three-person household in central Manhattan. Both parents work, and there’s one teenager at home.
The family eats together most weeknights, hosts dinners three or four times a month, and travels to a country home upstate on weekends.
The family eats Mediterranean type food, with fish four times a week, no red meat, and one full vegetarian day. There are no allergies, but they want lighter weekday meals and more ambitious cooking when guests are over.
The role is full-time, live-out, Monday through Friday with occasional weekend cover for entertaining and family travel.
Responsibilities
In the kitchen
- Cook breakfast (when requested), lunch, and dinner for the family on weekdays
- Plate and serve meals when the family eats at home
- Cook for dinner parties of up to ten guests, working with the family on the menu before each event
- Maintain a clean, well-organized kitchen and proper food storage
- Manage equipment care, knife sharpening, and small appliance upkeep
Sourcing and menus
- Build a weekly menu around the family’s preferences (Mediterranean, fish-led, no red meat, one vegetarian day)
- Adjust menus week to week based on what’s seasonal and what’s at the markets
- Source from local butchers, fishmongers, farmers’ markets, and specialty suppliers
- Manage the kitchen budget and pass weekly receipts and notes to the family office
Working with the family
- Take feedback constructively, what the family liked, what they didn’t, what they want more of
- Adapt menus when the household’s needs change (a guest with an allergy, a teenager with new preferences)
- Keep the kitchen calm and out of the way of family life, especially during entertaining
- Coordinate with any other household staff (housekeeper, nanny) on shared spaces and timing
Requirements
Essential
- Minimum 5 years in professional kitchens, with at least 2 years in a private household, fine-dining restaurant, or high-end hospitality role
- Verifiable references from previous private families or executive chefs
- Confident across at least two cuisines, and able to take a brief and work with it (not just cook set recipes)
- ServSafe certification or equivalent food safety credential
- Comfortable doing the shopping, sourcing, and admin alongside the cooking
Preferred
- Culinary school qualification (CIA, ICE, Le Cordon Bleu, CAP, or equivalent)
- Time at a Michelin-starred restaurant
- Experience cooking for guests with specific dietary needs (keto, gluten-free, vegan, allergies)
- A second language
Work conditions
- Full-time, live-out
- Monday through Friday, typically 9am to 8pm with breaks during the day
- Occasional weekend cover for events and family travel
- Travel pay when accompanying the family to the country home or overseas
- Health insurance, paid vacation, and an annual food and equipment budget for personal development
- Salary based on experience
This job description was reviewed by Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, who among other roles trained as a chef before founding the agency.
Frequently asked questions about hiring a private chef
Call us on +1 (646) 965-2308 or tell us about your household and a recruiter will get back to you.
How long does it take to hire a private chef?
Two to four weeks for most US searches. Specialist briefs (Michelin-trained, multilingual, multi-property) can take six weeks or more.
How much does it cost to hire a private chef in the US?
In the private households we recruit for, salaries go from $100,000 to $300,000+ per year. The full household cost includes salary, food budget, payroll taxes, and benefits.
What qualifications should a private chef have?
At least four years of professional cooking experience, usually five, with at least one year in a private household or fine dining.
Most of our chefs have a formal diploma like the CAP (France), ServSafe (US), or a culinary school equivalent. Laurine Mallet puts it at about 85%.
We do also place self-taught chefs if their track record is strong enough.
Do you place live-in chefs?
Yes, but live-in chef roles are rare in the US. Most American households prefer live-out, with the chef commuting in. Live-in placements come up more often for remote estates or international jobs.
Do you place chefs outside major cities?
Yes. We staff nationally and place chefs in second-home markets like the Hamptons, Aspen, Jackson Hole, and Palm Beach.
What background checks do you run?
We check employment history and any qualifications the candidate claims. Criminal background checks follow the rules of your state and city. We also speak to at least three previous employers. NDAs are arranged where you ask for them.
What does it cost to hire through the agency?
We charge a placement fee based on the role and the difficulty of the search. A standard US chef search and a multi-property Michelin-trained brief don’t cost the same.
We’ll talk through fees on the first call before you commit to anything.
Source: 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report (salaries); Morgan & Mallet US private chef job briefs, 2025 and 2026 (experience asked). How we count
Call us on +1 (646) 965-2308 or tell us about your household and a recruiter will get back to you.
Start your private chef search
When you call us we’ll talk through your household, your kitchen, and find out what you actually need from a chef. For most US searches, we’ll have a shortlist of three to five candidates ready in two weeks.
You can do paid trial meals in your home before you commit to anyone.
Call us on +1 (646) 965-2308 or get in touch online.
New York
office address
260 Madison Avenue, 8th floor, 10016, New York, NY - United States
phone
+1 (646)965-2308
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Miami
office address
1555 NE 121st Street, Suite 104, North Miami, FL 33161, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
Los Angeles
office address
895 Dove St, Newport Beach, CA 92660, United States
phone
+1 305 710 3380
opening hours
Monday - Thursday : 9AM - 6PM
Friday : 9AM - 5PM
Saturday & Sunday : Closed
