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Hire a Private Chef

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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.

That’s what we do. Morgan & Mallet places private chefs for HNW and UHNW families across the US. Every chef does a 90-minute interview with us before we put a CV in front of 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 handle contracts, payroll, and the legal side, so you don’t have to.

Contact our private chef agency today to start hiring.

10+

Years placing private chefs

96%

Placement success rate

35%

Of our global chef demand comes from the US

91%

Of our New York chef placements complete a full annual contract

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.

Cooking is maybe half the job. The rest is menu planning, sourcing, and running the kitchen around your week. If you’ve got kids with school schedules and a partner who travels, your chef builds menus around that. A family who entertains three nights a week would need something different again.

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 coordinates with them. 41% of our Los Angeles chef candidates have both nutrition and culinary certifications, which is why LA is the strongest market for that kind of cooking.

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.

For the full role breakdown, see our personal chef job description.

Private chef salaries in the US

Private chef salaries in the US go from $100,000 to $300,000+ per year, based on Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report.

The US is our biggest market for private chefs, more than any other country we work in. New York and Los Angeles sit at the top of the salary range, with Miami and the Bay Area close behind.

Roles where the chef works across multiple properties pay 25 to 40% above standard rates, and travel expenses are covered separately.

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.

For full city-by-city breakdowns and salary detail by role and country, see the 2025/26 Household Staff Salary Report.

How do you find the right private chef?

Most families who try to hire a chef on their own end up disappointed or back at square one within six months. 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.

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.”

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 200,000+ candidates in our database, 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.

Every chef does a 90-minute structured interview with us. We ask scenario questions like – 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? We check how they deal with pressure as much as how well they know how to prepare food.

Then comes the trial meal. This is the step that decides everything.

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.”

You can invite the chef in to prepare a trial meal for you. This is your chance to see what they are like in real life, not just on paper.

We run background checks at the same time. Employment history, three employer references from roles they had before, criminal records, and any qualifications they claim.

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.

What happens if it doesn't work out?

We check in every week during the first three months. Most things that stop private chef recruitment going well are small things nobody mentioned in time, and a five-minute call usually fixes them.

The placements that last decades come down to temperament. Laurine 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 90-day replacement guarantee covers every placement. If the chef leaves or the fit isn’t right within the first three months, we replace at no additional cost.

We also help with employment contracts, payroll, and putting you in touch with employment lawyers in the state where you’re hiring.

If you don’t want to be the legal employer, we work with payroll partners who can take that on for you.

What kind of private chef do you actually need?

Most US households hire one private chef who does everything, including meals, sourcing, cleaning the kitchen, everything. But there are a few variations on the role, and the right structure for your household matters as much as the right person.

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.

We discuss more about hiring a family cook here.

Head chef or executive chef

Runs the kitchen in larger households. Manages sous chefs, builds the menus across multiple properties, and deals with suppliers and budgets. This is what you need if you have multiple properties, sous chefs, and frequent 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.”

Read more about hiring head/executive chefs here.

Traveling chef

Moves with the family between properties or on yachts. Pay runs 25 to 40% above standard rates, travel and accommodation covered.

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 performance nutrition cooking.

If you’re not sure which structure fits your household, we can work it all out on your first call with us.

Frequently asked questions about hiring a private chef

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?

Salaries go from $100,000 to $300,000+ per year, based on our 2025/26 Annual Report. The full household cost includes salary, food budget, payroll taxes, and benefits.

WHAT QUALIFICATIONS SHOULD A PRIVATE CHEF HAVE?

Three years of professional cooking experience, minimum, with at least one year in a private household or fine dining. Around 85% of our chefs have a formal diploma like the CAP (France), ServSafe (US), or a culinary school equivalent. 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, criminal records, and any qualifications the candidate claims. 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.

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.