A personal chef prepares meals in a private home based on the family’s tastes, health plans, and daily schedule.
Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet, trained as a chef before starting the agency. That time in kitchens still guides how she and the recruitment team choose chefs.
She says families who hire a personal chef often enjoy good food, want it made at home, and prefer spending time with guests instead of cooking themselves.
What does a personal chef do in a private household?
A personal chef plans menus each week, shops for fresh produce, cooks daily meals, and manages the kitchen. The routine changes with each home, depending on its size, who lives there, and what they like to eat.
Most clients give broad preferences rather than step-by-step instructions. They might say they want fish four times a week, or that they’re avoiding red meat, or they prefer Mediterranean cooking. The chef builds a weekly menu around those preferences, adjusting with the seasons and whatever is fresh at the market.
Grocery shopping is part of a personal chef’s work, along with visiting local butchers, fishmongers, and specialist suppliers. In larger homes, they might also speak to a nutritionist or personal trainer to match meals with family health plans.
Many high-net-worth families host at home for privacy and because their chef understands their tastes. Morgan & Mallet’s other co-founder Morgan Richez says families increasingly ask for chefs with Michelin-star backgrounds for exactly this reason.
One Morgan & Mallet recruiter placed a chef for a five-day fine dining experience in the Orkney Islands, hosted in a stately home for five couples visiting from Canada. Another placement involved a family in Morocco whose property had over 35 kitchen assistants and four separate kitchens, including one just for Italian cuisine and another for large-scale events.
In homes with larger staff, the chef could also direct housekeepers on table service and cleanup after dinner.
What skills does a personal chef need, and what does the work look like?
Cooking ability is the starting point. A family paying a high annual salary for a chef expects restaurant-level food at every meal.
Temperament is what keeps a private chef in a role long term. Many come from restaurant kitchens known for strict hierarchies and harsh pressure. Working in a private home means hearing feedback from clients instead of head chefs, and adapting quietly.
Laurine Mallet says diplomacy and humility are just as important as knife skills. “The biggest source of conflict in this industry is the ‘chef ego,'” she says. “I’ve watched executive chefs shout at assistants or act aggressively. When they move into private homes, they have to learn to adapt.”
Dietary flexibility is part of daily life for most private chefs. One family member might follow a strict keto diet, another avoids gluten, and the children might have nut allergies.
Our recruiters say this is one of the hardest parts to get right in a placement, as the chef must balance all those needs while keeping the food enjoyable.
The hours are long. A chef might start breakfast at seven, move to lunch prep by ten, shop for a dinner party in the afternoon, and serve the final course close to midnight. There is no kitchen team to rely on. Most personal chefs handle every task themselves.
How much does a personal chef earn?
Salaries depend on the country, the chef’s experience, and what the household expects. Here are the figures from Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 Household Staff Salaries Annual Report:
| Country | Average Salary |
|---|---|
| USA | $100,000 to $300,000 |
| UAE | AED 180,000 to AED 360,000 |
| UK | £80,000 to £200,000 |
| France | €45,000 to €60,000 |
| Monaco | €90,000 to €110,000 |
| Belgium | €80,000 to €120,000 |
| Switzerland | CHF 110,000 to CHF 130,000 |
| Saudi Arabia | SAR 180,000 to SAR 500,000 |
The United States leads global pay for private chefs, according to the same report. The US accounts for 35% of global private chef demand, followed by the UAE and Middle East at 20%, and France and Monaco at 20%.
What are the working conditions for a personal chef?
Hours depend on the family. Some principals (the term used in private service for the employer) want three meals a day, every day. Others only need dinner and sometimes a weekend lunch when guests visit. Busy entertaining seasons, holidays, and travel plans often change the workload with little notice.
Weekends are rarely days off. When the family hosts, the chef works. That’s part of the job.
Families with homes in several countries add travel to the mix. Chefs may move between properties or share duties with another chef. Laurine Mallet has seen families employ two chefs in full rotation, one covering Europe and the other the rest of the world, each working six months at a time.
The upside for chefs on rotation is long rest periods and covered accommodation during work terms.
Example of a personal chef job description
Here is an example of a job description for a personal chef, based on a real Morgan & Mallet placement brief.
A family based in New York City, USA is looking for an experienced personal chef.
Key Responsibilities
- Create customized weekly meal plans based on the family’s dietary preferences
- Shop for and prepare daily meals using fresh, seasonal produce
- Maintain kitchen cleanliness and manage food storage
- Adapt menus for dietary restrictions including allergies, keto, and gluten-free requirements
- Prepare meals for formal and informal entertaining when required
Requirements
- Culinary arts degree or equivalent professional kitchen experience (minimum three years)
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills
- Flexible and adaptable to changing family schedules and preferences
- Experience cooking for private households or high-end hospitality
Conditions
- Live-out personal chef
- Full-time position, Monday to Friday
- Flexibility for weekends and holidays when required
- Salary based on experience, in line with US market ratesÂ
How do you become a personal chef?
Most personal chefs start in restaurant kitchens. A culinary arts degree gives them the technical foundation. In France, the CAP diploma (Certificat d’Aptitude Professionnelle) is the standard qualification. In the United States, graduates often hold a culinary institute degree plus ServSafe certification, the food safety credential recognized across the industry.
The Certified Personal Chef qualification from the American Personal and Private Chef Association is useful when applying to agencies.
Around 85% of chefs registered with Morgan & Mallet hold formal diplomas. Our recruiters have also seen self-taught chefs do well when they’ve got talent and strong references.
Some chefs list themselves on freelance platforms to take private dinner bookings. Each booking builds their record of private service, and after a few years they can apply for full-time household roles.
Chefs hired by Morgan & Mallet need at least three years of professional kitchen experience, unless the chef has Michelin training. A chef who spent six months at a Michelin restaurant before moving into private service is a strong candidate. Someone with only brief private experience and no advanced restaurant background will find it harder to be placed.
Looking to hire a personal chef?
Finding the right chef for your home is personal. The chef needs to fit your household, understand your family’s preferences, and be someone you are comfortable having in your kitchen every day. That takes careful matching and we are experts at this so contact us today to hire a personal chef.
Morgan & Mallet helps families in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Dubai, and beyond. To discuss what you need, call us on +1 (917) 843-5691 (US) or +44 20 4578 6249 (UK), or email contact@morganmallet.agency.
Are you a chef looking for a private household position?
If you have at least three years of professional kitchen experience and want to move into private service, apply through the Morgan & Mallet website. We place chefs with high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth families across eight offices worldwide.
Apply for personal chef jobs at our job board here.