United Kingdom
Private Chef Agency
in London
Hire a Private Chef in London or Across the UK
Last updated:
Morgan & Mallet, a luxury household staffing agency, recruits and places private chefs with households across London and the UK.
We find full-time, live-in, part-time, and travelling chefs who become part of your household staff and take responsibility for cooking for your family.
This is different from booking a chef for a dinner party. We recruit chefs who become part of your household and get to know how you like to eat.
For one family, that might mean breakfast before the school run and relaxed dinners during the week, with more formal cooking when guests are staying.
The role can also include menu planning, sourcing ingredients, and managing dietary requirements.
Every chef we introduce has been personally interviewed and vetted by our team.
We can also arrange trial cooks before placement, giving you the chance to see how they work in your kitchen and, just as importantly, whether you actually enjoy their food.
It’s this attention to detail that gives Morgan & Mallet’s recruitment team a 96% placement success rate.
From Your First Call to
Your Chef’s First Dinner
Hiring a private chef starts with understanding how your household eats. Our London team then builds the search around your normal week, rather than a generic chef job description.
Here’s what to expect when you get in touch with us to help you recruit a private chef.
Your Initial Consultation
We start with the practical details.
We talk through who normally eats at home, which meals you want covered, and how the working week changes when you have guests.
Dietary requirements and allergies are important, as do children’s meals and any particular cuisines or cooking styles you enjoy.
We’ll also ask you about the practicalities of the role. A family based mainly in London may want a live-out chef working a regular week, while another household may need somebody who can spend part of the year at a country property or travel between international homes.
Understanding these details right at the start helps us refine our search to match your household’s needs.
Finding and Shortlisting Candidates
Once the role is clear, we search our UK and international network for chefs whose background and approach to cooking make sense for your household.
That may include somebody with substantial private-service experience or a restaurant chef who has successfully moved into private households from Michelin-starred and rosette kitchens.
Where useful, we can also share sample menus so you can get a better sense of how each chef thinks about food before meeting them.
We have found that clients very often want to hire a chef who is adaptable and can switch between French, Italian, Japanese, and Arabic cuisine without a signature style that is driven by their ego.
The chefs in our network have had different career routes, some were a chef de partie (41 in our network), sous chef (27), commis chef (19), executive chef (13). Many came up through the restaurant world, so they are highly experienced and ready for private homes. (Morgan & Mallet candidate database, June 2026).
Interviews and Trials
We arrange interviews so you can assess both personality and experience. After this, the next stage is normally a paid trial cook in your home.
You see how the chef organises themself, uses your kitchen, and responds to feedback. You also see whether their cooking suits your family rather than relying on photographs or a CV.
And, of course, you get to eat the food. For many families, we find that’s when the decision becomes much easier.
Salaries, Offers, and Contracts
Once you choose a chef, we help with the offer and working arrangements.
That includes gross salary, hours, accommodation where relevant, travel expectations and the responsibilities that come with the role.
We can also make sure those details are clearly reflected in the employment contract before your new chef starts.
Post-Placement Support Once Your Chef Starts
Our involvement continues once your chef joins the household.
There is always an adjustment period while they learn the details of how your family likes things done, particularly if they are working alongside existing household staff.
We remain available if either side needs support while the arrangement settles. Permanent placements also include Morgan & Mallet’s 90-day replacement guarantee.
If you then would like to employ more household staff in the UK or abroad, our team in London can discuss any new hires you need with you.
How We Recruit the Finest Private Chefs:
Our Vetting Process Explained
A decade of experience placing private chefs means we consider private household experience as closely as we consider cooking ability. Working in somebody’s home needs discretion, flexibility, and a different approach from a restaurant kitchen.
Every shortlisted chef completes a structured 90-minute interview with one of our recruiters. We look closely at their career history, what they were personally responsible for in previous positions and why those roles ended.
Runette van Heerden worked as a private chef before moving into recruitment with Morgan & Mallet. As she puts it, “the perfect candidate on paper doesn’t always translate into the right fit in reality.”
She also looks at how candidates communicate and how they have handled previous roles, then compares that against the pace and expectations of your household.
Where possible, we speak directly with previous private employers. Those conversations help us understand how the chef worked day-to-day and whether they could be trusted to manage the kitchen without constant direction.
Laurine Mallet our co-founder trained in a high end hotel kitchen in Paris, she says that restaurant kitchens can be harsh, management through fear still exists in that world, and when a chef moves into a private home, they have to leave it behind.
We check that the chef is ready and has the experience to work in a private home.
The final assessment is the trial cook. This lets you see how the chef plans, organises themselves in your kitchen, responds to feedback and, ultimately, whether their cooking is right for your household.
Only around one in four applicants is accepted into Morgan & Mallet’s candidate network.
We search more than 50,300 household professionals internationally, including experienced private chefs and accomplished restaurant chefs looking to move into household service.
Structured
interview
APPLICANTS
ACCEPTED
HOUSEHOLD
PROFESSIONALS IN
OUR NETWORK
Runette van Heerden,
Co-Founder
What Kind of Private Chef
Do You Need?
The right chef arrangement depends on how often you need somebody in the kitchen, where you live, and how much your household travels.
Our London team can help you define the role before the search begins.
Full-Time Private Chef
A full-time private chef takes responsibility for your household kitchen throughout the working week.
They may plan menus, source ingredients, prepare family meals and cook when you entertain at home. In larger households, the chef may also work alongside a house manager, butler or other household staff.
Live-In Chef
A live-in chef lives at the property in suitable private accommodation. This arrangement can work particularly well for country estates, larger homes and families who need more flexibility around meal times.
Part-Time Chef
A part-time private chef works on agreed days each week. This can suit households where the family doesn’t eat at home every day, or where cooking support is only needed at specific times during the week.
Some families also recruit a combined chef-housekeeper role. The responsibilities need to be realistic, with enough time allowed for both parts of the job.
Travelling Private Chef
A travelling private chef moves with the family between properties and destinations.
That might mean dividing the year between London and another family home, spending the ski season in the Alps or travelling to the Mediterranean during the summer.
A travelling chef needs to be comfortable working in unfamiliar kitchens and sourcing ingredients in different countries while maintaining the family’s preferences.
Seasonal or Temporary Chef
A seasonal chef joins the household for a fixed period. Families may recruit one for a summer abroad, a ski season, an extended stay at a country property, or to cover another chef’s absence.
The role may be temporary, but the chef still goes through our recruitment and vetting process.
What families put in the private chef brief
| Briefs that mention | Share of briefs |
|---|---|
| Food safety, hygiene or HACCP | 74% |
| Healthy, organic or nutrition-focused cooking | 60% |
| Sourcing ingredients or grocery shopping | 57% |
| Dietary requirements or allergies | 55% |
| Entertaining, dinner parties or events | 55% |
| Menu planning | 38% |
| Discretion or confidentiality | 34% |
| Mediterranean cuisine | 29% |
| Travel with the family | 28% |
| A household with children | 24% |
| Italian cuisine | 21% |
| Asian cuisine (Japanese, Chinese, Thai) | 19% |
| Michelin, fine-dining or five-star background | 18% |
Morgan & Mallet recruitment data, 2022 to 2026. Based on private chef searches across our markets.
Private Chef, Personal Chef, or Dinner-Party Chef?
A private chef is employed by one household and cooks for that household on an ongoing basis. A personal chef or dinner-party chef usually works for several clients and cooks for them on an as-needed basis.
The distinction is worth making because the terms are often used interchangeably online.
If you need somebody to come to your home for one evening or an occasional event, we’re not the right recruiters for you.
We specialise in recruiting chefs who become a trusted, ongoing part of a private household.
How Much Does a Full-Time Private Chef Cost in the UK?
Based on Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 salary data, a full-time private chef in the UK typically earns between £80,000 and £200,000 gross per year.
The right salary depends on the chef’s experience, culinary background, whether the role is live-in or live-out, and the level of travel involved.
Of course, chefs with Michelin-starred experience, extensive private household backgrounds, or expertise across a particularly broad range of cuisines may sit towards the upper end of this range, but we can discuss your role requirements and help you define the right salary for your chef.
Typical salary · gross per year
Where We Place Private Chefs in the UK
Morgan & Mallet’s London office places private chefs with families across the capital, the Home Counties, and the wider UK.
In London, we regularly recruit for households in areas including Mayfair, Belgravia, Knightsbridge, Notting Hill, and Hampstead.
We also place chefs with families in Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire, and other parts of the Home Counties.
Further afield, we recruit for country estates and family homes throughout the UK.
Wherever you want your chef to work, our London private chef recruitment team manages the entire search from start to finish.
The numbers behind our UK private chef roles
| In our UK briefs | What we have seen |
|---|---|
| Where we’re asked to recruit most | London, led by Knightsbridge, Kensington and central London |
| Also recruited for | Oxford, the Cotswolds, Brighton and Scotland |
| Working pattern | Nearly all full-time |
| Advertised pay: live-out chef, Kensington (2024) | £70,000 gross a year |
| Advertised pay: live-out chef, Scotland (2024) | £50,000 to £60,000 gross a year |
| Weekend and rota chefs, London and Brighton (2022) | £250 to £300 a day |
| How most briefs set pay | Agreed on experience, not fixed in advance |
| Applications per UK chef role | About 46, the same as for our chef roles across all markets |
Morgan & Mallet recruitment data, UK, 2022 to 2026. Based on UK private chef searches. Pay is as advertised in our briefs, not placement salaries.
Why Households Recruit Private Chefs With
Morgan & Mallet
A private chef spends a large part of their working week inside your home, so cooking ability is only one part of deciding who belongs there.
Runette van Heerden worked as a private chef before moving into recruitment, and explains that, based on her experience on both sides of the process, “the perfect candidate on paper doesn’t always translate into the right fit in reality.
Personality, communication style, and lifestyle alignment are just as important as experience.”
In practical terms, the chef may be cooking relaxed family meals most days but then entertaining large groups of guests at other times.
They need to understand individual preferences, learn your habits, work comfortably around other household staff, and adjust when plans change without ever making it feel difficult.
That is why our assessment goes beyond previous kitchens and job titles. We interview candidates carefully, verify their previous experience, and can arrange a trial cook before you make a final decision.
This trial cook is particularly important, especially in the eyes of Laurine Mallet, co-founder of Morgan & Mallet. She explains: “A trial meal is the most important step. You cannot hide behind a photo during a trial; that’s where you see their organisation, their hygiene, and the actual taste of their food.”
We accept only around one in four applicants into our wider candidate network, and Morgan & Mallet has a 96% placement success rate.
Your chef also needs to fit into your household, they may need to work with your butler, nanny, housekeeper or even estate manager on a regular basis. So whilst they will often work on their own, they will still need to know how to integrate into how your home works.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring a Private Chef in the UK
How Do I Hire A Private Chef?
The best way to hire a private chef is by reaching out to a specialist agency that knows how to find the talent you’re looking for.
Start by speaking to our London team about how your household eats, how often you need your chef, and whether the role involves travel or live-in accommodation.
We’ll help you shape the brief before searching our network, arranging interviews and coordinating a trial cook with your preferred candidates.
How Much Does A Full-time Private Chef Cost In The UK?
A full-time UK private chef typically earns £80,000 to £200,000 gross per year, according to Morgan & Mallet’s 2025/26 salary data. Experience, culinary background, travel, and whether the role is live-in or live-out can all affect the figure.
Do Private Chefs Live In?
Some do, but they don’t have to. A live-in private chef has suitable private accommodation at the family home.
Many other chefs work on a live-out basis and travel to the property for their agreed hours. We can recruit for either arrangement, and our London team is happy to discuss the differences when you get in touch.
Can Our Chef Travel With Us Or Cook At Our Home Abroad?
Yes. Travelling private chefs regularly accompany families between homes and on longer trips abroad. Tell us where you usually travel and how much of the year the chef would spend away from the UK.
We can prioritise candidates with the right international experience and flexibility.
What’s The Difference Between A Private Chef And A Personal Chef?
A private chef typically works for a single household on an ongoing basis.
A personal chef typically works with several clients and may occasionally cook for each one. Morgan & Mallet recruits private household chefs rather than chefs for one-off dinners or occasional meal preparation.
Do You Place Private Chefs Outside London?
Yes. Our London office recruits private chefs throughout the UK. That includes the Home Counties, country estates and households elsewhere in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
We also recruit travelling chefs for families whose role is based partly overseas.