Some people absolutely love cooking and spending hours each day to plan and prepare delicious meals. However, many others barely have time to pick up take-out dinners, let alone meal plan, grocery shop, and deal with all the clean-up. Personal and private chefs can solve all of these problems and many more, but there are distinct differences between these two types of chefs.
Here is an overview of personal chef vs. private chef so that you can hire the best culinary professional for your particular needs.
Duties of Personal and Private Chefs
Personal chefs excel at creating custom menus for their clients and consulting about diet needs and concerns. They will do the grocery shopping, prepare meals in your kitchen, provide reheating instructions if necessary, and handle all the clean-up tasks.
If you hire a private chef, he or she will help you plan weekly meals and provide three meals per day. Additionally, private chefs will provide snacks and even cater for special events that you host at your home or other location. Like personal chefs, private chefs will also handle all the grocery shopping, meal prep, and clean-up. They are also prepared to travel with you to provide meals on-the-go.
Clients of Personal and Private Chefs
Personal chefs often run their own businesses and serve busy couples, families with kids, retired individuals, and anyone who enjoys fine dining at home. Personal chefs may work on their own or with an assistant and juggle multiple clients at the same time. They may prepare meals in advance for clients to reheat on their own later.
Meanwhile, private chefs are dedicated only to you and do not split their time between you and other clients. They may live in your residence and therefore, be able to respond to urgent needs after normal hours. Private chefs are often salaried employees that provide fresh meals daily and even travel with an individual or family for vacations and business trips. Private chefs may work from hotels and yachts for clients too.
Training and Salaries for Chefs
Significant training is required for both personal and private chefs, many of whom have a degree in culinary arts or certification from a culinary school. Further certifications are available from professional chef associations. Personal chefs are widely trained in many different culinary techniques to prepare them for various work settings and client requests.
Private chefs have a similar level of education and training at a formal culinary school. Many of these chefs have worked in high-end restaurants in the past and have impressive resumes. It is common for clients looking for private chefs to require more years of experience than for personal chefs.
Benefits of Personal and Private Chefs
Regardless of whether you hire a personal or private chef, there are tremendous benefits to having either professional in your home. You will save so much time by not having to worry about where your next meal comes from and be able to apply that time towards the things you care about most in life. Professional chefs can provide you with greater variety in the foods you eat so that you’re never bored at mealtime and cater to specific dietary preferences and restrictions. These professionals can help you achieve your health goals through meal planning as well if you’re looking to lose weight, build muscle, eat a more well-balanced diet, or try new foods.
How to Hire a Personal or Private Chef
Household Staffing International can connect you with an amazing personal chef or private chef to make your meals more convenient, healthy, and delicious. Once you experience the benefits of having your very own chef to work with, we’re convinced you’ll never go back to settling for sub-par meals ever again! Depending on your needs, we can also help you find a personal or private chef on a temporary or part-time basis to accommodate your culinary needs during the holiday season, summer vacation, weekend trips, or special events.
Please complete our client application or call us at 212-683-7722 to tell us more about your chef needs and whether you prefer a personal chef vs. private chef.