How do I hire a personal chef? Where should I start looking?

Hi r/chefit!

I asked this question in another subreddit and I’m coming out dry. I’m planning a bachelorette in Seattle for August and was originally just going to task rabbit someone to come prepare breakfast for all of us hungover girls one morning so we won’t have to power through. We ended up with extra cash in the budget after we looked at the expenses so far and I wanted to see about something we could all enjoy. I was thinking of having someone come to the house to make a private meal, but when I look up “private/personal” chef it seems to come up with a lot of catering companies that advertise for larger events or personal chefs that engage in more of a long term service. I’ve found a couple that mention small parties, but when I look into their services they’re things like “private cooking class parties.”

Is it possible to hire a private chef for a single event for a small group of 8? How do I go about searching in Seattle? Is it all only referral or word of mouth? I saw a website that someone created when I did a brief search of this subreddit, but it seems like the closest chefs to the PNW are in California.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I have until August but I want to start searching now so I can explore any options

Thanks!

in Chefitby cmall0079

74%

6.0y

HatsonHats

6.0y

Maybe go out to some restaurants for brunch in the area and any places you really like come back around 2pm on a non busy day and ask to talk to the chef. He'll probably be to busy or whatever but he might be able to recommend his souschef or a talented line cook.

Itusau

6.0y

Second this.

cmall0079

6.0y

A few of the girls going to be there that weekend are from the Seattle-area; so I'll have to see if any of them would be up to recruiting for me! This is definitely a cool idea I never considered!

JerDGold

6.0y

As posted above, go to a restaurant that you like. There is probably a sous chef that would be happy to make some extra money on a day he/she isn’t working.

I know our sous does private events every month or so and loves the extra money. Ask a server or manager if anyone in the kitchen does those types of things.

Obviously you’re looking for more one-off restaurants, and not corporate places. Additionally, choose a cook from a place whose food you enjoy and can envision being served at your event. Don’t go to a French place and ask someone to serve Japanese food.

samuelgato

6.0y

Catering companies are your best bet, just because they advertise for bigger events does not mean they won't take smaller events. I work in catering, sometimes I do parties for 800, and sometimes I do them for 8. If we can fit a small event into our schedule and the budget is right, we will

Mange-Tout

Happily retired chef

6.0y

Private chef here.

Private chefs work for one family and generally are not available for a single party. Personal chefs work for many families, so they might be an option. Catering companies probably are not a good option for you because the numbers and money is too small for them.

I’ve done small catering parties on the side, but it was all word of mouth. What I would suggest is to put out an ad on various sites on the web describing what you need. You’ve got enough time, I think you’ll find someone.

cmall0079

6.0y

Thanks! I got so many leads from this subreddit and some catering companies I reached out to, so I'm definitely hopeful we'll be able to find something for the day!

LunaLevain

6.0y

Damn my brother is out there and has done events like this, but he will be busy opening his first restaurant

cmall0079

6.0y

Will it be open in August? Maybe we can plan to go there if hiring for dinner doesn’t pan out!

LunaLevain

6.0y

Yeah it will be open, downtown Tacoma!

pricehan

6.0y

Honestly, if you call one of the catering companies they can probably hook you up. Did you talk to a human or just read the websites?

Even if they don't want to as a corporation, they can probably recommend someone private.

cmall0079

6.0y

I ended up emailing a few caterers and corresponding that way right around when I first posted this, and it definitely was the best route to go! I got some great leads from them and this subreddit!

pricehan

6.0y

:-)

gnome_means_yes

6.0y

Try Nextdoor its like craigslist but for your immediate neighborhood. I've seen personal chefs use it to advertise their services in my area. At the least other non-chefs could recommend someone.

groxg

6.0y

Am personal chef.

I work for a caterer. We have a few families that we personal chef for, every week.

Call caterers and tell them what you want. It is a flexible business that is used to doing something different and new every day.

HandsomeBWonderfull

6.0y

You could also try r/kitchenconfidential and r/Seattle as well. I would be stoked to do it but I'm down in Portland.

Pavswede

6.0y

Contact local culinary school, tell them what you need. Mine has a job board as well as a Facebook group where jobs get posted all the time. In fact, if you message me, I can post an ad on there - we have alumni in Seattle.

Hufflepuft

Le Chef

6.0y

Best bet is to find a restaurant that also does catering, they are pretty well adapted for small events. Be aware that it’s not cheap, our restaurant does this with an $800 minimum, so if someone wanted me to go to their house and make eggs Benedict for two one morning I’d do it, but it would still be $800. (Obviously extreme example)

[deleted]

6.0y

I can't speak for all restaurants, but my restaurant will do stuff like this. They won't send someone out to cook for you, but if you call ahead they will have an order (either off their menu or just stuff that you request, if it's doable) ready for you to pick up and bring to your location (we don't deliver unless it's a much bigger order but, again, there are probably places who will and I can only speak for the restaurants that I have worked at). If you don't want to go through a restaurant/catering, there are always people willing to make a couple extra bucks if you stop in to a restaurant you like and ask the chef/sous/line cooks. I'm a sous and I know both I and my chef would consider taking side gigs, idk what the pay is like in Seattle but neither of us make so much money that we would turn something like that down automatically.

You could also post on CL or another job search site that you would like to hire someone for a one time gig, x number of hours, cooking x dishes for x people and x payment per hour/total. Not sure how the price would work out in that case, it'd probably have to be discussed with whoever responds and you're sort of taking a gamble that anyone will.

sauteslut

-2

vegan chef

6.0y

Do you need the chef to strip too? If so I know just the right woman for you

Thatdewd57

-4

6.0y

If I were closer, I'd definitely be interested. But I'm in Georgia.

MichiganBlogger

4mo

I know a great company that travels anywhere. They have massage therapist too! www.DiamondSweetness.com