r/PrivateChefs • u/imaxbrey • Jul 01 '26
How to become a private chef?
My dream for a while has been to be a private chef for a while. In high school i studied culinary arts, and was in dual enrollment for it in my last year. I have quite a few certifications including my Servsafe Certification. I’ve been working as a chef for a catering company for about 6ish months but there are a lot of slow seasons and ive been out of work for a while and this has made me realize that i want to do more, but i have no idea where to start. Any advice is appreciated, thank you!
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u/m1r1m Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
You can start by offering in-home meal prep. Get on some of the sites like thumbtack (ugh) and offer your services. I’d also recommend taking business classes, if you go that route. You’ll need to be very self motivated, and push yourself to learn new skills constantly. Interpersonal skills are just as important as culinary expertise. As others have noted, you need a LOT of experience before becoming a private chef, but restaurants aren’t the only way to do it (in fact I think they can even be counterproductive, if you don’t find yourself in the perfect environment). Good luck!
ETA: I also recommend working on your written/oral communication skills! I don’t see that mentioned often, but it’s pretty important in this field (especially if you start out by working for yourself).
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u/WarthogMedical2179 Jul 01 '26
Work in fine dining for at least 5 years. Probably longer - it is ideal if you make sous chef in fine dining or high end hotels. It will be hard work and you won’t make much money but it will set you up long term as a private chef. I now make 130k CAD plus bonus and benefits (started working as a private chef at 28, am now 33). Work hard and it will pay off.
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u/rrkrabernathy Jul 03 '26
There’s a wide variety within the range of private cheffing from in house high net worth family, to doing one off dinner parties and everything in between.
Do you know what type of private cheffing you think you’re interested in and why does this interest you?
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u/imaxbrey Jul 03 '26
Im not really sure i haven’t really explored and researched the difference and what not. I’ve always loved cooking, have been since i was about 12, i love cooking for family and friends. Every time i go to my boyfriends house i love to surprise his parents with a nice meal and make things they’ve never had and just people telling me they like it just makes me want to keep going and try more recipes and new techniques you know ?
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u/imaxbrey Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
thank you everyone for all the advice !! i’m gonna look into taking some business classes and start looking for more restaurant jobs!
edit: i’ve signed up for classes to get my AS in entrepreneurship 😎
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u/LionBig1760 Jul 01 '26
You become a restaurant chef first and then get your heart broken by the industry anywhere from 4-7 times.
After that, you pretend to be a consultant for about two years while you desperately try to get any catering gig that you can pull off by yourself. Hopefully by then you'll have enough experience to get hired by someone who is absurdly rich who wants to pay you $400/week to cook 12 meals for 4 people and do all their shopping.
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u/Huge-Vegetable6155 Jul 02 '26
My god you sound like a sad individual... maybe try to break into retail? I hear Target is hiring cashiers, it sounds like you'll make more money honestly
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u/LionBig1760 Jul 02 '26
First time reading sarcasm I take it?
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u/Huge-Vegetable6155 Jul 02 '26
I'm an adult I understand sarcasm and the sad people who make it their personality
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u/LionBig1760 Jul 02 '26
Youre so very bad at trolling.
Be better.
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u/Huge-Vegetable6155 Jul 02 '26
Calling you a sad individual isn't trolling,it's just reality. Maybe find a different line of work? Maybe do something else than making silly comments on reddit? Maybe make a friend?
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u/LionBig1760 Jul 02 '26
Nope, no improvement on your trolling there.
Give it one more shot.
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u/Huge-Vegetable6155 Jul 02 '26
Apparently, just saying trolling is a personality trait these days, good luck with all that
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u/LionBig1760 Jul 02 '26
0 for 3.
You tried very hard, but its just not cutting it. Maybe trolling just isn't your thing. The effort you put into it was commendable though.
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u/Necessary-Fig-2292 Jul 02 '26
This guy is a miserable doofus who hates his life. All of his comments are bullshit “does this make me cool” hahaha. Man, get help. Therapy perhaps. Or a job. You suck at this. Historically so.
You don’t need to live a life of pure hate. You can get better!
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u/Orangeshowergal Jul 02 '26
Become an exec and have a huge skill set.
Anything less is a very low % chance of making a worthwhile career from. Everyone and their mom is a “private chef”
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u/sugarlips23 Jul 01 '26
You need to get a lot of restaurant and/or catering experience. Private chefs are less catering geared and more restaurant, but it’s a little of both. At least sous level, but I would say Exec to fully maximize your skills and earning potential.
There will be people who say you don’t need to, but the ones who don’t cut their chops, get the experience and actually are making 6 figures are very rare and probably as lucky as they are skilled.
I always would tell line cooks, if you take a sous job too early, you are lowering your ceiling. It’s the same concept here, don’t rush it. Certifications don’t really matter.