Private Chefs, Personal Chefs, and Off-Site Caterers

Recently, we’ve been getting a lot of questions about private chefs, personal chefs, and caterers, What’s the difference? What do each of them do? And which one is perfect for you?

First, you should know that these terms get used inconstantly and sometimes interchangeably. Here in Utah, for example, the terms “personal chef” and “private chef” are often used to mean the reverse of how they are most commonly used. In this article, we will use the more common meaning of the terms.

Second, there’s a lot of overlap between what these three kinds of chef services can provide. For example, all three of them can serve food directly from an on-site kitchen so that it hits the client’s plate as fresh as possible. All three generally participate in menu planning and grocery shopping in addition to food preparation. And all three can provide other services as well, from table-setting to clean-up, depending on what the client wants. But there are some key differences between private chefs, personal chefs, and caterers.

If you’re thinking about hiring an expert to take over the meal-making responsibilities, either long term or on a one-off basis, here’s what you need to know.

Private Chefs

The main thing that differentiates private chefs is that they typically work for a single client, household, or family at a time, as opposed to personal chefs and caterers who generally have several clients at once. Private chefs…

• are typically highly skilled and experienced and are able to provide an intimate, sophisticated dining experience.
• can sometimes be hired to cook for a single private event but often work full time for just one client.
• are sometimes part of their employer’s household staff which may include butlers, maids, etc.
• often live at the client’s home and may travel with the client.
• are usually responsible for making all or most of the client’s food.
• get to know their client well due to their ongoing relationship, which helps the chef create highly personalized menus to accommodate the client’s needs and preferences.
• typically are expected to be on-call and may be asked to cook for their client’s parties or other special occasions.
• generally earn a fixed salary. (The average in the U.S. is around $68,000, but it varies widely and can be $350,000 or more.) Some private chefs charge per day ($500-$1200) or have an hourly rate ($50-100), especially for special events or customized services.

 

Photo credit Pepper Nix

 

Personal Chefs

Personal chefs…

• typically work for multiple clients rather than being dedicated to just one.
• work out of their clients’ kitchens or their own commercial kitchen.
• may cook and serve a client’s personalized meal fresh, or they may prepare meals in advance and leave them with instructions for reheating later.
• may agree to cook for a dinner party or small-scale event on occasion.
• generally charge either on an hourly basis, per event, or per-serving.

When the pandemic hit in 2020 and large catered events all but disappeared, Culinary Crafts began offering a form of personal chef services. Instead of bringing a full-service team to an event as we typically would, we send a single chef or two to cook for small parties in clients’ homes. Our chefs love these intimate events and the opportunity to share their passion for food and hospitality face-to-face.

Off-site Caterers

The term “off-site caterer” (a.k.a. “off-premises caterer”) generally refers to a caterer who cooks food in their commercial kitchen, then transports it to the event to be reheated. This is the method used by most catering companies because it is a relatively easy and cost-effective way to cater. The downside, of course, is that when food is boxed up and transferred to the event site, it will never be as fresh as if it had been prepared on-site.

Culinary Crafts is a hybrid of on-site and off-site catering. In order to deliver the freshest possible food, we do some of the preparation in our own kitchen prior to an event, but then we bring our own equipment and set up an on-site field kitchen where we finish the cooking process at the event. This allows us to deliver food straight-to-plate while still being able to serve large numbers of guests in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Off-site caterers…

• are almost always hired to make food for a specific event rather than having a standing agreement to cook all the meals for a particular client.
• do some portion of the food preparation in their own kitchen and then move that food to the event. (As we said, some caterers do all their food this way.)
• typically bring their own staff, including chefs, servers, and clean-up crew to handle the food preparation and service.
• can handle events in unusual or remote venues where there is no kitchen available, or where cooking is difficult.
• are typically equipped to cook for much larger groups than personal or private chefs can handle.
• should be able to handle all aspects of your event, from planning and set-up to execution and final clean-up.

 

Which Kind of Chef Do You Need?

The short answer is that if you want fresh meals prepared for you daily, you should hire a private chef. If you want weekly meals made for you in advance, choose a personal chef. And if you want a chef (or a full service team) to handle a specific event, hire a caterer. But that answer oversimplifies the factors that go into choosing a chef that’s right for your needs. So, let’s take a closer look at what kind of chef you’re looking for.

Ask yourself, to what degree are the following statements true for you?

I don’t want to stress about making meals.

One of the most common reasons people hire a chef is because they’re tired of the daily pressures that come with planning, shopping, cooking, serving, and cleaning up after meals. If that’s an important factor for you, consider the pros and cons of private and personal chefs:

1. With a private chef, you can turn all the responsibilities for feeding your family over to someone else. You can have as much or as little input as you want into the preparation of each meal. If you have a large family to feed, this option may be even more tempting since it is much more cost-efficient for a private chef to cook for, say, eight than for two.
2. A personal chef can also ease your food-prep burden by delivering personalized meals two or three times a week, semi-monthly, or on whatever schedule you want. You may still have to thaw and reheat those meals, but that’s a lot less work for you than doing it all on your own!

I want to serve fantastic food when I have guests over.

While any private or personal chef ought to be able to handle an occasional social event, this is the kind of situation a high-end, full-service caterer like Culinary Crafts is made for. More than just delivering fantastic, fresh food, we can also walk you through every stage of planning and execution. Plus, we can bring an event team that will leave your guests raving about the service as well as the amazing food.

I need a chef’s help due to personal circumstances.

Whether it’s someone recovering from surgery or illness, an elderly individual, or new parents trying to juggle impossible demands on their time and energy, there are lots of circumstances when a chef can be a lifesaver. A private chef may have the added benefit of being a live-in companion who can check on your welfare and run errands if necessary. But if it’s only food preparation that you need help with, a personal chef may be your answer.

I want to do a better job of eating healthy.

Either a private or personal chef should be able to sit down with you and talk about your dietary goals, then help you come up with a menu plan that’s in line with them. They should also be able to adapt to specialized diets like vegan or keto, or to fitness goals like marathon training or maybe just dropping a few pounds.

My family has special dietary needs.

Again, either a private or personal chef should be able to accommodate any food allergies, sensitivities, diets, or medical conditions. You just need to communicate your needs clearly. The same goes for a caterer if you’re hosting a special event. We’re happy to accommodate any of your guests’ dietary needs, but it helps to know beforehand what those are.

 

Photo credit Angela Howard

 

I want to improve my own culinary knowledge and skills.

Some private and personal chefs are willing to share their expertise, give cooking demonstrations, or even provide some one-on-one mentoring in the kitchen. If that’s something you want from your chef, be sure to include that in your contract.

At Culinary Crafts, we love being able to share our knowledge and passion for food! Whether you hire one of our private chefs or ask us to include an interactive chef’s station at your event, our chef’s will be happy to teach, answer questions, and share their love for what they do.

Regardless of what type of service you’re looking for—a private chef, a personal chef, or an off-site caterer—remember that you have wide latitude in the services you can request and the particular arrangement you can agree to. Just be clear about what you want.

Give us a call at 801-225-6575 to find out more about how our private chefs or catering team can help you.

Eat well!