Being a private chef is a new and upcoming career option for restaurant chefs. While it takes true grit and determination to make it as a top restaurant chef, the life as a private chef is even more exciting. If you are passionate about cooking, thrive on creativity, flexible working days and personal events, perhaps being a private chef might be for you!

As a private chef, there will be unanticipated events that will push you beyond your cooking skills but these are the quirks that make the private chef profession a very fulfilling one.

The best chef is always the most prepared chef. The key is to familiarize with the good, the bad and the ugly sides of this highly rewarding career. Here, we are going to provide you with tips that we hope will make your experience as a private chef a great one. 
 

The Good

You get to be creative

Restaurant chefs generally do not have control over the menu and are unable to create new dishes. You may end up with the same shift making the same food and often for returning patrons. Restaurant patrons are creatures of habit and they expect the food to be exactly the same as it was the last time they ordered it.

Being a private chef gives you the flexibility to create your own menus in your own style and presentation. You are reminded to why you decided to be a chef in the first place: to try new ideas, perfect your techniques and present unique dishes. In short, you get paid to create masterpieces and have fun!

If you are highly creative and drawn to the endless possibilities of what you can create, then being a private chef might be a great career shift!

You get to choose where you go and when

One of the best parts of being a private chef is the freedom and flexibility. Potential clients would have to enquire your availability prior to booking. If you are booked for another party or perhaps you have something on that particular night, you can simply decline the request. 

You are your own boss and you get to decide how much you want to work in a month. You cook what you enjoy the most and you get to choose which party to ‘intertain’!

Your costs are low and your revenues can be high

Finances are a major concern for chefs who opt for this career option. In fact, the cost is surprisingly low and it can reap high revenue depending on how much you love to intertain. Naturally, you will be working with your own set of knives and other tools – which will be purchased at your own cost, of course - but a private chef would carry out their work at the client’s kitchen. Expenses are kept low because there is no rent and overhead costs of utilities and equipment.

If you are a specialized chef, you can market yourself as such and charge a premium for your services. What you earn per hour for your time and your skills will generally be more than your usual wage at a restaurant, what’s not to love?

The Bad

Home kitchens are less equipped than commercial kitchens

Any chef with experience in a commercial kitchen will be accustomed to a variety of tools and equipment at their disposal. This is often not the case for private home kitchens. This situation would require the private chefs to have adaptability, preparedness and most of all, versatility. If a kitchen is not equipped with something you need, you will have to find a way to make what was intended or offer an alternative dish.

We prepare our Intertain chefs for such scenarios. One of such tricky situations we encountered was when a host did not have a frying pan for our chef - Chef Pete Hilcke. Pete needed it to fry a flat fish and as a result, he used a wok instead and had the same intended result!  

Our “Kitchen Requirements” section on each menu page anticipates such issues and our private chefs are only required to use basic equipment.

It's all you

Being a private chef requires confidence in yourself and your skills, because there is nobody there to support you or to smooth things over. Most private chefs relish this challenge and enjoy the independence it affords them. Being in control is not for everyone, but is great for those who seek it out. 

The art of preparing great food requires a clean and prepared workspace.  This includes having a clear countertop, an empty sink with hot and cold water, plenty of space in the refrigerator and easy access to pots and pans and general utensils. This can greatly impede the preparation process if the host has not properly set up the kitchen. It is not unlikely that you may be required to do some pre-cleaning and re-arranging before the real work begins. However, with all the dinners we have carried out thusfar at Intertain, we haven't had such issues of messy kitchen prior to a dinner.

Bearing in mind that you will be working from a private home kitchen, there is a possibility of distractions such as children or pets entering and exiting the kitchen making the workspace less than ideal for you.

Essentially, you will have to make the best of what you have to work with. No two clients are the same and this makes the job exciting.

Being your own boss means you are a business owner

There is more to being a private chef apart from preparing meals. You should see yourself as a business owner. Not only do you represent yourself, your branding is the quality of service and the food you prepare. Such a role requires business acumen such as handling and tracking your finances. This includes managing your costs from ingredient preparation to gas mileage.

You will need to know how much to charge for an event based on the menus chosen and the number of people in attendance. You will need to know how to create an invoice, understand taxes, bookkeeping, licensing and much more! No matter how you slice it, in order to do what you do best, you still need to see yourself as a business owner.

However, all that can be managed with the help of Intertain platform as the business side of it are all well handled. 
 

The Ugly

Being a private chef is still a job

You trade more freedom for more responsibility - and you still have to deliver a great quality meal. For private chefs this trade isn't ugly, and many are up for the challenge. 

Distractions at private home kitchens will be unavoidable. Private chefs will need to anticipate and learn how to prepare an impeccable meal while not ignoring the host and guests. Our Intertain chefs usually involve the audience to see the food preparation, almost like a cooking class or  cooking show. It is not uncommon for diners to get in your way of your work as they will be curious and invite you for a conversation or would want to learn how to cook like you as foodies themselves.

Honestly, there is really no telling what could happen. No matter what, our Intertain chefs are prepared to chalk it up to experience, learn how to have fun and still get the job done. 

Remember that what happens at the party, stays at the party. Shhh… 
 

The Goal

Ultimately, being a private chef is all about doing what you love, experiencing variety and being your own boss. No career or job is ever perfect but if you can secure a career that brings you to life and generate an income, you are more accomplished than many out there. 

Take the good, the bad and everything in between. If you can master that balance, you will be set up for intertain greatness. 

 

Enquire to Become A Chef.