What is a Private Chef? And A Definition Of The Job Description

A Description of the Private Chef Job Role

A private or personal chef can be employed by a family or individuals to create meals for the persons.

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Private Chefs For Families
The Job Role
Working Conditions
Key Skills
A Salary

A private or personal chef can be employed by a family or individuals to create meals for the persons.

The private or personal chef will be creating the menus sourcing all of the ingredients and preparing the meals. Also, this will be done to how the clients have requested.

This position is popular with many families in London, however, working in London is a skill in itself.

Can Travel All Around The World

Different families and individuals with have various dietary needs. The private chef may be required to travel nationally or around the world with the family or individual working on a full – time basis.

A private chef will usually be working with the individual client or family and producing meals to be eaten straight away.

A personal chef will mainly be preparing the foods away from the client’s home. And then delivering the meals that have been ordered.

The private chef is becoming more popular with families.

Furthermore How To Become A Personal Or Private Chef. Many chefs gain valuable experience in specific areas of cooking and cuisines. Some private chefs will have expertise in areas such as Mediterranean cooking, Indian cooking or Japanese.

A chef will have a specific skill set. These skills are matched to an employer’s needs. Most private chefs will be working for a specific person or family.

Many private chefs travel with their employers on business or on holiday. These places may include ski chalets, boats, yachts and private jets.

The Private Chef Job Role

May be working with the client on a daily basis. Maybe in a team of chefs or as an individual chef running the kitchen. Also, the private chef will need to understand food safety and hygiene.

Tasks include: Menu planning, cooking two to three meals a day as required.

When choosing How To Become A Personal Or Private Chef there are other tasks that may include, helping with catering events the family will put on such as canapé receptions, birthday parties or family barbeques.

The larger households may have a team of staff such as a kitchen team and housekeeping staff. The kitchen team can consist of more than one chef so the chef in charge can give certain tasks to the rest of the kitchen team and develop the menus and stick to set budgets.

A private chef can work closely with the client to give high standards of menus that are specific to the clients needs.

Working Conditions

Mainly be working 5 – 6 days a week. The hours will be based on the needs of a client if a client needs 2 or 3 meals a day and the kitchen team size. A typical day will see a private chef working 8 – 12 hours per day, although this will depend on the client’s needs and if they are in residence.

Private chefs may have the option to take time off when the clients are away to compensate for extra hours worked during the busier periods.

Private chefs create menus and meals for clients in private homes. The main tasks will include creating menus, buying foods and preparing meals to the needs of the employer.

Key Skills To Become A Private Or Personal Chef

Many personal and private chefs will have certain key skills including cooking skills, time keeping skills and being able to work long hours.

The chefs will need to be able to run all areas of the job including having some business skills; this will help with keeping budgets on target. The private chef will be creating the menus to suit the clients’ requests and needs.

The personal or private chef will need to be comfortable with traveling with the clients when needed.

Private Chef Tips

Tip 1 Gain A Professional Chef Qualification.

Although it is not needed to gain a qualification to become a private chef it is advised to do so. A qualification can be achieved on a full-time college course, on a part-time or as an apprenticeship.

When deciding How To Become A Personal Or Private Chef remember that the training courses will provide units on all areas of cooking and health and safety needed to become a chef, with higher courses and diplomas that can be studied if you want to study cooking at a higher level.

Full-time courses such as the NVQ level 2 in professional cookery will combine classroom lessons and practical training.

Many full-time chef courses will include work experience in a quality kitchen.

To get ahead and gain extra training it is possible to study business courses to focus on the business aspects of running a kitchen.

Tip 2 Gain Valuable Work Experience.

Usually, private chefs will have a background and a number of years of experience working in quality kitchens. The higher level of work experience you gain will mean the higher-level salary you can achieve.

A chef who has many years of experience working in fine dining places can expect a higher salary working for the highest paying employers.

When deciding on a career as a Private Chef you should consider that all chefs will have worked their way up from an entry-level position by starting at the bottom as a commis chef and many chefs gain work experience by completing an apprenticeship learning from expert chefs.

Mostly working full-time for one employer; this may require weekends and holidays.