What to Expect When You Become a Personal Chef

When you decide to become a personal chef, things should start to go your way very quickly, and you may soon find that being a personal chef is quite the lucrative position. A personal chef goes into the homes of clients and creates magnificent meals that tend to be highly rewarded. On average, the profession makes more money than any other chef-related job. However, becoming a personal chef brings its own challenges.

Challenges

The problems that can arise during one’s stint as a personal chef can vary from one job to the next. For instance, you may be hired to cook in a poorly equipped kitchen. Your clients may be too demanding and difficult to work for. Children may be allowed to run in, out and through the kitchen while you are attempting to work. Still, the opportunities to explore the joys of creatively cooking your own way are worth the inconvenience of the occasional setback.

The best way to market oneself as a personal chef is to find a specific niche.

Becoming a Personal Chef

Besides having experience in other professional kitchen jobs, becoming a personal chef is different from other types of jobs, because it usually does not entail any type of formal job application, and acceptance rates depend on many different factors. Food handlers licensing varies from state to state as do taxes, and business laws. All of these things should be taken into consideration ahead of time.

The best way to market oneself as a personal chef is to find a specific niche. For instance, one chef might advertise that she cooks with local ingredients only. Another might make a mark on the vegetarian scene. Each choice has specific constraints and advantages that the chef should work out well in advance of starting a business.

People Skills

Chefs who work in restaurants have the advantage, or disadvantage, depending on their particular perspectives, of being separated from their customers. With few exceptions, chefs work in the kitchen and the customers eat in the dining area. Being a personal chef is a different scene altogether.

Oftentimes, personal chefs develop up close and personal relationships with their clients because at times, their clients want to work with them to help cook, or they want the chef to teach them a few tricks. In other instances, people walk through the kitchen and stop to chat, creating perfect opportunities to make new acquaintances and to work with the clients to prepare exactly what they want.

Personal chefs do not necessarily have the same job security as restaurant chefs, but it is an occupation that can be creatively rewarding, and monetarily rewarding as well.

Feedback

Personal chefs are more vulnerable to feedback than restaurant chefs because they are in closer proximity to their clients. In these more intimate types of positions, clients tend to be much more open to expressing exactly how they feel about the job the chef is doing.

Clients are able to ask for exactly what they want and how they want it cooked, and can readily give kudos or criticism, depending on how well they enjoyed the meal. Their comments should be taken in stride and noted for future reference.

Taking Care of Business

Chefs working in restaurants receive regular paychecks that reflect their hours worked or salary. They are able to spend that money at their own discretion. Personal chefs have a whole different scenario.

When one is a personal chef, he or she bears personal responsibility for making the cash flow. It is up to the chef to find clients who will pay a negotiated fee. Then come the business expenses, such as extra utensils, transportation, food containers and other things. Taxes are also different for a personal chef than for a restaurant chef. All income will be taxed as a business.

Personal chefs do not necessarily have the same job security as restaurant chefs, but it is an occupation that can be creatively rewarding, and monetarily rewarding as well.

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