Looking to hire a personal chef? Well, having one for an event, or just a casual dinner is becoming popular more than ever. Due to the increase in both demand and supply, the fees of hiring such a chef is affordable, which is ,of course, one additional reason why this service is so trendy.
Not sure if you need a personal chef? Read all needed details in our detailed guide about what a personal chef has to offer.
When it comes to events, food is often the center point of the entire night. Planning the event is hard enough so the last thing you want to have to focus on is cooking, right?…and unless you are a pro yourself, you’ll rarely manage to compete with a personal chef’s specialties. Yup, that’s one more reason that hiring personal chefs for special occasions events has become practically mainstream.
Okay, but to kick back and relax while a personal chef takes care of all cooking responsibilities there are some things to consider.
1. Cost of personal chef’s services
Okay, so since this is a service that you will pay, you need to know how much the services cost you. And this is one of the criteria that will impact your decision. Make sure you get a few proposals and narrow down your choice to ones that fit your budget.
Keep in mind that some personal chefs will additionally charge for the ingredients, and some have an all-inclusive price.
Like in any other industry, it is common that chefs have some suppliers they work with, so they ensure that the quality of the ingredients meets their needs…and they usually get some discounts, as well. That’s another thing to ask your personal chef.
2. Determine what the chef’s specialty is
You’ll rarely find a personal chef that specializes in several cuisines, that knows all the secret sauce ingredients and is superb at making desserts. However, it can often be the case that a personal chef has a variety of recipes in his portfolio, but is a master at a specific cuisine.
For example, Loza promotes modern Balkan cuisine, which is a fusion of traditional Balkan specialities and modern culinary practices. Not sure what to expect? Here are some samples of Loza menus, just to get an idea:
If you are keen on serving, for example, just Italian food at your event, then try to find specialized chefs. However, if you want to wow your guests with specialities that will be suitable for vegetarians, meat-eaters, seafood lovers…then we strongly advise you to check chefs that have a bit wider portfolio.
3. Define a sample menu
Well, you don’t need to know all the details, but you should have a glimpse at the menu that you can expect. Don’t think that a chef provides you with the exact menu that would be served at your event before you confirm his service – but at least a sneak peek is fine!
This way you can define a brief for your event, a potential theme, number of guests that you’re expecting, some special requirements, ideas, etc.
Okay, so this shouldn’t be the most important criteria when choosing a personal chef, but when you are already paying for the service you want the food to look good, right? Check some photos (on social media for example), of the food that the personal chef was serving previously to see if this is something that would be attractive to your guests.
Of course, your main focus should be that the food tastes good…but first impressions matter as well :).
4. Check (online) reviews
We can discuss the good and bad sides of social media but one thing is certain – people leave reviews that can be very useful. It’s safe to say that we live in a world of online testimonials, so leverage it.
Try to find reviews that other people left on platforms such as Yelp, but also social media, Reddit, etc. It all depends where the personal chef is present online.
Good or bad, the reviews will provide you with an idea as to what you can expect with that specific chef that you are investigating.
- How tasty is his food?
- How does he serve the meals?
- Is he friendly enough?
- What about the organization?
- Does he clean up after the event?
…all this, and much more you can find online. Don’t be afraid to ask if you can’t find a certain info.
Check our recent article to find out why hiring a personal chef is a new trend in fine dining.
5. Sample the chef’s food
Okay, so this is a no brainer – if you try the chef’s food, you’ll know exactly what you can expect!
Usually, a professional personal chef has plenty of samples to offer you before you make the official decision to hire him, or he organizes a private dining event where you can get familiar with all needed details.
6. Define your role
This is something that most chefs are going to have a different approach to. Some personal chefs like to take care of all tasks on their own, but some prefer to leave some tasks to the host. This is especially important when it comes to the menu itself.
Check if you are going to be the one who will create the menu, or it is entirely up to the chef.
What about the ingredients? Who will do the shopping?
Cleaning after the event is another important task you should define.
Wrap up
Once again, having a personal chef to take care of the food helps you to enjoy your special event, to socialize and organize other details.
We hope that this article helps you to narrow down your choice of the personal chef(s) you want to hire. Just remember – if you’ve gone through the trouble of hosting an event, you owe it to yourself to hire a personal chef to help you out!
