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Founding chefs · US, Canada & UK

Private chef jobs — get booked, pay nothing until you do.

Looking for private chef jobs? BookedChef.com brings private-chef enquiries in across Palm Beach County, Florida, the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario and London, UK, qualifies them properly by phone, and passes them to local chefs. Nothing to join and nothing per enquiry — the customer pays for the whole booking up front, our 18% comes off it automatically, and the rest reaches your bank two business days after you've cooked.

Private chef jobs in Greater Toronto Area · Private chef jobs in London · Private chef jobs in Palm Beach County

Apply as a founding chef →
✓ No joining fee
✓ No charge per enquiry
✓ You set your own prices

Where do you cook?

Choose your country — the application form is on your country's page, with your own areas and currency.
Palm Beach County, Florida→the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario→London, UK→
🌍 We normally detect this automatically — this list is here in case we got it wrong.

What it costs you

Three things, and there isn't a fourth.

1

Nothing to join

No listing fee, no subscription, no charge per enquiry. You will never get an invoice from us.

2

18% when you're booked

Of the quote you set yourself. Founding chefs keep 18% locked for twelve months — the big national platforms take 20%.

3

You never chase money

The customer pays in full before you get their address. No invoicing, no reminders, no awkward conversations at the end of the night.

How it works, from your side

Five steps. You are in control at every one of them.

1. An enquiry comes in, and we qualify it

Someone asks for a chef through the website. Before it reaches you we get the date, the guest count, the budget, the allergies and what their kitchen is like — so you aren't starting from "how much for dinner?".

2. We send you the brief

The job, not the customer. You see what's being asked for; you don't see their name or number yet. Take it or pass — there's no penalty for passing and no minimum to hit.

3. You quote your own price

We never set your prices and we never see a number until you've decided it. Ingredients, travel, service, clean-up — you price the job the way you price any other job.

4. The customer pays for the booking in full

Our 18% is deducted at that moment — no invoice in either direction. The rest is yours, sitting in your own payment account. Only once it has cleared do you get the customer's name, number and address.

5. You cook, and the money lands two business days later

Your balance is paid out to your bank two business days after the event. The short wait is what makes a customer comfortable paying a stranger in full up front, and it protects you too — if there's ever a complaint, it gets settled before anyone's money has moved. Card processing comes off your side, exactly as it would if you took the card yourself.

Where we actually are, honestly

We are new. We're signing the first ten chefs in each market we open — Palm Beach County, Florida, the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario and London, UK. If you're about to ask how many private chef jobs a week you'd get, the honest answer is none yet — we're building the chef side first, because a booking we can't fill is worse than no booking at all.

That's exactly why founding chefs are on 18% locked for a year instead of the going rate. You're taking a chance on something unproven, and it should cost you less. It also costs you nothing to find out.

What we ask of you

Run your own business. You're an independent chef, not our employee. You choose your work, set your prices and are responsible for your own taxes, insurance, licensing and food-safety practice. We don't verify any of it and we don't hold it on your behalf — but customers do ask, so be ready to answer them directly.

Reply within a day. The single thing that decides whether a booking happens is how fast the chef comes back. If you're going to pass, pass quickly — that's genuinely fine.

Quote properly, then honour it. Put everything in the number: ingredients, travel, service, clean-up. Most disputes about private chefs are about what was and wasn't included, not about the price.

Settle any extras before you leave. Everything in the accepted quote is already paid. If you add something on the night — an extra course, more guests, a later finish — that part is yours in full with no commission, and it's the one thing you collect yourself. Take it before you go.

Keep introductions on the platform. If we introduce you to a customer, that booking runs through us. What happens after that is set out in the Chef Partner Agreement — it's one page, plain English, and you'll read it before you sign anything.

Private chef jobs — a chef cooking in a client's home kitchen

Who we're looking for

Chefs who already cook privately or freelance, or who are ready to. Two or more years cooking professionally. Photos of your own food. Comfortable pricing a job rather than guessing at it. Covering at least a couple of our areas, and willing to drive.

Cuisine range matters more than you'd think — six chefs covering Italian, Latin American, Mediterranean, Asian, seafood and plant-based serve a market far better than ten chefs cooking the same menu. If you specialise in something nobody else locally does, say so on the form.

Apply as a founding chef →

Licensing, insurance and what that means for you

Private chef jobs sit differently to restaurant work: you are joining as an independent business, not as an employee, and that means your licensing, insurance and food-safety practice are yours to hold and yours to answer for. Food establishments in Florida are licensed and inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and requirements differ depending on whether you cook in a client's home, from a commercial kitchen, or aboard a vessel. Food premises in Ontario are governed by Ontario Regulation 493/17 (Food Premises) and inspected by local public health units rather than a single provincial inspectorate, so requirements differ by municipality. Food businesses in the UK must register with their local authority, and are inspected by that authority's environmental health team under guidance from the Food Standards Agency. We do not verify any of it, we do not hold copies, and we tell customers plainly on the website that we haven't checked — which is exactly why the customers who reach you ask you directly, and why being able to answer well wins you the job.

What these private chef jobs actually look like

Most private chef jobs advertised around the US, Canada and the UK are one of three things: an agency placement for a full-time household position, a restaurant shift dressed up as private work, or a lead service that charges you for the phone number of someone who may never book. None of those is what this is.

The jobs that come through BookedChef.com are single bookings in private homes — a dinner party for eight, a week of meal prep, a Sunday lunch for twelve. You see the brief, you decide whether you want it, and you price it yourself. Take the jobs that suit your diary and your cooking, and pass on the rest; there is no minimum and no penalty for declining.

Because the customer pays in full before your details are released, the jobs that reach your phone are already real and already paid for. That is the difference worth caring about: not the commission rate, but how many evenings you spend quoting for people who were never going to book — and how many times a year you have to ask a grown adult for money they already owe you.

Founding chef places are limited to ten

No fees, no exclusivity, no obligation — and 18% locked for a year.

Apply now

Private chef jobs FAQs

What does it cost me?

Nothing to join and nothing per enquiry. 18% of the quote you set, only when a customer actually confirms a booking. Founding chefs keep that rate for twelve months.

When and how do I get paid?

Two business days after the event, straight to your bank. The customer pays the full amount up front through the booking page, our 18% is deducted at that moment, and the rest sits in your own payment account until payout. You never invoice us and you never chase a customer.

Why the two-day wait?

It is what lets a customer pay in full, up front, for a stranger to cook in their home — and it protects you as much as them, because if there is ever a complaint it gets resolved before any money has moved. On a $2,000 booking you take home about $1,582 after our commission and card processing, against roughly $1,592 if you had taken the card yourself on the night.

Do I need to set anything up to get paid?

A payment account, but not until you have a booking to accept. It is Stripe, it takes a few minutes, there is nothing to pay, and it is how the money reaches your bank. We never see your bank details.

Do you take a cut of tips or anything I add on the day?

No. The commission is 18% of the quote you gave. Tips, extras and anything the customer adds afterwards are entirely yours.

Do I set my own prices?

Completely. We never set them and we never see a price until you've decided it.

Do I have to accept everything you send me?

No. Decline anything, for any reason, with no penalty and no minimum. Take the jobs that suit you and pass on the rest.

Do I have to stop using other platforms or my own clients?

No. There is no exclusivity of any kind. Your own clients stay entirely your own.

Do you check or “vet” chefs?

We talk to every chef before they join and we collect your details — but we do not verify credentials, licensing or insurance, and we tell customers that plainly on the website. Customers speak to you before anything is booked, so your own experience is what wins the job.

Do I need insurance?

That's your decision as an independent business, and it's your responsibility either way, and the rules differ by country. Food establishments in Florida are licensed and inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and requirements differ depending on whether you cook in a client's home, from a commercial kitchen, or aboard a vessel. Food premises in Ontario are governed by Ontario Regulation 493/17 (Food Premises) and inspected by local public health units rather than a single provincial inspectorate, so requirements differ by municipality. Food businesses in the UK must register with their local authority, and are inspected by that authority's environmental health team under guidance from the Food Standards Agency. Many private-chef customers ask about insurance directly, so it is worth being able to answer.

What if a customer cancels?

Cancellation terms are set out in the Chef Partner Agreement, which you'll see in full before you sign. Nothing is hidden in the small print — there is barely any small print.

Which areas do you cover?

Palm Beach County, Florida: West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Jupiter, Wellington and Delray Beach · the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario: Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill and Muskoka / cottage country · London, UK: Kensington & Chelsea, Notting Hill, Hampstead, Mayfair & Belgravia, Richmond, Wimbledon and The Cotswolds (weekends). If you're just outside any of them, apply anyway and tell us how far you'll travel.

Where do the private chef jobs come from?

From the website. People across the US, Canada and the UK search for a private chef, fill in the request form, and we qualify the enquiry by phone before it reaches you — date, guest count, budget, allergies, kitchen. You get the brief without the customer's contact details until they confirm.

What happens after I apply?

We call you. We'll ask what you need to know before you can quote a job, what you charge, where you'll travel and what you cook — and you can ask us whatever you like. Nothing is signed from the form.