Booking a private chef feels exciting right up until you realise you’re not entirely sure what you’re paying for. The menu looks impressive, the Instagram photos are polished, and the inquiry form takes thirty seconds to fill in. But the real work happens in that conversation before you commit.
Getting the answers you need isn’t about being difficult. It’s about protecting your event, your guests, and your money. Here are six questions that separate a smooth, memorable evening from one you’d rather forget.
What Events or Settings Have You Cooked For?
Experience in commercial kitchens doesn’t automatically carry over to a private home. A private chef London works in your space, with your equipment, often under time pressure and without a brigade to fall back on. So the first thing worth establishing is whether this chef has actually done what you’re asking them to do. Ask directly: have they catered a dinner party of your size, a holiday let, a corporate gathering – whatever setting you’re planning? A chef who’s cooked for twelve people in a converted barn in Cheshire knows how to handle a temperamental oven and cramped counter space; one who hasn’t faced those conditions doesn’t. batch-cook, the question shifts to whether they’ve run that kind of recurring prep service before. References from clients with similar setups are absolutely worth asking for.
Can You Accommodate Dietary Requirements and Allergies?
This goes well beyond “do you do vegetarian.” Food allergies are a legal matter under Natasha’s Law, which took effect in October 2021, and a chef working in your home carries real responsibility for what ends up on someone’s plate. Ask how they handle cross-contamination when one guest is coeliac and another is eating gluten. Ask what their process is if an allergy surfaces on the day that wasn’t flagged at booking. A confident, experienced chef will have a clear protocol for documenting requirements in advance, not just a breezy assurance that they’ll “sort it out.” If your group includes children, elderly guests, or anyone with complex medical dietary needs, push for even more detail. Honestly, how a chef answers this question tells you a lot about how professionally they operate across the board.
What Does the Price Actually Include?
Quoted prices for private chefs vary wildly, and the gap between a £35 per head and a £90 per head quote often comes down to what’s bundled in. Some chefs fold ingredient costs into their fee; others charge them separately, sometimes with a small markup. Some include travel, setup, service, and clearing away; others treat those as separate line items. Get a written breakdown before you agree to anything, and find out whether gratuity is expected on top, and whether there’s a minimum guest count below which pricing shifts. The trick is making sure you’re comparing the same scope of service when you’re weighing up two chefs. A cheaper headline rate that excludes ingredients, travel, and a kitchen assistant can end up costing considerably more than a higher flat fee that covers everything. Don’t assume; ask, and get it confirmed in writing.
How Much Notice Do You Need, and What’s Your Cancellation Policy?
In London, good private chefs book up fast – particularly around bank holidays, Christmas, and summer weekends. This applies whether you’re planning a one-off celebration or arranging regular meals for busy UK lifestyles. Some require as little as 48 hours for a weeknight booking; others ask for two to three weeks for larger events. Knowing what lead time a chef expects means you won’t be scrambling at the last minute. But the cancellation policy matters just as much. Life changes – a birthday dinner planned for ten people sometimes drops to six, or falls through entirely. Ask what happens to your deposit if you cancel within 72 hours, or if guest numbers fall below the agreed minimum. A professional operation will have this spelled out in a booking agreement, not just mentioned verbally. Read it before you sign. Some chefs are open to rescheduling even when they won’t issue a refund; knowing that option exists can spare you a genuinely awkward conversation later.
Will You Handle the Shopping, or Do I Need To?
For many people, the whole appeal of hiring a private chef is not having to think about any of it – the planning, the sourcing, the prep. But that expectation isn’t always baked into the service by default. Some chefs arrive with every ingredient sourced and ready; others work from a shopping list you provide, or charge extra for procurement. If the chef does the shopping, ask whether they’re buying from local markets, a premium grocer, or a cash-and-carry – and how those ingredient costs get passed on to you. This affects both the final bill and the quality of what ends up on the table. And ask about kitchen equipment too: will they bring specialist tools, or do they expect a certain setup at your home? A chef who asks about your kitchen in advance is already thinking practically about how to deliver a good result in your specific space.
Are You Insured and Food Hygiene Certified?
This is the question people feel most awkward raising, and the one they most regret skipping. Any chef cooking professionally in someone else’s home should hold public liability insurance and a current food hygiene certificate – at minimum Level 2, though many experienced chefs hold Level 3. Public liability insurance protects both of you if something goes wrong: a guest falls ill, a kitchen accident causes damage, or a spill ruins an expensive rug. Don’t accept a vague “yes, of course” – ask to see the documents, or at least confirm the policy details and expiry date. A reputable chef will produce these without hesitation; an evasive response, or certificates that turn out to be expired, is far more useful to know before money changes hands than after.
Conclusion
Booking a private chef in London should be a genuinely good experience, and it almost always is when both sides are clear on expectations from the start. Ask about experience, dietary protocols, pricing structure, notice and cancellation terms, shopping arrangements, and insurance, and get the key points confirmed in writing. The chefs who field these questions well are almost always the same ones who’ll handle your event well.
