A Private or Family Chef

Exceptional dining, tailored to your home. Our Private Chefs bring professional culinary expertise, creativity, and impeccable standards to your household — preparing delicious, personalised meals every day, from simple family favourites to elegant formal entertaining. Whether you seek daily home-cooked meals, special dietary expertise, or fine dining for guests, we match chefs whose style, cuisine, and temperament perfectly suit your family.

At Willow Private Staffing, we place trained, experienced chefs who understand that cooking in a private home is different from a restaurant — it requires adaptability, discretion, warmth, and a genuine desire to nourish your family.

Often when you hire a private chef, they will work in more than one location and will travel with the client on business and holidays. Responsible for food shopping, menu planning and preparing and cooking meals, a good private chef will need to be flexible and creative.

✦ Daily meal preparation & menu planning — breakfast, lunch, dinner, and fresh home-cooked meals tailored to your tastes, routine, and preferences. Menus designed around seasonality, balance, and variety.

✦ Specialist dietary & culinary skills — experienced with children’s nutrition, allergy-aware cooking, healthy balanced eating, and international cuisines. Many bring fine-dining training, specific dietary expertise, or regional specialities.

✦ Entertaining & special occasions — confidently preparing dinner parties, family celebrations, and guest meals. From intimate family dining to larger gatherings, presented beautifully and timed with precision.

✦ Sourcing, shopping & kitchen management — selecting fine ingredients, managing suppliers, organising stocks, and maintaining an immaculate, hygienic kitchen. You enjoy the meals — they handle the organisation.

✦ Travel-ready & adaptable — happy to travel with your family, work across residences, and adapt to different kitchens and schedules. Flexible, reliable, and discreet wherever your household goes.

✦ Fully vetted & qualified professionals — professionally trained, with verifiable experience in private households, hotels, or restaurants. Personally interviewed, reference-checked, DBS-verified, and fully trained in food hygiene and safety.

Private chef’s salaries are dependent on experience. Most will work four, five or six days per week. Generally a private chef will work eight-12 hours per day. They may also work on a rota basis with other chefs. Often chefs will do a split shift or regular hours with additional longer hours by arrangement.

The cost for a live-in private chef can vary from £30,000 to £50,000 per year gross depending on days.

A live-out private chef can earn between £30,000 and £70,000 per year gross. Top private chefs may command higher salaries and temporary and seasonal chefs can be employed at fixed rates.