Private Chef Placement
for Discerning Households
What Is a Private Chef?
Eating well every day, in your own home, prepared by someone who knows exactly how you eat, what you avoid, and what your family looks forward to at the table, changes things. People who hire private chefs often describe the same shift: they feel better, they have more energy, and the pressure of figuring out food simply disappears. A private chef makes that the baseline rather than the exception.
A private chef placed through MHM is a professionally trained career employee, not a catering arrangement or a meal delivery upgrade. They shop for ingredients, build menus around the household’s dietary preferences and health goals, prepare meals fresh daily, and maintain the kitchen to a professional standard. The result is a household where food actively contributes to how the family feels, not just how it eats.
MHM places private chefs with families and principals in Chicago and South Florida, including Palm Beach, Jupiter, Wellington, and Miami, and with select households nationwide.
Private Chef, Personal Chef, or Private Cook: What Is the Difference?
The terms are used interchangeably, but they describe different levels of training and service. A private chef has typically trained in a professional kitchen environment, whether through a culinary program or years of restaurant experience as an executive chef, and brings that level of technique to the private home. A personal chef may work across multiple clients, preparing meals that are packaged and reheated rather than cooked fresh. A private cook is a more informal term for someone who prepares meals without professional training.
The candidates in MHM’s network have professional culinary backgrounds, experience working in private homes, and the discretion and adaptability that come with serving a household’s specific needs. Whether the household is looking for a full-time private chef or someone who comes once a week to prepare meals, MHM works to find the right fit for the arrangement.
The day-to-day reality of the role also extends beyond cooking. A career private chef sources ingredients from specialty purveyors, local farms, and artisan suppliers, seeking out the quality and provenance that chain grocery stores simply don’t carry. Managing kitchen inventory, planning seasonal menus, and preparing the kitchen and dining environment before each meal are all part of the role. For households that entertain, the chef coordinates with the house manager or estate manager to ensure events meet the same standard as the household’s daily life.
Many families come to MHM with a specific wellness focus in mind. Protein-forward and macro-friendly eating. Clean, seed oil-free cooking. Vegetarian or plant-based menus. Anti-inflammatory approaches or medically guided diets. Getting children and picky eaters genuinely excited about food. Recreating cultural recipes or childhood dishes with better ingredients. The private chef becomes the person who holds all of that knowledge and executes it daily, without the family having to think about it.
Private Chef Responsibilities
A private chef job description varies by household and arrangement. Responsibilities typically include:
- Daily meal preparation for the principal and household
- Menu planning around dietary goals, preferences, and seasonality
- Protein-forward, macro-friendly, clean eating, and wellness-focused menus
- Seed oil-free, anti-inflammatory, or medically guided cooking
- Vegetarian, plant-based, and allergy-specific meal preparation
- Cooking for children and picky eaters, with age-appropriate menus
- Recreating cultural recipes, childhood dishes, and family favourites
- Ingredient sourcing from specialty purveyors, local farms, and artisan suppliers
- Kitchen inventory management and restocking
- Meal prep for the week, travel provisions, or secondary properties
- Dinner party and event meal preparation
- Kitchen cleanliness and equipment maintenance
- Coordination with house manager or estate manager for larger events
Many MHM private chefs also pack provisions for yacht trips or private aviation, maintain menus across multiple properties when the family moves seasonally, and adapt the household’s food philosophy as goals evolve. When the right chef is in place, food becomes one less thing the principal ever has to think about.
Private Chef Arrangements
The right arrangement depends on how often the household needs cooking, whether the property is a primary or seasonal residence, and how the chef fits into the broader household structure.
Full-Time Private Chef
For households where daily cooking is a priority and the chef is a core part of the household team. The chef prepares all meals, manages the kitchen entirely, and is available for entertaining and events.
Part-Time Private Chef
For households that need professional cooking on specific days or for dinner only. The chef plans and preps accordingly, leaving the kitchen stocked and ready for the days they are not present.
Live-In Private Chef
For estates or seasonal properties where the household needs continuous on-site presence. Live-in arrangements require specific attention to accommodations, schedule structure, and time-off expectations from the outset.
Common Questions About Hiring a Private Chef
Compensation for every role is discussed on the Discovery Call. If you don’t see what you’re looking for below, that’s the right place to start.