Are private chef jobs becoming more attractive?

Private chef opportunites and business is on the rise, so are private Careers really becoming a more appealing alternative for chefs? Staff Writer Peter Jennings explores the topic.

By Peter Jennings

Private chef work appears to be becoming a more appealing career option for chefs. Despite shifts towards a better work-life balance in the restaurant industry, long hours and high intensity environments may not suit everyone. Is this a factor in the rise of private cooking as a progressive step in chef’s careers? I sat down with several private chefs from across the UK to ask them what motivated their transition to private work, and to see if private dining jobs are becoming more attractive to chefs.

Private dining encompasses many private, professional cooking services. It can be individual chefs hired into the home, pairs or teams of chefs who cook to a client’s wishes, or chefs who travel for an extended period with a client, cooking for them as a personal chef. Private chefs may also operate permanently in a home. This variety gives it a unique place within the hospitality industry. 

Charles Bryant, a private chef in London, said: “A great private chef has to understand hospitality as a whole, be incredibly adaptable and be able to deal directly with clients, families, assistants and more.”

Charles emphasised the variety of roles that a private chef may take on, and this is part of the appeal for guests too, as the chefs are there to adapt to the client’s wishes.  

Abode Staff, a domestic service agency that provides chefs in the home for clients, reported a surge in the number of private dining bookings being made in 2025. Yhangry, another private chef agency, highlighted a 40% expansion in private chef enquiries in 2024 alone. Abode Staff also reported that even an entry-level private chef can earn £50,000 to £70,000, a salary that dwarfs the approximate £32,000 average salary for a chef de partie in the UK, according to Indeed.

Higher salaries may be a strong factor in the decision for chefs looking at leaving restaurant work at any point in their career, whether as an early-career chef or as a more established restaurant leader. The market is also there for more chefs who are considering making the switch. In 2025, 63% of adults surveyed said they preferred eating and entertaining at home, rather than going out. New opportunities found in the home have helped fuel a demand for an increase in chefs going private. 

Philippa Davis, a private chef of over ten years, said: “The increase in appeal in having a private chef come to your home or away with you on holiday has boosted business."

The increased desire for eating at home is impacting private chefs. Many private chefs, such as those interviewed here, have reported significant growth in their booking inquiries and businesses. With pub and restaurant foot traffic having dropped by 7.6% in the first quarter of 2026, more people seem to be eating at home than at restaurants.

And with restaurants facing significant pressures financially from overhead costs, VAT and more, private chef businesses without brick and mortar costs are allowing chefs to explore ways to improve profitability without the costs of rent, pavement licensing and bills.

The opportunity for more variety is another factor. Philippa reported a 2,500% growth in inquiries to her business over the last two years, and described the excitement of travelling across the world to work for clients as a particularly strong aspect of the job.

Philippa said: “The continual arrival of boxes and boxes of produce became tiresome, and being able to travel with a client helped me feel so closely connected to the produce.” 

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While some restaurants can achieve daily changing menus that have this close relationship with new produce, many restaurants rely on continuity in menus and the delivery of produce. Private cooking offers a different opportunity for chefs who want to cook different meals every day and find a challenge in developing new things on a nightly basis.

It is important to note though, that some chefs do use private cooking as a stepping stone, experiencing variety and a different cooking challenge in private cooking, before returning to restaurants. This shows that leaving restaurants for private cooking does not mean entirely leaving restaurant kitchens behind, and it can be utilised to develop more customer-facing skills.

Mark Weeks, a private chef based in Suffolk, cited the ability to spend more time with family as a powerful driver in the decision to transition to private cooking.

Mark said: “It is very challenging financially (to own a restaurant) and it is a lifestyle choice. I knew I wanted to settle down with my wife and have children, so after doing a few events for another caterer and private chef I knew I could make it a business of my own.” 

For chefs with families, private dining offers a solid route to a better balance and more time with family, removing some of the stresses involved with restaurant hours. It is important to point out though, that chefs can move the other way too, and some are willing to use private dining as a career training step to improve their abilities within a restaurant.

A rise in younger professionals booking private chefs has occurred thanks to social media providing exposure to private chefs, alongside changing trends in which people prefer to eat luxuriously in their own home, rather than at a restaurant. Simon McKenzie, of Chef Simon McKenzie, a private chef business based in Berkshire, also explained how his use of social media and word of mouth was a significant booster for his private cooking business, with social media during the pandemic obtaining him ‘so much exposure'.

Simon’s private chef business grew from catering for a maximum of 14 people in 2019 to events for 145 people or more now, and other chefs I talked to cited expansions from dinner parties of around eight to ten people in 2024 to weddings for over 200 in 2026, highlighting the dramatic growth in private dining demand.

Private dining is not always the answer.

Mark Weeks explained: "It is so important to learn the skills first (and to be) ready to be a head chef," when choosing to begin a career in private cooking.

This is reflected in the experience of Philippa and Simon, who both had head chef level roles, showing that for a chef wanting to deliver high-quality private dining, it is important to take time to learn and develop more skills, possibly prolonging the growth of a private dining business.

Skill development is key to progressing in private dining, and often the appeal of experience in Michelin or good-quality kitchens is a huge advantage in marketing reinforcing just how important experience can be for a chef wanting to start a successful career in private dining.
 
The camaraderie experienced in kitchens is a sacrifice that must be made too, as leaving to begin a private dining job can involve leaving traditional team environments behind, working alone or with a small team of people.

The chefs I spoke to look back on their time inside restaurant environments fondly.

Mark said: “I have enjoyed working in restaurants.  When you are in a good team, it's rewarding." 

Philippa, meanwhile, added: “A lot of chefs struggle with the hours, but restaurants like the ones I trained in are good to the chefs.” 

The positive experiences from the private chef’s time in restaurants highlight the importance of the team setting, and how restaurants are still king when it comes to the dreams of aspiring young chefs. The aspiration to work in the top restaurants, and to desire to earn accolades like Michelin stars, is a sentiment that still exists in a strong way and remains vital to the hospitality industry.

Market saturation for private chefs is also a concern.

Chef Jamie Tully, a private chef based in Mid Wales who recently began developing his own mentoring programme, Table Side Chef "to help chefs break into private cheffing", suggested "the market is getting saturated” as a concern, and that it could inhibit opportunities for chefs to work in private dining.

This is also noted by Simon, who admitted “there’s loads of people out there” doing private cooking work.

This saturation could make financial success harder to come by for new private chefs as more established private chef businesses maintain their client base, squeezing out newer businesses.

Jamie also described to me the financial risk in starting a private chef business. To get clients, Jamie said “it does take a bit of time”, in contrast to a kitchen where a chef is employed and "where your finances probably are covered”.

That risk is more apparent today, especially in the economically challenging times that chefs are operating in.

The appeal of private dining and private chef work is clear, particularly for seasoned chefs who have experience with established restaurant businesses before making the career change. And while there are challenges and sacrifices that may not make it appealing for all chefs, these factors explain why private dining is experiencing strong growth in both markets and job opportunities, as the private industry has found a place within the hospitality industry as a growing, yet challenging, alternative to restaurant cooking.