How does a Personal Chef Service compare to a Private Chef or Caterer?

• A Personal Chef custom prepares meals to your tastes and nutritional requirements, all in your own home.  They provide the service to a number of individuals or families.  
• A Private Chef works exclusively for one individual or family.
• A Caterer traditionally prepares food in commercial kitchens in bulk, and transports it to the required destination.  Some Caterers are now blending their service with that of the Personal Chef, preparing some items on-site.

Who needs a Personal Chef?

• Busy professionals with limited time to cook
• Fast-paced families on the go looking for nutritious dinner solutions
• Convalescents and/or their caregivers
• The elderly and/or their caregivers
• New parents enjoying those first precious months
• Students
• Persons with specific nutritional needs or diets
• Anyone who would rather leave the cooking to someone else
• Anyone who enjoys entertaining at home, without the stress

Who needs a Private Chef?
An individual, family or company who needs a Chef to prepare fresh meals every day, as well as occasional entertaining, should consider a Private Chef.  Private Chefs may also be responsible for the grocery shopping, simple cleaning duties.  
Since Private Chefs work solely for one client, contracts are usually required.  The Private Chef may also require accommodation, transportation and additional benefits, such as health insurance.

What services do Personal Chefs provide?
Traditionally, Personal Chefs provided customised Meal services.  Now, Personal Chef provide a range of services, including in-home dinner parties, cooking classes, product demonstrations,  BBQs, cocktail parties, corporate & special events, recipe development, menu plans, ‘mis en place’ service and much more.

What is a Customised Meal Service & how does it work?

• Your Personal chef will prepare a number of pre-selected meals in your home, customizing them to meet your requirements.  The meals are then packaged and placed in your fridge or freezer ready to be consumed as required, with heating or minimal cooking.
• An assessment is made of your favourite foods, dietary restrictions and nutritional needs.
• You select entrees from the Personal Chef’s extensive menu and submit these to the Chef several days prior to their attendance at your home.  Menus are subject to change from time to time, to take seasonal produce etc. into account.  
• You select the days that you would like the Chef to attend at your home as well as the frequency of the service.
• The Personal Chef does the grocery shopping prior to attending at your home, based on your menu selections.
• The Personal Chef brings all of their own equipment to cook with, so that they do not have to interfere with your equipment.
• The entrees will be prepared fresh in your home, to your specifications.
• They will be packed in individual or family style containers along with detailed heating instructions.
• The Personal Chef leaves the kitchen clean prior to leaving for the day.
• All you have to do is to decide which of your delicious meals to eat first!!

What is a Mis En Place Service?
For those who love to cook, but just don’t have the time to fit it into their schedule as often as they would like, a Personal Chef can do all of the prep work for you, letting you concentrate on the fun stuff – cooking sumptuous dishes!  Your Personal Chef will cut vegetables to your specifications, tenderize meat, cook stocks from scratch and much more!

What is the maximum size of event that a Personal Chef can conduct?
There is no limit!  With our network of Chefs, they can call on each other’s assistance for events that are beyond the capability of a single chef.  Also, with our experience in the Food & Beverage Industry, we also have access to servers/ wait staff, bartenders, dinnerware, glassware and much more.

Why should I hire a Personal Chef?

• Healthier than eating fast food, restaurant entrees or pre-packaged meals;
• No chemical preservatives or colours are used in their preparation;
• Less expensive than eating out in restaurants;
• Less time preparing dinner, cleaning the kitchen & shopping – leaves you with more time for family, friends and the pursuits you love;
• Less food thrown away, as the chef does the bulk of the grocery shopping; you only buy the ‘basics;’
• Stress levels are reduced as you don’t have to think about what to cook in the evening.
• Menus & meals are custom made - just for you!

Why not just eat out?

• The nutritional value of restaurant food is often questionable.  Our Chefs use the freshest of ingredients, purchased just for your event;
• There is no assurance about the sanitary condition of the kitchen, or whether the person that prepared your food was trained in proper food handling techniques and hygiene.  We try to ensure that our Member Chefs are certified in safe food handling and hygiene procedures;
• No time and money wasted on transportation or parking since Personal Chefs prepare your meals in the comfort of your home.
• You work with the Personal Chef to design the menu.

How much does a Personal Chef cost?
There are 4 levels of Personal Chef within our organization – Bronze, Silver, Gold & Platinum level Member Chefs.  Only Silver, Gold & Platinum level Member Chefs can book events privately, since they run their own business; they set their own rates.  Bronze level Personal Chefs can only be booked through our office.
Costs also vary depending on the type of service, the number of people to be cooked for, the number of dishes, the type of dishes and the frequency of the service.  
On average, however, Personal Chefs would charge about CA$350-400) for a Customised Meal Plan, including the cost of the food, for 20 entrees (4 portions of 5 different entrees.

Are Personal Chefs insured?
Chefs are insured for all events booked through The Chef Alliance office.  Silver, Gold & Platinum level Member Chefs also have liability insurance for their own events.  Our Members will be happy to show you their coverage upon request.

Are Personal Chefs trained in Food Safety and Sanitation Procedures?
The Chef Alliance (formerly The Canadian Personal Chef Alliance) developed such a program, which was approved by the City of Toronto.  We teach this as part of our Certificate Program.  
Municipalities each have their own standards and certificate procedures; some are valid for life, and others expire after a few years.  Many members of The Chef Alliance have taken courses in their area, and are certified.  We do, however, encourage all members to keep their certification updated.  Do not hesitate to ask to see your Personal Chef’s certificate.