How a Private Chef Placement Agency Works, Step by Step

Most households engage a placement agency having never done it before, and the process is easier to trust once you can see it. This is how a full-time private chef search runs with us, from the first conversation to the months after the chef starts.

It begins with a conversation, not a form

The first step is a discovery call, and it is the most important hour of the search. We want to understand the household before we think about candidates: which residences the chef will cover, how the family actually eats on an ordinary Tuesday, how often and how formally it entertains, what dietary or medical requirements apply, who else is on the household staff, and what kind of person the family will be comfortable having in its kitchen every day.

That last point matters more than most clients expect. Skill is the entry requirement. Temperament, discretion, and how a chef handles a family’s routines are what decide whether a placement lasts.

From that conversation we write the brief. It is a plain description of the job as it really is, not as it sounds in a posting, and every candidate is measured against it. If the household says it entertains occasionally and in practice hosts every weekend, the brief says so. Most searches that go wrong, go wrong here, which is why how to hire a full-time private chef starts with the same step.

Terms are agreed before sourcing starts

Before we approach anyone, the household and the agency agree terms: the scope of the search, the fee, and the payment schedule. Our fee is a percentage of the chef’s first-year compensation, with terms shared on inquiry.

This is also when compensation for the role itself is set. Full-time private chef compensation typically falls around $160,000 to $190,000 per year before bonuses, and where a particular household should land depends on the brief: residences, travel, schedule, and the level of service expected. Our guide to what a private chef costs covers the variables. Settling the number early keeps the search honest; a role advertised below what it demands attracts the wrong people.

Sourcing happens quietly

The strongest private chefs are usually employed, and they are not reading job postings. A search worth paying for reaches them through relationships and discreet conversations rather than advertisements.

Throughout this stage the household is not identified. Candidates learn about the role, the location, and the terms; they learn who the family is only when the household chooses, and confidentiality is in place on both sides. For many of our clients this is the single most important thing an agency does.

Assessment and verification come before you meet anyone

Nobody reaches a household’s shortlist on the strength of a résumé. Before a candidate is presented we have:

• Assessed the cooking directly, rather than relying on the chef’s account of it. We work with roughly the top five percent of the talent we see, typically Michelin-caliber backgrounds.
• Verified references ourselves, speaking with prior principals and estate managers rather than accepting a supplied list.
• Arranged background checks where the client requests them.
• Tested the fit against the brief: availability, willingness to travel, comfort with the household’s schedule and dietary needs.

How we vet private chefs describes this screening in full. The point for the household is that its time goes into choosing between strong candidates, not into filtering weak ones.

The shortlist, the interviews, and the trial

The household then receives a curated shortlist with a profile for each candidate. It meets the candidates it wants to pursue, and we coordinate the conversations around the family’s calendar, which is often the slowest variable in the entire search. Our guide to questions to ask a private chef is a useful companion for this stage.

The finalist then completes a one- to two-week full-time trial in the household. This is the step that most reliably predicts whether a placement will hold. A tasting dinner shows a chef’s ceiling. A week of ordinary service, including the second lunch, the late change of plan, and the empty refrigerator on a Monday, shows the floor, and the floor is what a family lives with.

If the trial does not confirm the fit, the household is under no obligation to proceed, and the search continues.

The offer, the start, and what happens afterward

When the household is ready, we help structure the offer: compensation and bonus, schedule, travel, accommodation where relevant, notice, and the expectations that belong in writing. Our guide to what belongs in a private chef employment agreement covers the document itself. A chef leaving another position will give notice to their current household, and that period is built into the start date.

The engagement does not end on the chef’s first day. We check in with the household through the early months, because small mismatches are far easier to correct in week three than in month six. Every placement is backed by a 90-day replacement guarantee: if the placement does not hold within that window, we search again with no additional placement fee. Since founding, only four of our placements have not held within the 90 days, a retention rate above 99 percent.

How long the whole process takes

Anywhere from one to two weeks up to a few months. In a major market with a clearly defined role, a shortlist typically arrives within one to two weeks. A specific cuisine, a remote property, or a relocation can extend the search to several months. How early to begin your search explains how to plan against your start date.

If you are considering a search, tell us about your household. The first conversation commits you to nothing, and it is usually where the shape of the right hire becomes clear.