What a Private Chef Actually Costs

Most private chefs quote you a price per head and will not break it down. I think that is the wrong way round, so here is the whole arithmetic.

Two numbers, not one

You are paying for two separate things, and they have nothing to do with each other.

The food is sold by the pound. Each dish has a price per pound and a portion weight, so twelve guests of grilled grouper costs exactly twelve guests’ worth of grouper. Nothing is rounded up to fill a package.

My time is billed by the hour. A chef on site is $150 an hour. Servers are $45 an hour and bartenders $55, and only if you want them.

Where that lands

For most of the dinners I cook, the total works out between $110 and $190 a guest, food and chef time together. Sarasota sits between $100 and $200 for this kind of work, so that is the market, not a discount and not a premium.

A standing cocktail party for twenty-five lands at the lower end. A six-course plated dinner for ten lands at the top.

What changes the number

Lobster, stone crab and aged beef move it more than anything else. Service style matters too: plated service needs more hands than platters down the middle. Guest count moves it less than people expect, because the chef’s hours barely change between ten guests and sixteen.

How it works

The slow work happens in my own kitchen. A chef comes to you to finish, plate and serve, so your kitchen stays yours. A thirty per cent deposit holds the date and the balance is due on the day.

You can build the menu yourself on the Private Dining page and see the price before you ever speak to me. That is the point of it.