HOW TO HIRE · PERSONAL & LIFESTYLE

How to hire a dinner party chef in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

A dinner party chef must be council-registered and declare allergens; alcohol sales need a notice or licence. Here is what to check and ask.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a dinner party chef in five steps

  1. Check food business registrationAsk the dinner party chef which council they are registered with.
  2. Send every guest's allergiesIn writing, before the menu is set.
  3. Agree the menu and the per-head priceCourses, numbers, ingredients, service and clean-up.
  4. Decide about drinksBuy your own, or check the notice or licence if the chef sells them.
  5. Plan the kitchenOven and fridge space, crockery and timings.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no chef's licence in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, and no register of cooks who come to your home. The rules that apply are attached to the food and the drink. No register sets insurance for dinner party chefs. Ask whether they carry public liability cover.

Use the checks below and ring a recent host. Ask for the insurer's name.

Food business registration

Anyone who cooks, prepares or handles food as a business must register as a food business with their local authority — in England, Wales and Northern Ireland at least 28 days before trading. Registration applies wherever the cooking happens, so a dinner party chef who cooks in clients' homes still needs it.

Ask the dinner party chef which council they are registered with, then check with that council. gov.uk →

Allergen information (food law)

Food businesses registered with the council must tell customers if a dish contains any of the 14 allergens named in food law — celery, cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs, mustard, peanuts, sesame, soya, sulphites and tree nuts — and must manage them in the kitchen. A dinner party chef serving your guests is covered. The FSA's guidance applies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; Food Standards Scotland covers Scotland.

Send every guest's allergies in writing and ask for the allergen information for each dish. gov.uk →

Alcohol: Temporary Event Notice or occasional licence

If the dinner party chef sells you alcohol at a place without a licence, in England and Wales that needs a Temporary Event Notice under the Licensing Act 2003 (under 500 people, at least 10 clear working days' notice, £21). In Scotland the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 needs an occasional licence from the Licensing Board; in Northern Ireland liquor licences come from the County Court. Wine you buy yourself and they serve is a different matter.

If they supply the drink, ask who is giving the notice or holds the licence. gov.uk →

VAT

Cooking a dinner party in your home counts as catering, which is standard-rated at 20%. A dinner party chef above the £90,000 threshold must register, charge VAT per head and show it as a separate line.

Ask the dinner party chef for a VAT number, and for an invoice that shows the VAT apart from the per-head price. gov.uk →

“Which council are you registered with as a food business?”

A good answer: A council you can check.

“How will you manage our guests' allergies at the dinner party?”

A good answer: Allergens listed per dish, separate preparation, and a question about every guest.

“What is included in the dinner party price per head?”

A good answer: Ingredients, cooking, serving, clean-up — and what is extra.

“Does the dinner party chef bring staff to serve?”

A good answer: Yes or no, with the price.

“Will you supply drinks, and who holds the licence?”

A good answer: If they sell alcohol, the notice or licence; or advice on what to buy.

“What does the chef need from my kitchen?”

A good answer: Equipment and space, checked before the day.

“What is the chef's minimum number of dinner guests?”

A good answer: A number, and the price below it.

Getting the quote right

  • Price per head, minimum guests, and the menu
  • Ingredients, serving staff and crockery hire
  • Allergen information for each dish
  • Drinks, and who holds any licence or notice
  • Travel and late-finish charges
  • Who actually attends: the dinner party chef who wrote the menu, a sous chef or the serving staff, and whether each is employed or subcontracted
  • The chef's VAT number, with VAT shown apart from the per-head price and the staff

Walk away if

  • Not registered as a food business
  • Vague answers about allergens
  • Selling alcohol with no notice or licence
  • No written menu
  • No minimum-guest terms
  • No insurance
LOW
£60
TYPICAL
£80
HIGH
£150

What a dinner party chef costs: £60–£150 per head

Dinner party chefs price per head, with guest numbers, courses, serving staff and drinks moving the price. Dinner Party Chef price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Dinner party chefs near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. ConsultationGuests, allergies, menu, drinks and budget.
  2. PrepIngredients bought and prepared, chilled in transport.
  3. Set-upKitchen checked, allergens kept apart.
  4. ServiceCourses timed, each guest's needs met.
  5. Clean-upKitchen cleaned, bill settled.

Per head
The price for each guest.
Canapés
Small bites served before the meal.
14 allergens
The allergens food law requires businesses to declare.
TEN
Temporary Event Notice for selling alcohol at an unlicensed place (England and Wales).
Occasional licence
Scotland's permission for alcohol outside licensed premises.
Corkage
A charge for serving wine you supply.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check the kitchenClean, leftovers labelled, equipment returned.
Keep the menu and allergen listThe record of what was served.
Check the billAgainst the per-head quote.
Write the reviewYour account of the dinner and the kitchen afterwards helps the next person choose. If they fell short, use the make-it-right step before the review is published.

STEP 1Raise the dinner with them in writingSay what was agreed and what happened. If the dinner missed the standard of reasonable care and skill (Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49), the remedy is a repeat at no cost or a price reduction.
STEP 2The make-it-right stepA review under four stars for a dinner party chef starts with a choice: send it to them first to fix, with us following it through, then publish the review.
STEP 3Food safety — environmental healthIllness or food safety problems go to the environmental health team at the chef's registering council. Other disputes go to Trading Standards through Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland.
STEP 4If money is still owedYou can take the dinner party chef to the small claims route — the county court small claims track up to £10,000 in England and Wales, simple procedure in the sheriff court up to £5,000 in Scotland, and the small claims court up to £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a dinner party chef: questions people ask

Yes, as a food business with their local authority. There is no chef's licence as such.

Yes. Food law requires businesses to declare the 14 allergens in what they serve.

Only with a licence or, in England and Wales, a Temporary Event Notice; in Scotland an occasional licence. You can buy the wine yourself.

£60 to £150 a head, typically around £80. Guests, courses and ingredients make the difference. Per-head prices by courses and guest numbers are in the dinner party chef price guide; put in your town above for chefs nearby.

Usually not: catering for a set date is excluded by regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. What happens to your deposit if you cancel is whatever the chef's written terms say, so agree them first.

Raise it in writing. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires reasonable care and skill.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in personal & lifestyle

How to hire: Private ChefHow to hire: Personal ChefHow to hire: SommelierHow to hire: Meal Prep ServiceHow to hire: Concierge ServiceHow to hire: House ManagerHow to hire: Personal AssistantHow to hire: Travel PlannerAll 701 hiring guides →

Dinner party chefs near you

Dinner party chefs in LondonDinner party chefs in ManchesterDinner party chefs in BirminghamDinner party chefs in GlasgowDinner party chefs in BelfastAll dinner party chefs on Locufy →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — food business registration
  2. gov.uk — allergen guidance for food businesses (England, Wales and Northern Ireland)
  3. gov.uk — Temporary Events Notice
  4. gov.scot — Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 guidance: occasional licences
  5. nidirect — selling alcohol in licensed premises and registered clubs
  6. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  7. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  8. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  9. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — exceptions to the right to cancel
  10. Catering, takeaway food (VAT Notice 709/1) — 1.3 Supplies in the course of catering are standard-rated; 2.1 Ordinary meaning of catering
  11. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  12. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register