HOW TO HIRE · PERSONAL & LIFESTYLE

How to hire a meal prep cook in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

A meal prep cook is a food business: council registration and allergen law apply. Here is what to check, ask and agree for weekly meals.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a meal prep cook in five steps

  1. Check food business registrationAsk the meal prep cook which council they are registered with.
  2. Send diets and allergies in writingFor everyone eating, before the first week.
  3. Agree meals, portions and priceHow many meals for how many people, and the weekly price.
  4. Ask how food is labelledName, date cooked, use-by, reheating instructions, allergens.
  5. Agree delivery or home cookingDelivered chilled, or cooked in your kitchen.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Cooking meals for clients needs no chef's licence in any UK nation, and there is no register of meal prep cooks. The legal checks are about the food business.

Use the checks below and ask a regular client.

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 meal prep cook who cooks in clients' homes still needs it.

Ask the meal prep cook 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 meal prep cook 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 →

Trader status and cancellation

Agreed online or at your home, a meal plan is a distance or off-premises contract, but the 14-day cancellation right in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 does not always reach it: regulation 28(1)(h) excludes catering booked for a specific date or period, which a plan with fixed delivery weeks may be. The written notice terms are what to rely on.

Read the cancellation terms before signing up to a weekly plan.

VAT

Meals cooked in your kitchen, or delivered hot or ready to eat, are catering and standard-rated at 20%; cold meals you must heat or cook yourself are not catering and can be zero-rated. A meal prep cook whose turnover passes £90,000 must register and show the VAT on each line of the weekly bill.

Ask which meals on the bill carry VAT and which are zero-rated, and for the VAT number. gov.uk →

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

A good answer: A council name you can check.

“How do you label meal prep containers?”

A good answer: Dish, date cooked, use-by, reheating instructions and allergens on each.

“How is meal prep food kept cold in delivery?”

A good answer: Insulated, chilled boxes and a delivery window.

“How do you manage allergies in the meal prep kitchen?”

A good answer: Allergens listed per dish and separate preparation where needed.

“Who buys the groceries for the meal prep?”

A good answer: Included in the weekly price, or at cost with receipts.

“Can I pause or cancel the weekly meal plan?”

A good answer: Clear notice terms in writing.

“What happens to the containers?”

A good answer: Returnable, recyclable, or charged.

Getting the quote right

  • Meals per week, portions and people
  • Groceries included or at cost
  • Delivery charges or home-cooking hours
  • Containers: included, deposit or extra
  • Notice to pause or cancel
  • Who actually attends: the meal prep cook you hired, or kitchen staff who cook elsewhere for delivery, and whether they are employed or subcontracted
  • The meal prep cook's VAT number, with VAT shown per line: cooked-in-home or ready-to-eat at 20%, cook-yourself meals zero-rated

Walk away if

  • Not registered as a food business
  • Unlabelled containers with no dates
  • Food delivered warm or unchilled
  • Vague on allergens
  • Long upfront commitments with no cancellation terms
  • Groceries charged without receipts
LOW
£42
TYPICAL
£80
HIGH
£100

What a meal prep cook costs: £42–£100 per week

Meal prep is priced by the week, by the number of meals and people, with groceries, containers and delivery included or added. Meal Prep Service 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

Meal prep cooks 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. PlanDiets, allergies, portions and menu agreed.
  2. ShopIngredients bought.
  3. CookMeals cooked in batches with allergens kept apart.
  4. Chill and labelCooled quickly, portioned and labelled.
  5. Deliver or hand overChilled delivery or left in your fridge.

Use-by
The date after which food should not be eaten.
Batch cooking
Cooking several meals at once.
Portion
The amount in each container.
14 allergens
The allergens food law requires businesses to declare.
Chilled delivery
Delivery in cold boxes.
Meal plan
The agreed menu for the week.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check the labelsDates, use-by and allergens on every container.
Store food straight awayIn the fridge or freezer as labelled.
Keep the order and invoicesYour record of what was supplied.
Leave the reviewReviews on Locufy come only from booked jobs, so yours about the week's meals counts. If something was wrong, the make-it-right step comes first and the meal prep cook is asked to fix it.

STEP 1Tell the meal prep cook, in writingSet out what went wrong with the meals and what you want done, by message or email. Section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 requires a trader to use reasonable care and skill; where the meals fell short, ask for it to be done again at their cost, or for money off.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right step on LocufyRate the meal prep cook under four stars and you are asked whether to send the problem to them first; we follow it through. Then the review goes up.
STEP 3Food safety — environmental healthFood safety problems go to the environmental health team of the council where the cook is registered. 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 4Money still in disputeA claim against a meal prep cook for a refund or the cost of putting things right can go to small claims: up to £10,000 on the county court small claims track in England and Wales, up to £5,000 under simple procedure in Scotland, and up to £5,000 in the small claims court in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a meal prep cook: questions people ask

Yes, as a food business with their local authority.

Food businesses must give allergen information for the 14 allergens in food law.

It depends on the plan. A service agreed online or at home normally carries 14 days to cancel, but regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 excludes catering for a specific date or period, so a plan with fixed delivery weeks may not. Read the notice terms before you sign up.

£42 to £100 a week, typically around £80. Meals, people and diets make the difference. Weekly prices by meals, people and diets are in the meal prep service price guide; put in your town above for cooks near you.

Follow the use-by on each label.

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: Personal ChefHow to hire: Private ChefHow to hire: Dinner Party ChefHow to hire: Personal AssistantHow to hire: House ManagerHow to hire: Errand RunnerHow to hire: Concierge ServiceHow to hire: House SitterAll 701 hiring guides →

Meal prep cooks near you

Meal prep cooks in LondonMeal prep cooks in ManchesterMeal prep cooks in BirminghamMeal prep cooks in GlasgowMeal prep cooks in BelfastAll meal prep cooks 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. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — exceptions to the right to cancel
  4. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — cancellation period
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  7. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  8. Catering, takeaway food (VAT Notice 709/1) — 1.3 Supplies in the course of catering are standard-rated; 2.1 Ordinary meaning of catering
  9. GOV.UK — VAT rates
  10. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register