HOW TO HIRE · PERSONAL & LIFESTYLE

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

A personal chef cooking for a fee is a food business: council registration and allergen law apply. Here is what to check and agree for a day.

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THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a personal chef in five steps

  1. Check food business registrationAsk the personal chef which council they are registered with.
  2. Agree the dayHours, meals, people, and whether it is cooking for an event or for the week ahead.
  3. Send diets and allergies in writingFor everyone eating, before menus are planned.
  4. Settle groceriesIncluded in the day rate, or charged at cost with receipts.
  5. Agree kitchen use and clean-upEquipment, storage and how the kitchen is left.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

There is no personal chef's licence in any UK nation, and no register of chefs to look up. The legal checks concern the food business. No register sets insurance for personal chefs. Ask for public liability cover — it pays if someone is hurt or your kitchen is damaged.

Use the checks below and ring a recent client. 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 personal chef who cooks in clients' homes still needs it.

Ask the personal 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 personal 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 →

Employed or self-employed

A personal chef who works regular hours under your direction may be your employee, not a self-employed trader; gov.uk says employers must check status for HMRC tax purposes and for employment law. Booked by the day and invoicing you, a chef is normally self-employed.

Ask for an invoice per booking; if you are hiring regularly, check the status on gov.uk. gov.uk →

VAT

A personal chef cooking in your home is supplying catering, standard-rated at 20%. A chef with turnover over £90,000 must register, add VAT to the day rate and show it as a separate line.

Ask for the personal chef's VAT number on the invoice, with VAT shown apart from the day rate. gov.uk →

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

A good answer: A council name you can check.

“What does your personal chef day rate include?”

A good answer: Hours, planning, shopping, cooking, clean-up — and what is extra.

“How does a personal chef handle allergies and special diets?”

A good answer: Allergen information per dish and a careful kitchen routine.

“Are groceries included in the chef's rate, and will I see receipts?”

A good answer: A clear model: included, or charged at cost with receipts.

“Will you cook here or bring food prepared elsewhere?”

A good answer: A clear answer, with how food is chilled and transported.

“What equipment does the chef need from my kitchen?”

A good answer: A list checked before the day.

“Do you carry public liability insurance as a personal chef?”

A good answer: Yes, with the insurer named.

Getting the quote right

  • The day rate and the hours it covers
  • Groceries included or at cost, with receipts
  • Menus and allergen information
  • Travel, accommodation and waiting staff as separate lines
  • Cancellation terms
  • Who actually attends: the personal chef you hired, or a stand-in chef on their days off, and whether that stand-in is employed or subcontracted
  • The personal chef's VAT number, with VAT apart from the day rate and the groceries

Walk away if

  • Not registered as a food business
  • Vague on allergens
  • Groceries charged without receipts
  • No written menu
  • No insurance
  • Hours open-ended at a day rate
LOW
£250
TYPICAL
£500
HIGH
£771

What a personal chef costs: £250–£771 per day

Personal chefs usually charge a day rate, with groceries, travel and staff either included or charged on top. Personal 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

Personal 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. BriefPeople, meals, diets, allergies and budget.
  2. MenuMenus agreed in writing with allergen information.
  3. ShoppingGroceries bought, receipts kept.
  4. CookingMeals cooked, stored or served as agreed.
  5. Clean-up and handoverKitchen clean, meals labelled, invoice.

Day rate
The price for a day's cooking.
At cost
Groceries charged at what they cost, with receipts.
Food business registration
Registration with the council every food business needs.
14 allergens
The allergens food law requires businesses to declare.
Batch cooking
Cooking several meals at once for later.
Self-employed
Working for yourself and invoicing clients, not on a payroll.

AFTER

When the job is done

Check the kitchen and fridgeClean, food labelled and dated.
Keep menus and allergen notesThe record of what was served.
Check the invoiceDay rate, groceries and extras.
Tell others how it wentA review of the day's cooking can only come from a booked job on Locufy. Problems first go through the make-it-right step.

STEP 1Put the cooking in writing to themA short email is enough: the problem, and whether you want the cooking put right or money back. A business must perform a service with reasonable care and skill (CRA 2015, s49), with repeat performance or a price cut as your remedies.
STEP 2Ask Locufy to help put it rightWhen you score a booked personal chef below four stars, you choose whether the personal chef sees the problem first. We follow it through, then you 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 4Small claims, as a last stepIf the personal chef still will not refund or put it right, a small claim needs no solicitor: £10,000 is the limit in England and Wales, £5,000 for simple procedure in Scotland, £5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Hiring a personal chef: questions people ask

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

Usually not if booked by the day and invoicing you. Regular hours under your direction can make them an employee; check on gov.uk.

Yes. Food businesses must tell you about the 14 allergens in their food.

£250 to £771 a day, typically around £500. People, menu and groceries make the difference. Day rates, and whether groceries are included, are compared in the personal chef price guide; add your town above for chefs near you.

Only as the contract allows, in most cases. A personal chef booked to cook on a fixed date is catering, which regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 excludes from the 14-day cancellation right. Ask for the cancellation terms, and how groceries already bought are charged, in writing.

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: Dinner Party ChefHow to hire: Meal Prep ServiceHow to hire: SommelierHow to hire: House ManagerHow to hire: Personal AssistantHow to hire: Concierge ServiceHow to hire: Errand RunnerAll 701 hiring guides →

Personal chefs near you

Personal chefs in LondonPersonal chefs in ManchesterPersonal chefs in BirminghamPersonal chefs in GlasgowPersonal chefs in BelfastAll personal 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 — employment status: self-employed and contractor
  4. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  5. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue
  6. gov.uk — make a court claim for money: court fees
  7. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 — exceptions to the right to cancel
  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