Personal Chef Services: What's Included, What It Costs, and How to Find One

What's Included in a Personal Chef Service

A personal chef comes to your home, cooks fresh meals tailored to your family's dietary needs, and leaves your kitchen clean. Unlike catering or meal delivery, a personal chef service is fully customized — your menu, your ingredients, your preferences. Sous is a personal chef marketplace operating in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, connecting vetted professional chefs with busy families.

A typical Sous meal prep session covers everything from start to finish:

Your chef customizes the week's meals around your dietary preferences, restrictions, and household size.

✍️ Menu planning
🛒 Grocery shopping

Your chef sources all ingredients fresh, billed as a reimbursement.

Your chef arrives at your home, cooks multiple meals, packages everything for the week, and cleans up before leaving.

⏲️ In-home cooking

Every chef on Sous is background-checked, interviewed in person, and ServSafe certified. Sous accepts fewer than 5% of chef applicants.

✔ Background-checked

How Much Does a Personal Chef Cost in 2026?

The average personal chef rate on Sous is $45.27 per hour. A typical weekly meal prep session — 4 dinners with 4 servings each — takes about 6 hours total and costs between $240 and $300 in chef fees.

Here's how the 6 hours breaks down:

✍️ 1 hour — menu planning

🛒 1 hour — grocery shopping

⏲️ 4 hours — in-home cooking

Groceries are separate and billed at cost. Most Sous families spend $150–250 per week on ingredients depending on meals and household size.

For context: the average family of 4 spending on food delivery apps spends $400–600 per week. A personal chef typically costs less — with restaurant-quality food cooked fresh in your own kitchen.

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Who Hires a Personal Chef?

Personal chef services aren't just for wealthy households anymore. The most common Sous clients are:

✔ Busy families who want home-cooked meals without spending every evening in the kitchen.

✔ New parents and postpartum families who need nutritious food on hand without the effort of cooking.

✔ Professionals who are tired of food delivery and want to eat better without the time commitment of meal planning and prep.

✔ Health-focused individuals following specific diets — keto, gluten-free, low-sodium, plant-based, or medically prescribed nutrition plans.

✔ People hosting dinner parties or special occasions who want a restaurant-quality experience at home.

How Sous works

  1. Browse chef profiles — View chef backgrounds, cuisines, reviews, and hourly rates on Sous.

  2. Book a session — Select your chef, date, and service type (weekly meal prep, dinner party, special occasion).

  3. Your chef plans the menu — Your chef proposes a customized menu based on your preferences and dietary needs.

  4. Your chef shops and cooks — Your chef handles all grocery shopping, arrives at your home, cooks your meals, and cleans up.

  5. Eat well all week — Meals are packaged and ready to reheat. No planning, no shopping, no cleanup.

Personal Chef Services by City

🍎 New York City

Sous operates across New York City including Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Hoboken. NYC chefs on Sous are experienced in high-demand dietary needs including gluten-free, kosher-friendly, and plant-based meal prep. Average chef rate in New York: $45/hour.

Browse NYC chefs

🌮 Los Angeles

Sous personal chef services cover Los Angeles including West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Brentwood, Silver Lake, and the Valley. LA chefs on Sous are especially popular for health-focused meal prep, macro-tracked cooking, and special dietary plans. Average chef rate in Los Angeles: $45/hour.

Browse LA chefs

🍕 Chicago

Sous personal chef services are available across Chicago including Lincoln Park, Wicker Park, River North, Lakeview, the Gold Coast, and North Shore suburbs. Chicago chefs on Sous specialize in weekly meal prep, dietary-specific cooking, and in-home dinner parties. Average chef rate in Chicago: $45/hour.

Browse Chicago chefs

🍣 Las Vegas

Sous operates throughout Las Vegas including Summerlin, Henderson, and the Las Vegas Strip corridor. Las Vegas chefs on Sous serve both local families and short-term residents seeking in-home dining experiences. Average chef rate in Las Vegas: $45/hour.

Browse Vegas chefs

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

  • Browse chef profiles on Sous and choose based on each chef's experience, bio, intro video, specialties, and sample menus. Once you find someone who fits your vibe, you can reach out to connect and book directly.

  • Every chef on Sous has a detailed profile including their culinary background, cuisine specialties, sample menus, and an intro video. Browse profiles in your area and choose based on who feels like the best fit for your family's taste and dietary needs.

  • No. Once you connect with a chef, you'll collaborate on a menu together. Your chef will ask about your household's preferences, dietary restrictions, and goals before proposing anything.

  • Your chef handles everything — menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking in your home, and cleanup. You come home to a fridge stocked with meals for the week. Groceries are billed separately at cost.

  • A standard meal prep session (4 dinners, 4 servings each) takes about 6 hours total — roughly 1 hour for menu planning, 1 hour for grocery shopping, and 4 hours cooking in your home.

  • Yes. Your chef comes to your kitchen, cooks fresh meals, packages everything, and leaves the kitchen clean before they go.

  • Yes. Sous chefs are experienced with common allergies (gluten, dairy, nuts, shellfish) and dietary preferences including keto, vegan, plant-based, gluten-free, low-FODMAP, high-protein, and macro-tracked meal plans. You discuss your needs directly with your chef before booking.

  • No. Your chef works with whatever is already in your kitchen. Most standard home kitchens are fully equipped for a meal prep session.

  • Both. Many Sous families book weekly — your chef gets to know your household over time and the service gets better the longer you work together. You can also book for a one-time special occasion, dinner party, or event.

Pricing

  • Chef rates on Sous average $45.27 per hour. A typical weekly meal prep session runs about 6 hours, putting the chef fee between $240 and $300 per week. Groceries are separate and billed at cost — most families spend $150–250 per week on ingredients depending on meals and household size.

  • For special occasions, Sous suggests a quote based on the number of guests and courses. Groceries are always separate.

  • No. For many families already spending $400–600 per week on food delivery, a personal chef costs the same or less — with fresher food, full customization, and no delivery markups or fees.

Chefs & Vetting

  • Every chef on Sous is interviewed, background-checked, and ServSafe certified. Sous accepts fewer than 5% of chef applicants. We look for experienced culinary professionals with strong resumes who can deliver a consistently great experience for families, especially focusing on chefs with Michelin-star kitchen experience.

  • Each chef profile includes their culinary background and experience, cuisine specialties, sample menus, an intro video, and reviews from past clients.

Cities

  • Browse vetted Chicago chefs on Sous at sous.so. Select a chef based on their profile, specialties, and sample menus, then connect to book.

  • Browse vetted NYC chefs on Sous at sous.so. Every chef is background-checked and interviewed before joining the platform.

  • Browse vetted LA chefs on Sous at sous.so. LA chefs on Sous specialize in health-focused and dietary-specific meal prep.

  • Browse vetted Las Vegas chefs on Sous at sous.so. Sous serves both local families and short-term residents.

Ready to eat your dream diet?

Browse personal chefs in your city and book your first session on Sous.

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