Family Private Chefs
Hire a full-time family private chef, live-in or live-out, through an agency that has placed career professionals in private households since 1995. We match families in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Palm Beach and Washington D.C. with chefs who hold allergies, school schedules and daily service without supervision.
FULL-TIME FAMILY SERVICE
Private Chefs Inc. (PCI) places full-time family private chefs who run a household kitchen at the pace a family actually lives. Most family placements are five or six day schedules built around the school year: breakfast service, after-school meals, batch cooking for the week, and dinner for the family plus guests. We place both live-in and live-out chefs, and every candidate is vetted for a private household rather than a restaurant line, where the measure of the job is consistency over months, not covers per night.
ALLERGIES, NUTRITION & PICKY EATERS
Family kitchens carry the most complex dietary load in private service. Our chefs work with nut, dairy, gluten and shellfish allergies, celiac protocols, pediatric nutrition plans and the ordinary reality of children who eat differently from their parents. Candidates document preferences per family member, control cross-contamination in a shared kitchen, and turn one menu into several plates without running three separate services. For medically directed programs we also place nutritional therapy chefs.
HOUSEHOLD INTEGRATION & DISCRETION
A family chef works alongside nannies, house managers and estate managers, so temperament weighs as much as technique. Every PCI candidate clears reference verification, background checks and a working trial before you meet them. They manage grocery budgets, purveyor relationships, pantry inventory and school-run timing, and they sign confidentiality agreements as a condition of placement. Our vetting process is where the fit is decided.
Types of Family Private Chefs We Place
Families ask for very different things from a private chef. Some need one person to own breakfast, the school run and dinner five days a week. Others need a chef who moves with the household between residences, or who can hold a medical diet without turning it into a separate kitchen. These are the family roles we fill most often.
Full-Time Family Chefs
Five or six day schedules built around the school year and the family calendar.
Live-In Family Chefs
On-property chefs for large households, second homes and constant guest traffic.
Live-Out Family Chefs
Daytime service for families who want the kitchen covered and the house private at night.
Traveling Family Chefs
Chefs who relocate with the family and keep the same standard in every residence.
Allergy & Special Diet Chefs
Celiac, nut, dairy and shellfish protocols run inside one shared family kitchen.
Newborn & Postpartum Chefs
Nutrition-led cooking for new mothers, weaning children and the rest of the table.
How Much Does a Family Private Chef Cost?
A full-time family private chef in the United States generally sits between $120,000 and $190,000 per year. The professional tier, roughly $120,000 to $140,000, covers daily meal service, pantry management and dietary tailoring for one residence. Senior estate chefs at $150,000 to $190,000 take on larger households, frequent entertaining and oversight of a second property. Above that, an executive chef running kitchen teams across several estates moves into the $200,000 to $250,000 band. Most principals add a discretionary bonus of 7 to 15 percent and an annual adjustment of 6 to 8 percent to keep a chef long term. Grocery budgets, travel and household equipment sit outside compensation.
30 YEARS OF FAMILY PLACEMENTS
With three decades of leadership and placement hubs in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Palm Beach and Washington D.C., PCI has staffed family households through relocations, new babies, boarding school years and second homes. A full-time family chef generally sits between $120,000 and $190,000 depending on household size, travel and oversight of a second property; our salary guidelines set the current benchmarks by tier.
Family Chef Placement: Private Chefs Inc. (PCI) specializes in long-term family chef placement for principals in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Palm Beach and Washington D.C. We place career professionals into ongoing household roles with a minimum of eight years of elite experience. If you are weighing a full-time chef against occasional help, our guide to the private chef versus personal chef distinction explains where the line sits.
Family Private Chef FAQs
How much does a full-time family private chef cost?
Between $120,000 and $190,000 per year for most family households, depending on household size, entertaining volume, travel and whether the chef oversees a second residence. Executive chefs running multiple properties go higher. Our salary guidelines break down each tier, plus the bonus and annual increase ranges that keep a chef in place for years rather than months.
What does a family private chef actually do day to day?
Menu planning around the family calendar, grocery and purveyor ordering, breakfast and after-school service, batch cooking for the week, dinner for the family and guests, pantry and inventory control, and kitchen cleanup after service. Most family chefs also manage dietary records per family member and coordinate with the nanny, the house manager and the estate manager on timing.
Is a private chef the same as a personal chef?
No. A private chef works for one household on an ongoing basis and cooks fresh, on site, to that family’s standard. A personal chef serves several clients and usually delivers prepared meals on a schedule. PCI places private chefs into long-term household roles. The distinction is set out in full in our guide to private chef versus personal chef.
Do you place live-in family chefs?
Yes, and live-out. Live-in suits large properties, frequent guests and families who travel between residences, and it usually requires separate staff accommodation. Live-out suits families who want daytime service and privacy at night. Both are permanent household roles, not rotating help. See live-in private chefs for how the arrangement is structured.
Can a family chef handle severe food allergies?
Yes. Managing celiac, nut, dairy, shellfish and egg protocols is a baseline requirement, not a specialty. Candidates document restrictions per family member, run dedicated boards and storage, verify labels with purveyors, and brief substitute staff. For medically supervised programs we place nutritional therapy chefs who work directly with the family’s physician or dietitian.
Do private chefs clean up after cooking?
Yes. The kitchen, service ware, cookware and pantry are the chef’s responsibility, left ready for the next service. A private chef is not a housekeeper and does not take on general house cleaning, laundry or childcare, and those lines are set in the job description before a placement is confirmed.
Can we hire a family chef part-time or for a set number of days?
Yes. Many families start at three or four days a week and move to full-time as the schedule fills. We scope the search around the days and meals you actually need, because a chef hired for a role that does not match the household leaves within the year.
Will the chef cook separately for the children?
One menu, branched. Our chefs build a single spine for the meal and adapt portions, seasoning and presentation for children rather than running two services. Where a child has a genuine restriction or a pediatric nutrition plan, that plate is built to the plan and the rest of the table eats from the same kitchen.
How quickly can you present candidates?
For a defined family role we usually present a curated slate within one to two weeks. Every candidate on that slate has already cleared references, background screening and a working trial, so the family interviews finalists rather than applicants.
Do you place chefs who travel with the family?
Yes. Traveling and multi-residence placements are a core part of the business, including chefs who follow the household through the season. That continuity is covered on our seasonal and traveling chefs page.
What screening do you run before we meet a candidate?
Criminal, credit and identity verification, direct reference calls with prior principals and estate managers, verification of employment history, and a working trial. The full sequence is documented in our background check and vetting process pages.
What happens if the placement does not work out?
Every placement carries a replacement protection period and a written service agreement, so a search that fails in the first months is replaced rather than repurchased. The terms are set out in our agency terms.
Where do you place family private chefs?
Nationwide, with placement hubs in Los Angeles, New York City, Dallas, San Francisco, Palm Beach and Washington D.C., and regular placements in Greenwich, Aspen, Miami, Chicago, Nashville, Houston, Austin and the Hamptons. The full list is on our service areas page.