Busy families, singles look to personal chefs for dinner help

NEW YORK — As lives get increasingly busier with careers, kids, commutes and other chaos, a growing number of people are turning to personal chefs to make sure that there's a hot meal on the table at the end of a long day.

Hiring a professional to cook for you isn't a whole lot different that hiring someone to clean your house or walk the dog, and it's not just for the wealthy, said John Moore, executive director of the United States Personal Chef Association.

"It's not 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,"' Moore said. "People don't have personal chefs because they have tons of money, they have them because it solves a problem. It puts dinner on the table."

Personal chefs typically prepare several days worth of customized meals in advance, potentially for several clients. The meals are prepared and packaged, ready to be popped in an oven or microwave whenever a client wants to eat.

Some chefs charge a flat rate, while others are paid by the hour. The chef does the grocery shopping, along with the cleanup, and those costs are added to a client's bill.

Total costs usually range between $15 and $20 per person per meal, depending on the kind of food prepared and other related costs. That's not much different from a meal at a restaurant, Moore said.

"Except that people don't have to go out, pay for parking or leave a tip," Moore said. "And they get to eat a meal that was custom made just for them."

Personal chefs have the potential to make more money than their restaurant counterparts, about $25 per hour on average, compared with about $14.75 for a head cook or chef in a restaurant, Moore said.

As a result, the personal chef industry has gained numerous "restaurant refugees," who see the profession as a way to both get away from hectic restaurant schedules and make more money, Moore said.

The association estimates that there are just over 5,000 personal chef businesses operating in the United States and Canada, up from about 1,500 a decade ago.

The industry generates about $300 million in revenue per year and that number expected to double in the next five years, the association said.

Mark Tafoya, who owns the New York-based ReMARKable Palate personal chef service, cooks for regular weekly clients and also offers one-time meal services, such as romantic dinners for two.