A Private Chef Agency and Executive Search Firm for Private Households
We recruit and place full-time private and estate chefs with ultra-high-net-worth households — nationwide and internationally.
- Since 2020 Placing private chefs for private households
- Over 99% Of placements hold beyond the guarantee period
- Top 5% Of culinary talent, typically Michelin-caliber
- Forbes
- Business Insider
- Air Mail
- Travel Weekly
- AFAR
- Yahoo Life
- The Daily Meal
It was a dream of mine to have a chef prepare my dishes exactly as I would myself for guests. Brian provided a fabulous chef who literally changed my life. I wish I could adopt her!
Full-Time Chefs, Matched to the Household
We place one kind of professional: the full-time private or estate chef who becomes part of a household. That may be a chef cooking daily family meals in a single residence, or a senior estate chef directing a culinary operation across several properties, managing provisioning, budgets, and kitchen staff.
Roles are live-in or live-out, and many involve travel between residences. We work through the particulars with you before we present anyone: how often you entertain, dietary requirements, household rhythm, and the degree of discretion the role demands.
Because we place chefs and nothing else, we assess culinary ability directly rather than screening résumés against a checklist. A general household staffing agency covers nannies, housekeepers, and estate managers alongside chefs. If a chef is what you need, you do not need a generalist.
How Chefs Reach Your Shortlist
- The top five percent. Typically Michelin-caliber chefs, or those with comparable pedigrees.
- References verified. Every reference checked with prior principals, estate managers, or employers.
- Background checks. Comprehensive screening at your request, covering criminal history, identity, and employment.
- A working trial. One to two weeks full-time in your home before any commitment — not a single dinner.
- A 90-day guarantee. If the fit does not hold within the window, we find you another chef at no additional fee.
An Executive Search Firm for the Private Kitchen
A household that would never fill a senior role from a job board applies the same standard to its kitchen. What we do is executive search: a defined brief, a discreet approach to chefs who are not looking, and a shortlist rather than a stack of applications.
Most of the chefs we present are already employed. They are not answering advertisements, which is exactly why reaching them takes recruiters who work this market continuously and know who is quietly ready to move. Private chef headhunting is a relationship business before it is a search business.
For families and family offices that engage executive recruiters for every other senior appointment, this is the same discipline applied to the person who feeds the household every day.
A Seamless Experience,
From First Call to First Course
Share Your Vision
Tell us about your household, preferences, and culinary expectations. Every placement begins with understanding your unique needs.
Meet Your Chef
We curate a shortlist of vetted, world-class chefs matched to your criteria. Review profiles, conduct tastings, and select your ideal fit.
Begin the Experience
Your chef integrates seamlessly into your home. We handle logistics, contracts, and ongoing support so you simply enjoy extraordinary cuisine.
Our Most Active Markets
We place nationwide and internationally. These are the markets where we work most often.
Placements by Requirement
Some searches are defined less by where a household is than by what the role asks of the chef.
- Live-In Private ChefsFull-time chefs who live on the property
- Private Chefs for Family OfficesChef search for the people who run the household
- Private Chefs by CuisineChefs with real mastery in one tradition
- Private Chefs for Families with ChildrenChefs who cook for the whole table, children included
- Kosher Private ChefsChefs who keep a kosher kitchen properly
- Private Chefs for Food Allergies and Medical DietsChefs who treat a diet as a safety discipline
Seasonal Placements and Events
Short-term engagements and one-off events will soon be handled by HELM, our dedicated platform for on-demand culinary services.
Questions Households Ask
What does a private chef placement agency do?
A placement agency sources, vets, and presents chefs for a household to hire directly. We define the role with you, draw on a network of chefs who are rarely on the open market, verify references and credentials, coordinate a working trial, and support the offer. The chef is employed by your household, not by us.
Are you private chef recruiters or a placement agency?
Both describe the same work. We recruit — approaching experienced chefs directly, most of whom are already employed and not answering advertisements — and we place, presenting a vetted shortlist to the household that will employ them. Families who engage executive recruiters for other senior appointments will recognize the process.
How do private chef headhunters find chefs who are not looking?
Through a network built over years rather than a database. The chefs worth placing are usually employed and content, so they are approached privately and in confidence, often through people who have worked alongside them. That is the difference between a search and an advertisement.
How is a chef specialist different from a household staffing agency?
A general household staffing agency places nannies, housekeepers, estate managers, and chefs. We place chefs only. That focus is why we can assess culinary ability directly and why our network runs deeper in professional kitchens than a generalist roster.
What does it cost to hire a private chef through an agency?
The chef’s compensation is the main cost — typically $160,000 to $190,000 per year before bonuses for the caliber of chef our clients expect. Our placement fee is a percentage of the chef’s first-year compensation, with terms shared on inquiry.
How long does a private chef placement take?
Expect a curated shortlist within one to two weeks in major markets, and a completed placement within three to five weeks including trials. Remote locations or highly specialized requirements can take longer.
What happens if the chef is not the right fit?
Every placement carries a 90-day replacement guarantee. If the fit does not hold within that window we find you another chef at no additional fee. Since we were founded, only four placements have not held within that window.