How To Become A Personal Chef: What It Is and Career Path

What is a personal chef and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a personal chef. For example, did you know that they make an average of $22.92 an hour? That's $47,681 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 15% and produce 23,600 job opportunities across the U.S.

ScorePersonal ChefUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,681

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.2

Growth rate 15%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

7.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.81%

Asian 11.08%

Black or African American 10.63%

Hispanic or Latino 17.61%

Unknown 5.46%

White 54.41%

Gender

female 50.60%

male 49.40%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

9.2

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.4

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

0.2

Work life balance is

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a personal chef

Explore personal chef education requirements

Most common personal chef degrees

Associate

42.7 %

Bachelor's

38.1 %

Diploma

6.2 %

Start to develop specific personal chef skills

Skills	Percentages
Plan Menus	18.77%
In-Home	17.53%
Culinary	15.59%
Food Preparation	6.37%
Meal Planning	5.69%

Complete relevant personal chef training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New personal chefs learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a personal chef based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real personal chef resumes.

Gain additional personal chef certifications

Personal chef certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific personal chef certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for personal chefs include Food Safety Manager Certification and Certified Food Manager (CFM).

More About Certifications

Research personal chef duties and responsibilities

Travel and manage additional kitchens & staff at estates in Hamptons, NJ & NYC.
Cook and manage daily household functions for a large extend family in the Amagansette and NYC.
Manage the kitchens, purchase groceries, supplies and equipment; prepares invoicing, and handles receipts receivable.
Control food and payroll costs to achieve maximum profitability.

Prepare your personal chef resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your personal chef resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a personal chef resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable personal chef resume templates

Build a professional personal chef resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your personal chef resume.