1. Cornell University
Ithaca, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,188
Enrollment
15,105
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What is a Private Chef?
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a private chef. For example, did you know that they make an average of $24.84 an hour? That's $51,657 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 11% and produce 15,400 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Private Chef Do
There are certain skills that many private chefs have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed business skills, communication skills and creativity.
How To Become a Private Chef
If you're interested in becoming a private chef, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 35.0% of private chefs have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 2.9% of private chefs have master's degrees. Even though some private chefs have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Career Path For a Private Chef
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a private chef can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as executive chef, progress to a title such as general manager and then eventually end up with the title director of food and beverage.
Private Chef
Average Salary for a Private Chef
Private Chefs in America make an average salary of $51,657 per year or $25 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $77,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $34,000 per year.
Average Private Chef Salary
$51,657 Yearly$24.84 hourly
What Am I Worth?
Roles and Types of Private Chef
There are several types of private chef, including:
Chef
Role:
MMM, do you smell that? Working as a chef comes with some good-smelling perks, especially if you're good at what you do. Chefs are in charge of preparing food for establishments where food is served, typically restaurants.
The schedule of a chef varies widely depending on where you're cooking. Sometimes they work early mornings, late evenings, weekends and even holidays. Yes, people still want to eat your delicious food on Christmas
The schedule of a chef varies widely depending on where you're cooking. Sometimes they work early mornings, late evenings, weekends and even holidays. Yes, people still want to eat your delicious food on Christmas
- Average Salary: $46,824
- Degree: Associate Degree
Sous Chef
Role:
Chefs are often considered artists, who create culinary masterpieces pleasing to vision and palate alike. Sous chefs are there at every step of the process, assisting the head chef, in a professionally run kitchen, in making the magic happen.
They contribute to creating the menu, making sure every necessary ingredient is in stock and fresh, supervise sanitation, and do everything in their power to reach the expected quality standard of the meals.
Defying stereotypical gender roles, or perhaps adhering to less obvious ones, the sous chef position is primarily filled by men, especially in high-end kitchens. With all the long hours, heat, and a high-pressure working environment, prejudice against women has them framed as not being physically and emotionally strong enough to work in kitchens, and receive fewer opportunities to hold high-status jobs as cooks.
Restaurants behind the scenes are apparently not just the site for exquisite food preparation but prove to be an excellent field for institutionalized sexism as well. Go sous chefettes, it is high time to change this demographic!
They contribute to creating the menu, making sure every necessary ingredient is in stock and fresh, supervise sanitation, and do everything in their power to reach the expected quality standard of the meals.
Defying stereotypical gender roles, or perhaps adhering to less obvious ones, the sous chef position is primarily filled by men, especially in high-end kitchens. With all the long hours, heat, and a high-pressure working environment, prejudice against women has them framed as not being physically and emotionally strong enough to work in kitchens, and receive fewer opportunities to hold high-status jobs as cooks.
Restaurants behind the scenes are apparently not just the site for exquisite food preparation but prove to be an excellent field for institutionalized sexism as well. Go sous chefettes, it is high time to change this demographic!
- Average Salary: $48,716
- Degree: Associate Degree
Head Cook
Role:
A Head Cook, aka the chef, is responsible for running a kitchen, usually in a high-end establishment. They delegate tasks and oversee the work of everyone involved in food preparation, making sure that the result is nothing but exquisite delicacies. They come up with new recipes, create the menu, and make sure the necessary ingredients are always in stock.
Head cooks are deeply passionate about cooking. They live and die for tasty food and know a lot about other countries' culinary cultures. They consider their profession art, rather than anything else, and just like a poet has a favorite pen, you will recognize an authentic head cook by the fact that he/she favors one knife over all others.
Not that salaries matter to a real artist; just for your information, head cooks in the U.S. make an average of $48,098 per year.
Head cooks are deeply passionate about cooking. They live and die for tasty food and know a lot about other countries' culinary cultures. They consider their profession art, rather than anything else, and just like a poet has a favorite pen, you will recognize an authentic head cook by the fact that he/she favors one knife over all others.
Not that salaries matter to a real artist; just for your information, head cooks in the U.S. make an average of $48,098 per year.
- Average Salary: $44,412
- Degree: High School Diploma
States With The Most Private Chef Jobs
Number Of Private Chef Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 387 | $55,096 |
| 2 | Florida | 353 | $48,872 |
| 3 | California | 328 | $55,340 |
| 4 | New York | 232 | $54,217 |
| 5 | Georgia | 210 | $49,456 |
| 6 | North Carolina | 170 | $46,419 |
| 7 | Virginia | 165 | $47,405 |
| 8 | Arizona | 156 | $49,849 |
| 9 | Massachusetts | 133 | $53,081 |
| 10 | Pennsylvania | 122 | $67,977 |
| 11 | Ohio | 121 | $53,189 |
| 12 | Illinois | 115 | $51,092 |
| 13 | Colorado | 109 | $44,474 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 109 | $38,447 |
| 15 | Michigan | 108 | $54,062 |
| 16 | Indiana | 91 | $50,696 |
| 17 | Minnesota | 91 | $48,850 |
| 18 | New Jersey | 88 | $84,086 |
| 19 | Missouri | 73 | $44,650 |
| 20 | Washington | 72 | $52,276 |
| 21 | Maryland | 72 | $49,611 |
| 22 | Wisconsin | 72 | $44,942 |
| 23 | South Carolina | 71 | $43,919 |
| 24 | Utah | 68 | $33,795 |
| 25 | Nevada | 64 | $57,649 |
| 26 | Alaska | 49 | $52,991 |
| 27 | Connecticut | 47 | $56,579 |
| 28 | Montana | 47 | $39,224 |
| 29 | Alabama | 46 | $47,054 |
| 30 | Oregon | 40 | $45,670 |
| 31 | New Hampshire | 33 | $64,877 |
| 32 | Oklahoma | 32 | $43,466 |
| 33 | Kentucky | 30 | $44,223 |
| 34 | Mississippi | 28 | $49,925 |
| 35 | Louisiana | 27 | $37,133 |
| 36 | Kansas | 23 | $36,704 |
| 37 | Iowa | 18 | $41,240 |
| 38 | Idaho | 16 | $30,782 |
| 39 | Wyoming | 15 | $48,798 |
| 40 | Maine | 14 | $53,374 |
| 41 | North Dakota | 14 | $44,668 |
| 42 | Hawaii | 13 | $56,051 |
| 43 | Rhode Island | 11 | $61,364 |
| 44 | West Virginia | 10 | $44,053 |
| 45 | Arkansas | 10 | $39,300 |
| 46 | Delaware | 9 | $50,331 |
| 47 | Vermont | 9 | $42,457 |
| 48 | Nebraska | 9 | $42,078 |
| 49 | South Dakota | 8 | $43,427 |
| 50 | New Mexico | 5 | $43,894 |
Top Colleges for Private Chefs
2. University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, OH • Private
In-State Tuition
$11,000
Enrollment
25,973
3. Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,244
Enrollment
15,557
4. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
5. Georgetown University
Washington, DC • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,104
Enrollment
7,089
6. Southwest Minnesota State University
Marshall, MN • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,612
Enrollment
2,022
7. Inter American University of Puerto Rico Ponce
Mercedita, PR • Private
In-State Tuition
$5,914
Enrollment
4,155
8. University of New Hampshire
Durham, NH • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,499
Enrollment
12,668
9. Monroe College
Bronx, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$15,428
Enrollment
5,482
10. SUNY College of Technology at Delhi
Delhi, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,360
Enrollment
3,142
Top Skills For a Private Chef
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 19.9% of private chefs listed kitchen equipment on their resume, but soft skills such as business skills and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Private Chef Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Private Chef templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Private Chef resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Private Chef diversity
Private Chef Gender Distribution
Male
59%
Female
41%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among private chefs, 41.2% of them are women, while 58.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among private chefs is White, which makes up 53.1% of all private chefs.
- The most common foreign language among private chefs is Spanish at 30.3%.
Online Courses For Private Chef That You May Like
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How Do Private Chefs Rate Their Jobs?
Top Private Chef Employers
Most Common Employers For Private Chef
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Athlete's Foot | $90,934 | $43.72 | 3 |
| 2 | Michael Anthony Jewelers | $55,901 | $26.88 | 4 |
| 3 | The Catering Company | $54,466 | $26.19 | 3 |
| 4 | Williams College | $53,544 | $25.74 | 2 |
| 5 | Go! Retail Group | $52,935 | $25.45 | 4 |
| 6 | Independent Contractor | $52,126 | $25.06 | 3 |
| 7 | Salted | $51,894 | $24.95 | 3 |
| 8 | College Chefs | $51,837 | $24.92 | 3 |
| 9 | *n/a* | $51,821 | $24.91 | 2 |
| 10 | Jackson Family Wines | $51,494 | $24.76 | 2 |
Private Chef Videos
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