How private chef services work

Two common setups

Most private chef services fall into one of two setups. In the first, a chef comes to your home and cooks in your kitchen, usually for a dinner party or special event, then serves and cleans up. In the second, a chef cooks in a separate kitchen and delivers a batch of meals to you on a set schedule, which is usually called weekly meal prep.

The setup matters for more than convenience. Food-safety rules in both New York City and Florida treat food cooked in your own kitchen for you and your guests differently from food prepared somewhere else and brought to you.

Where Florida draws the line

Florida’s Division of Hotels and Restaurants describes personal chefs as people contracted to prepare and serve food at a private party or for a single household using privately owned, onsite equipment, who do not prepare or store food before or after the event and do not bring anything with them or take anything away. It says personal chefs do not fall under the Division’s regulation.Source: www2.myfloridalicense.com, checked Oct 24, 2026

The same agency says that if you prepare food for customers outside the home where it is eaten, or deliver prepared food to the home, you need a catering license.Source: myfloridalicense.custhelp.com, checked Oct 24, 2026

Florida classifies caterers as public food service establishments where food or drink is prepared for service elsewhere, and says no catering food operations can be conducted in a private residence.Source: www2.myfloridalicense.com, checked Oct 24, 2026

Where New York City draws the line

The NYC Health Code defines a food service establishment as a place where food is provided for individual portion service directly to the consumer, whether the food is free or sold and whether it is eaten on or off the premises.Source: nyc.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

The Health Code says no food service establishment permit will be issued for, and no food service establishment may be located in, a private home or apartment.Source: nyc.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

New York City’s permit page says food service establishments need a permit from the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and that a supervising manager must pass a Food Protection Course and be on-site at all times.Source: nyc-business.nyc.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

Whether a chef who cooks only in a client’s own NYC home needs a city food permit: Not published. We did not find an NYC Health Department page that addresses in-home personal chefs directly.Source: nyc.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

What this means when you hire

If a chef will cook meals somewhere else and deliver them, ask where the food is cooked and whether that kitchen holds the permit or license your city or state requires. If the chef cooks only in your kitchen, ask about their food-safety training anyway, since it is a good sign of how they work.