Weekly meal-prep chef vs. dinner-party chef

The short version

A dinner-party or event chef is hired for one occasion. They plan a menu with you, shop, cook, serve and clean up, and the price usually depends on the number of guests and the menu.

A weekly meal-prep chef handles your everyday eating. They cook a set of meals once or more a week, often around your household’s preferences and allergies, and you reheat or plate the food during the week. Pricing is usually a weekly or monthly rate.

Questions for an event chef

Ask whether the quote includes groceries, staff for serving, rentals such as plates and glassware, and cleanup. Ask how they handle guests with allergies, and what happens if your guest count changes.

Ask whether sales tax will be added to the quote.

New York’s caterer bulletin says catering events may take place at a customer’s home, and that in general all charges by caterers related to a customer’s event are taxable, even if listed separately on the bill.Source: tax.ny.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

The same bulletin says a mandatory gratuity is not taxable only if it is shown separately, is identified as a gratuity, and all of it goes to the employees; service charges not labeled as gratuities are always subject to sales tax.Source: tax.ny.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

Questions for a weekly meal-prep chef

Ask where the food is cooked, how it is delivered and kept cold, how many meals a week the plan covers, whether groceries are included in the price, and whether you keep the same chef from week to week.

In Florida, food that is prepared outside the home where it is eaten, or delivered to the home, requires a catering license from the Division of Hotels and Restaurants.Source: myfloridalicense.custhelp.com, checked Oct 24, 2026

In New York City, a food service establishment includes places where food is provided whether consumption occurs on or off the premises, and such an establishment may not be located in a private home or apartment.Source: nyc.gov, checked Oct 24, 2026

Where NetChefs fits

NetChefs (our own service)NetChefs, whose owners run this site, offers private chef events in New York, the Hamptons, Miami, Tampa–Sarasota and Santa Barbara.Source: netchefs.net, checked Oct 24, 2026

NetChefs (our own service)It also offers NetChefs Daily, a weekly meal-prep service in New York, the Hamptons and Miami: one drop a week, cooked in a local kitchen and delivered the day it is cooked.Source: netchefs.net, checked Oct 24, 2026