Hiring a Private Chef (or Two!) Is More Affordable Than You Might Think
These chefs offer intriguing culinary options, from pop-up dinners to freezer meals. They'll also come to your house to cook for you and your friends.
Have you ever thought of hiring a private chef for a gathering of friends? Me neither. But lately, a few options came across my radar that intrigued me. When I dug deeper, I found that hiring someone to come into your home to cook could be a viable option, priced at a sweet spot between cooking yourself and dining out at a stylish restaurant.
By the way: even if you don’t need a personal chef for a dinner party, maybe you could simply use some help getting good food on the table on busy weeknights. That’s where Dinner Delights will come through for you. Read on!
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Now, on to three private chefs (along with what else they’re up to).
The Food Life of Zack and Cody
Longtime industry professionals Zach Allard and Cody Hughey became best friends when they both served as line cooks for the opening crew of the local Cooper’s Hawk, where, according to Allard, they worked “super-long hours” for “not a lot of money.” While they weren’t averse to hard work, a few letdowns led them to strike out on their own.
“At one point, we just looked at each other and said, ‘We can do better,’” Allard told me recently.
Thus “The Food Life of Zach and Cody” was born. The duo offers catering, pop-up dinners (the next one is in May), and in-home chef services. They’re committed to sourcing locally when they can—Leafy Dreams in Lacona, Iowa, for example, will grow the greens for the next pop-up.
For in-home chef services, the duo charges by the hour for chef services, plus the cost of groceries. They’ll do the food shopping, prep, cooking, and cleanup. The price is $40 an hour for one chef (up to a party of nine) or $75 an hour for two chefs (parties of 10 or more). If you have a large event, they can bring in servers.
They’ll work with you to customize the menu. When I asked for a few examples of what they’ve done recently, Allard mentioned a recent honeymoon dinner for two (with a scallops, lobster, and steak) and, for a party of 12, a four course-dinner that included a picanha steak with chimichurri, cheese-stuffed potato cakes with a spicy tomato jam, and garlic asparagus.
Head to The Food Life of Zach and Cody website for more information.
Dinner Delights by Andrea Love
Andrea Love is “a lawyer by … debt,” who started her personal chef business in 2017. Her business is twofold. First, she offers freezer-meal parties, which allow participants to craft six meals ready to stash in the freezer. She does the planning, shopping, and prepping; then participants gather their BFFs for an evening of “assembling and socialization.” At the end of the party, everyone takes home six meals. To schedule a private party, contact her via her Facebook page. The cost ranges from $140 per guest (for six three-serving meals) or $280 (for six six-serving meals).
Love also offers freezer-meal classes at various community centers in the metro (find updates on Facebook).
She describes her culinary approach as “comfort food with a twist.” And by that she means something like this (from an upcoming class):
The other angle to “Dinner Delights” is the in-home private chef services, which is priced according to the event. Love told me she recently cooked for a 17th birthday celebration, with Caesar salad, chicken Alfredo with broccoli, garlic bread, and dessert for $40 per person. For a more lavish three-course dinner, the price goes up from there. Contact her for details and pricing.
BIG NEWS: In late summer, Love will be opening a Dinner Delights storefront at 2713 Beaver Ave. in Beaverdale, in the former Curbin’ Cuisine location. She’ll offer grab-and-go freezer meals, as well as prepared foods you can order in advance and pick up on a specified day (akin to the Grateful Chef and Nourished models). Families, especially, will appreciate her “Friday Night Pizza Kits,” with everything you need to make your own homemade pizza to kick off the weekend.
Jacob Schroeder’s Crafted Food Services
I’ve written about Jacob Schroeder’s role as part of the triumvirate that heads up Moxie, but I have yet to tell you about his solo act, Crafted Food Services.
Schroeder has had quite the culinary journey. After beginning in entry-level restaurant industry jobs (busser, prep cook, etc.) in 2007, his love for the biz took him to Denver, where he worked for five years—at one point crossing paths with Joe Tripp, of Harbinger fame, in the kitchen of Fruition. He also cooked around Europe, where stages at one Michelin-starred restaurant led to another—from the two-star Ocean Restaurant at Vila Vita Park in Portugal’s Algarve to the three-star Aqua Restaurant in Wolfsburg, Germany.
Once back in Iowa, he worked more than five years as a corporate chef but began to feel less engaged than he had in earlier gigs. (“I wasn’t working 70 to 100 hours a week!” he explained). He decided to strike out on his own with Crafted Food Services, a business that offers cooking classes, catering, and in-home chef services.
Options for his private-chef dinner parties include anything from family-style meals (pass the platter and sides!), at $50 per person, to 10-course tasting menus of highly detailed food, priced according to the menu. No matter what you order, Schroeder is dedicated to using local ingredients as much as possible. Contact him for specifics at on his website.
While he’ll certainly get dinner all ready, clean up, then skedaddle, you might want him to stick around to chat for a while. “Generally, the best expression of my business is when I can be there to talk about the inspiration behind the dishes I’ve created,” he told me.
And I, for one, wouldn’t mind hearing a few stories of his experiences of working in some of the most esteemed kitchens in the world.
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