Hire a Personal Cook / Private Chef


A private chef is dedicated to your household, meeting any dietary requirements, and accommodating your individual schedule and cooking needs. We will help you find an experienced private chef / personal cook that is perfect for your home.

How a Chef Can Help

An experienced, professional in-home private chef will plan, prepare and serve delicious cuisine according to your taste and/or dietary requirements. Typical duties are:

  • Meal planning
  • Grocery shopping, and restocking staples and supplies
  • Preparing fresh meals (and sometimes plating/serving, depending on the client’s preference)
  • Preparing meals to be refrigerated and/or reheated
  • Cleaning kitchen thoroughly after meal preparation
  • Refrigerator and pantry organization
  • Occasional event cooking

Compensation for full-time MBF chefs typically starts at $100K/year (+ employer portion of payroll taxes) and benefits.

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Why MBF

We have been serving clients like you since 1994, and our expert team provides comprehensive services for your home. Our benefits to you are:

  • Personal Service: MBF is known for being extremely responsive, providing excellent customer service, and our personalized matching.
  • Expertise and Experience: Our veteran staff know the industry standards and can provide you with expectations for your position, minimizing miscommunication with your household employee.
  • Exceptional Candidates: All candidates are have completed an extensive screening process. We also do customized recruiting for each position.
  • Longevity of Placement: Our tried and true processes, including trial time, a household employment contract, and review forms, greatly increases the length of placements.
  • Post-Placement Support: Our replacement guarantee, quarterly check-ins, and our ongoing availabilty for problem solving / coaching ensure that we will continue to stand by the success of your placement.
  • Depth of Services: The agency places a range of household staff, giving you one call for all of your in-home staffing needs.
  • Reduced Overall Cost of Employment: We save you money by reducing your time spent in screening, providing you with only qualified candidates, a proven household employment contract, and decreased chance of turnover.

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Pricing

  • Membership Fee: To begin the search, there is a membership fee of $300.
  • Placement Fee: When you hire, a referral fee of 20% of the candidate’s gross annual compensation will be due.

Total Annual Gross Compensation is based on 52 weeks in a year.

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Candidate Screening

Each candidate is qualified, experienced, and has made it through our intensive screening process. This ensures that our clients do not have to spend any time sifting through applications. Only 10% of applicants make it through the process, which includes:

  • Minimum requirements fulfilled (at least 21 years old, non-smokers, and eligible to work in the U.S.)
  • At least 3 references (at least 1 of them in-home) and/or 3 years of related experience
  • Online application, with experience and pre-qualification review
  • Screening interview
  • References checked and former employment verified
  • Two-step background checks
    • Level 1 background check (pre-screening): Basic Identity Research (SSN issuance information and names associated with the SSN in consumer reference files), Multijurisdictional Criminal Records Database Search, and Driving History (driving record from the state in which the individual is licensed).
    • Level 2 background check (run on the candidate when you make a job offer): US Department of Justice sex offender website search, DPS criminal record database, county criminal checks under all names in all counties associated with the person in the past seven years, and criminal searches under all names in each federal district associated with the person in the past seven years
  • Highest level of education verified

Also available per client’s request at an additional cost: 5-panel drug screening.

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Search Process

Our process for placing household staff is tried and true after over 30 years in the industry. We take great care in a thorough but efficient method for matching household professionals with the needs of our client families.

  1. Consultation: The process begins with a call to discuss your specific needs. Please contact us to go over your household staffing wishes.
  2. Starting a Search: You will complete an online Client Application with the details of your unique requirements. We will then create a job description, collect the membership fee and Client Agreement, and begin the search.
  3. Interviews: We will begin sending you a select group of wonderful, pre-screened candidates to interview that match your search criteria. You will provide us with feedback on each candidate in order to tailor the search to further meet your needs, and bring one or two of the candidates back for “trial time” to observe them in action as part of a working interview.
  4. Hiring: After you have found your perfect match and are ready to make an employment offer, remember to always speak in terms of “gross pay” (not “take home” or “net pay”) when negotiating salary. You will fill in a Household Staff Employment Agreement that we will provide, detailing the specific duties, compensation, and terms of employment. The Referral Fee is then due for the referral of your household staffing candidate.
  5. Ongoing Support: MBF is available to meet any of your post-placement needs, and can be contacted for industry recommendations / standards, appropriate expectations, and any necessary coaching or issue resolution.

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