Before those knives go blunt and the pans go rusty, use these tips to improve your profile as a private chef, so that when things improve you’re ready for your next challenge!
Introducing Sugarella Staff - you can now book a cook or any other member of private household staff
7 Reasons to book a cook for your villa holiday
How to go the extra mile as a private chef (and get rebooked again and again)
If you’re reading this, chances are you are a professional cook or private chef. So, you’ll know that the catering industry is hardly a cake walk: competition is tough when it comes to booking jobs. And being booked once doesn’t necessarily lead to being booked again, not even if you whip up a feast that would have Alain Ducasse quaking in his boots…..(click to read more)
Tips for working freelance as a cook (AKA what our clients want when they book a cook):
Why be a private chef? When our clients book a cook, what's in it for you?
What really helps Sugarella to book a cook… the Dos and Don’ts for cooks and chefs:
What Sugarella looks for to book a cook...
Seven reasons to book a cook for Christmas
Six things you could be doing when you book a cook
Money Talks: What you can expect to be paid daily as a private chef
Being a professional chef is a dream job for so many people, but no one is an overnight success. Great gigs and big money comes after years of honing your skills and grafting to build up confidence, contacts and culinary repertoire. Sounds like hard work? It is. Very. But nothing worth having ever came easy. Here are our GUIDELINES as to what you can expect to be paid, by the day, throughout your career as a freelance private chef.
How to be a better private chef
You can boil, bake and fry your way around a kitchen standing on your head, blindfolded with your hands tied behind your back. Your menus are inventive and fresh, and there are no tough joints, soggy bottoms or burnt buns on your watch. In short you are cooking on gas (or Aga, if need be). But there’s more to be being a private chef than just being a culinary whizz kid. Here, we tell you how to improve on excellent…
Eight Dishes All Private Chefs Should Know Off By Heart
Six Brilliant Things About Being A Private Chef
Want to work as a private chef? You'll need all of the below:
Day in the Life of a Sugarella Private Chef: Cooking in Norway
12 Good Reasons To Book a Cook
Why The Best Chefs Aren't Just Great Cooks Who Can Plate Up Perfection
Happy clients, happy cooks, happy us!
From Shoreditch to Thailand to Norway, creating recipe videos, cooking for adults, children and even a dog...Over the past few months we have placed cooks into some brilliant jobs and, unsurprisingly, given the skill of the chefs on our books and the exciting opportunities we offer, there are some very happy candidates and equally happy clients!
Private Cooks and Chefs...a few reminders from Sugarella Cooks...
Imagine booking an expensive hotel with no pictures of the rooms, recommendations or trip advisor scores....
Imagine visiting a restaurant where you are expected to spend a lot of money which has no reviews, no menus in advance for you to see, and no one has ever heard of it...
Imagine buying an item of clothing off the peg online without knowing what it looks or feels like....
So - you want to cook in a private home. That is great, and we look forward to working with you. There are just a few things we would like to remind you:-
- We have numerous cooks on our books. And they all think they are as good as you. We are a young company and, for now, have less clients than cooks, so it helps to be nice to us, to stay in touch with us, and to let us know your whereabouts. That way it is likely you will be our first call when the next amazing job comes in.
- You should be able to provide us with at least two recent references from your most recent employers. These should be private client employers, regardless of how famous/busy they might be, we work with numerous chefs and clients and can always get references from someone, whether that be the clients PA, or the client themselves, it is possible. Unfortunately without references, we cannot use you. How will we know who you are and how you work in a private home?
- We advise all our chefs to have a DBS certificate. You are working in a private home, around young children, and invading someones private space. We want to know you are who you say you are, as much as the client does. Apply for one here.
- Photographs of your food. This is really important. If you are a chef in this day and age, we advise you have your own website with lots of photographs of your food. Or at the very least, an instagram page which shows pictures of your food ONLY. We don't want to see what you get up to on your days off - create a private personal page for this. You may even find you get jobs from clients direct through your own instagram page or website.
- Up to date CVs and references. When you finish a job, ask your client if they are happy to write a reference for you and if they are happy for you to pass their details to future employers. Update your CV, send it to us and let us know the amazing things you have been doing.
- Reply to our e mails and phone calls. As much as you like to get a response from us, we like to get a response from you. If we contact you in regards to something, even if it is not for you, please just acknowledge us and let us know where you are in the world. If you are no longer needing work, we then no longer need to bother you.
- Once a job is confirmed, contact the client at your earliest convenience to arrange menus, logistics and travel arrangements.
- Flexibility. Being a private cook is not easy. We never said it was, and we know how hard it is ourselves, having been there and done it, and still doing it! Please expect the long hours and days, and understand that some jobs will be harder than others....
- If you can do all of the above, get your chef whites ironed, your knives sharpened and....enjoy the experience.
To work for Sugarella Cooks or to book a cook, please contact us.