Private chef

A chef who cooks on site and plates a multi-course dinner or tasting menu for an intimate wedding — at home, at a rental house, or in a small venue.

Also called: private chef, personal chef, chef's tasting, tasting menu, plated dinner at home, in-home dining, micro wedding dinner, elopement dinner, intimate dinner, supper club, omakase.

When couples book this

Usually booked about 10 months out. It moves with your date.

Your wishlist, before you talk to anyone

Questions you can answer early — they become the yardstick you compare candidates against.

What kind of dinner are you dreaming of?
Wishlist mirror of dinner_format.
What kind of food are you dreaming of?
Free text — the cuisine, mood, or signature dishes you're picturing.
What must the chef be able to accommodate?
How would you like drinks handled?
Wishlist mirror of wine_pairing.

What to ask each candidate

Facts that differ from one vendor to the next — worth writing down while you shop.

What kind of dinner?
Who handles drinks?
What kitchen does the chef need?
The make-or-break candidate fact. A rental-house kitchen is the common case — the walkthrough task exists because chefs plan the menu around the equipment.
Who does the chef bring?
Solo chefs plate and pour themselves at the smallest tables; a server changes the rhythm of a tasting.
Who provides plates, glasses, and linens?

What settles once booked

The working details you and your vendor pin down together.

How many at the table?
The scale line between this template and caterer_full_service, drawn advisorily — the couple decides where it falls.
Dietary needs and allergies
At this scale the chef can cook around every need per seat — the rollup goes into menu planning, not just a count.
Menu planning session
When can the chef get into the kitchen?
What time do they arrive?
The time you agreed together, not an estimate worked back from the ceremony.
What times are set on the day?
One row per moment — a serving round, a pickup leg, a person's slot, a set. Each row becomes its own block on your run of show, labeled with whatever you type, so name it for whoever will be reading it.
What time do they finish?
Who do you call on the day?
The name and cell number of whoever is on site — not the office line.
Where do they come in, and where do they park?
The load-in door or dock, where the vehicles go, and who opens up.
Do they need a meal?
Counts toward your caterer's vendor-meal number.
What balance is due on the day?
Your own figure, from your contract — what is still owed when they arrive.
What gratuity are you planning?
Your own figure. It rides beside the balance on the day-of money sheet.

How it lands on your day

Chef arrival & prep
Dinner service
A tasting runs long by design — courses are the evening's pacing.
Kitchen reset & chef departs
A private chef leaves the kitchen as found — the reset is part of the offer, and part of the brief.
Set time
One block per row of the cell's dayof_service_times answer; the row's own label names it, and its `until` makes it a window.

How it’s usually priced

Usually priced per guest.

What your vendor reads from your plan

Book on or off Beetrothed — either way the plan assembles a brief your vendor can work from: the event, counts, courses, service, schedule, contacts.

Plan your private chef — and everything around it

These questions live as one cell of a connected plan: your budget, guest list, checklist and timeline all read from the same answers. See the whole board work, or join the waitlist and we’ll write when it’s your turn.

We will write when there is something worth telling you.