What You Need to Know About Private Cook

Occupation Description Prepare meals in private homes. Includes personal chefs.

A Day in the Life of a Private Cook

• Prepare meals in private homes according to employers' recipes or tastes, handling all meals for the family and possibly for other household staff.
• Specialize in preparing fancy dishes or food for special diets.
• Keep records pertaining to menus, finances, and other business-related issues.
• Direct the operation and organization of kitchens and all food-related activities, including the presentation and serving of food.
• Plan menus according to employers' needs and diet restrictions.
• Stock, organize, and clean kitchens and cooking utensils.

Private Cook Required Skills

These are the skills Private Cooks say are the most useful in their careers:

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Management of Material Resources: Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Related Job Titles for this Occupation:

• Culinary Worker
• Private Chef
• Certified Personal Chef (CPC)
• Holiday Food Prepper
• Personal Chef

What Kind of Private Cook Job Opportunities Are There?

There were about 25,000 jobs for Private Cook in 2016 (in the United States). New jobs are being produced at a rate of 5.2% which is below the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,300 new jobs for Private Cook by 2026. Due to new job openings and attrition, there will be an average of 3,700 job openings in this field each year.

The states with the most job growth for Private Cook are Nevada, Oregon, and Florida. Watch out if you plan on working in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, or North Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

How Much Does a Private Cook Make?

The salary for Private Cooks ranges between about $25,610 and $62,600 a year.

Private Cooks who work in California, make the highest salaries.

How much do Private Cooks make in different U.S. states?

State	Annual Mean Salary
California	$40,080

Tools & Technologies Used by Private Cooks

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Private Cooks:

• Web browser software
• Email software
• Intuit QuickBooks
• YouTube
• WordPress
• Work scheduling software

Becoming a Private Cook

What education is needed to be a Private Cook?

What work experience do I need to become a Private Cook?

Where Private Cooks Work

Private Cooks work in the following industries:

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: U.S. Army Europe Images via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

More about our data sources and methodologies.