Personal Chef: How to Run the First Call with Your Client

Personal Chef is an invitation-only program, available only in selected countries and to chefs selected by Take a Chef. This guide is for chefs who are already part of it.

A client has chosen you and wants to talk. On this call you explain how their service works and what you decide together, answer their questions, and close their first session. Call them in the slot you confirmed in the chat. When you hang up, send the Request Money from Private Chef Manager.

How the call usually goes

How their service works: about 25% of the call
What you decide together: about 20%
The client's questions: about 30%
Their goal and preferences: about 15%
Closing the first session: about 10%

1. Before you call: read what the client chose

The request shows what the client selected in the form. Use it to prepare:

Their goal (for example, eating healthier): keep it in mind, and read their extra details too, such as who trains or which meal is hardest for them.
Cuisines and ingredients they like: this is where your menu ideas come from.
Allergies: an allergy is never negotiable. If it is an intolerance, ask how strict it is.
Who eats differently (for example, one person needs more protein because they train): each person gets their own version, so prepare an idea for them.
Volume (for example, 2 people and 10 meals): this gives the session hours from the table, 4 hours in this example. The menu must fit those hours.

Have your calendar, your Personal Chef menu and Private Chef Manager to hand during the call.

2. Explain how their service works

Today you close the first session. Tell them how the following ones will work:

The same day, every week, in their home. You cook, portion, label, store and leave the kitchen clean.
Everything is tailored to each person: their goal, tastes and allergies. Each member of the household gets what they need.
It adjusts every week: they tell you what worked and what they would change, and the next menu reflects it.
They can move or skip a week: if they travel or there is a holiday, that week there is no session and no payment.
They pay every week, through Take a Chef: one Request Money per session. Ingredients are paid at cost, with the receipts.
The practical side: kitchen equipment and containers, fridge space and how to get into the home. All within the session hours.

How the service grows:

Today, the call: you get to know them and close the first session.
Week 1, the first menu: when you finish, ask them how it went.
Weeks 2 to 4, you adjust: each week you know better what they love.
After that, whatever they need: more meals, another member of the household or a second weekly session.

You can say it like this: "Each week you tell me how it went and I'll keep adjusting. And if you ever need more, we can expand it."

3. What you decide together, and what is fixed

Tell the client what depends on the two of you and what is already set. You decide together:

The menu and its bases, week by week
The day of the week
How they want things: portions, spice on the side, quick dinners
Containers, fridge space and how to get into the home

Not negotiable:

The hours: they come from the table, based on the volume
The price: the one the client saw when choosing you, with the commission included
Charging anything outside Take a Chef, except ingredients
Shopping or planning before the client pays

4. The client's questions

Their questions are a big part of the call, so leave time for them. These are the most common, with what you can answer:

"What if I don't like something?" Tell me and I'll change it the following week. That's why it adjusts every week.
"Do you cook differently for each of us?" Yes: each person according to their diet, allergies and tastes.
"Who buys the ingredients, and how are they paid?" I buy them, good quality, at the supermarket you prefer. I share the receipts and you pay me at cost. If you have no cash, Take a Chef can send you a payment link with a 3% surcharge.
"How long is each session?" It depends on the volume: for 10 meals and 2 people, 4 hours. It covers cooking, portioning, storing and cleaning.
"Do you use my kitchen? And the containers?" Yes, your kitchen. You provide the containers; if you have none, I buy them and add them to the receipt.
"How do I store everything?" Each meal is portioned and labelled with how to store and reheat it.
"Can I skip a week?" Yes. First we try to move it to another day; if that isn't possible, that week there is no session and no payment.
"What if I have to cancel a session I've already paid?" Take a Chef's cancellation policy applies, and Take a Chef handles refunds.
"Can I pay you directly?" No: everything goes through Take a Chef, except the ingredients.

If you don't know an answer, don't make it up: tell the client you'll confirm it, and ask Take a Chef.

5. Menu ideas and closing the first session

Don't arrive with a closed menu: bring ideas for their goal and adjust them together on the same call. You can put it like this: "I thought of some bases for the week: lemon chicken, brown rice, a lentil chilli and roasted vegetables. More vegetables for you, double chicken for your partner. What works for you and what would you change?"

A few bases for everyone: from your Personal Chef menu, for their goal and tastes, plus each person's version.
What works and what changes: adjust on the spot. The menu has to fit in the session hours.
Day and amount: the same day every week. The amount includes the commission (see the calculation below).
The Request Money, when you hang up: from Private Chef Manager, with the session date in the note. The session is confirmed when the client pays it.

Expanding later: once the first session goes well, offer what they are missing: more meals, another person, or a second weekly session (two at most). If they already ask for more on the call, adjust it then: the hours come from the table.

Ideas for each goal

Start from what the client selected and ask what they want to achieve. You can open like this: "I saw you want to eat healthier. Tell me: what do you eat during the week now, and what's hardest for you?"

If the client selected:

Eat healthier: ask "What would you like to eat more of, and less of?" Aim for more vegetables and less processed food, without it tasting like diet food.
Save time: ask "Which meal of the day is hardest to have ready?" It's usually dinner: think of dishes that are ready in 5 minutes.
Lose weight: ask "Are you following a plan from a professional?" If they are, cook to that plan. If not, use portions and recipes built for it.
Build muscle: ask "How often do you train, and when?" Put protein in every meal, matched to their training.
Get the children to eat a wider variety: ask "What do they eat without a fight, and what's a hard no?" Start from what they already eat and build from there.
Manage a medical condition: ask "What has your doctor told you to follow?" Cook to that plan and never change it yourself.

Then, person by person:

Who eats, and what does each person need? Age, diet and goal. If needed, each person gets their own menu.
Is it an allergy, or does it just not agree with them? An allergy is never negotiable. With an intolerance, ask how strict it is.
What do they love, and what do they never want to see again? Write down what they don't want, too.
How do they want it? Portions, spice on the side, dinners ready in 5 minutes, lunches to take to work.

Write everything down: it's the client's profile, and you'll use it every week.

Cheat sheet

Hours per session

The hours come from a fixed table based on meals per week and number of people. They cover all your time in the home: cooking, portioning, storing and cleaning. Nothing over 8 hours is quoted. Hours for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 people:

4 meals a week: 3, 3, 4, 4, 4 and 4 hours
6 meals a week: 3, 3, 4, 4, 5 and 5 hours
8 meals a week: 3, 4, 4, 5, 6 and 6 hours
10 meals a week: 4, 4, 5, 5, 6 and 6 hours
12 meals a week: 5, 5, 6, 6, 7 and 7 hours
14 meals a week: 5, 5, 6, 7, 7 and 8 hours

How to calculate the Request Money

Work out your price: your hourly rate × the session hours + the fixed transport fee + the fixed shopping fee.
Divide your price by 0.8. That is the amount the client pays, commission included.

Example: a price of 200 means a Request Money of 250, and you receive 200. The commission is 20% of what the client pays, so divide by 0.8 instead of adding 20% (adding 20% would give 240, which is wrong). If the volume changes on the call, recalculate with the new hours from the table.

How to send the Request Money

In your Private Chef Manager inbox, open the chat with the client.
Click the three dots and choose "Request money".
Enter the amount the client pays, commission included.
In the note, write the session date as year-month-day followed by "Personal Chef", for example: 2026-11-12 · Personal Chef.
Click Next to send it.

Send one Request Money per session, every week, in the same chat. Using another note format delays your payment.

The rules

Bookings and payments always go through Take a Chef.
Ingredients are paid at cost: you buy them, share the receipts and the client pays you back directly.
Send one Request Money every week. If a week is skipped, don't send one.
If you can't make a session, tell Take a Chef straight away.