About us
The best meals happen at someone's table.
We started Chef.nyc because we believe restaurant-quality food shouldn't require a restaurant. The best dinners are the ones you share at home, with people you love, eating food made just for you.
Our story
It started with a dinner party that nobody wanted to cook for.
Our founders were planning a birthday dinner for 12 people. They wanted great food ( the kind you'd get at a serious restaurant ) but they wanted it at home, relaxed, with no time limits and no dress code.
They found a chef through word of mouth. She arrived at 4pm, cooked a five-course meal in their kitchen, served it at their table, and left the kitchen spotless. It was the best meal any of them had eaten that year.
The problem? Finding her had taken three weeks, four WhatsApp groups, and a favour from a friend of a friend. That's when the idea clicked: what if finding a great private chef was as easy as booking a restaurant?
Chef.nyc launched in New York City in 2026 and serves New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.
Our principles
The principles behind everything we build
The chef comes first
Happy chefs cook better food. We build tools that make their lives easier, protect their time, and let them earn what they're worth. Everything else follows from that.
Food is personal
We don't believe in set menus. Every event on our platform gets a custom menu designed for those specific guests, that specific occasion. No templates, no shortcuts.
Simplicity is respect
Booking a private chef should feel effortless. Complicated processes disrespect people's time. We aim to remove every unnecessary step, question, and click.
Trust is earned
We vet every chef who joins the platform. We show real reviews from real guests. We don't boost rankings for money. Trust is our product, the food just happens to be how we deliver it.
Local always wins
Every city has its own food culture. We don't impose a generic experience, we hire local chefs, celebrate local produce, and adapt the platform to each market.
Hospitality, not transactions
We're building a hospitality company, not a marketplace. The experience matters as much as the booking. Warmth, care, and attention to detail are in our DNA.
- 3
- Areas served: New York City, Long Island and New Jersey
- 10%
- Guest service fee, shown at checkout
- 0%
- Commission charged to chefs
- 2026
- Launched in New York City
Our mission
Make private dining accessible to everyone who values good food.
Private chefs used to be a luxury reserved for the wealthy. We're changing that. By connecting talented chefs directly with guests and removing the middlemen, we've made private dining surprisingly affordable, often comparable to a good restaurant when you split the cost across a group.
Our mission is to build a world where hiring a chef for dinner is as normal as ordering takeaway, except the food is better, the experience is unforgettable, and the chef is someone you'll want to book again.
Come eat with us
Whether you're a guest looking for an unforgettable meal or a chef ready to cook on your own terms, we'd love to have you.