MEALS AND DEALS
Private chefs—those employed full time by one household or company, as opposed to entrepreneurial personal chefs who prepare meals for reheating later for a roster of clients—have always been an underground phenomenon. Chefs who perform these duties tend to disappear into private service. Consequently, no one really knows how many there are. Former private chef Christian Paier, whose firm Private Chefs has placed hundreds of chefs since opening its doors in Beverly Hills in 1994, estimates the current total at 2,000 across the country, with 1,500 of those serving in private households. That represents an increase of approximately 30 percent in the last five years, which comes as no surprise to Paier. “Just look at the Fortune list,” he says. “There is more wealth out there.”

According to Paier, more than half of all private chefs are employed on the East and West Coasts, with the New York and Los Angeles metropolitan areas boasting approximately 400 each. Only about one-quarter of private chefs are female, he says. “Women chefs are hard to find, and households that have them tend to hang on to them.” Ninety percent are live-out, the provided accommodations and other perquisites of live-in chefs like Kaplan notwithstanding. “Living-in is a recipe for burnout,” Paier admits.

INTERVIEWING PROSPECTIVE CHEFS

The following checklist is adapted from interview criteria developed by Private Chefs.Has the candidate chef: Memorized and addressed the job description and requirements? Exhibited passion for the profession and enthusiasm for private service? Projected a positive attitude? Clearly stated her career goals? Brought and discussed sample menus and presentation photos? Provided a sample kitchen budget? Explained strengths &weaknesses? Stayed focused and answered questions directly? Asked intelligent, relevant questions? Arrived on time and appropriately groomed? Offered to cook a test meal? Expressed interest in the job at the end of the interview? Sent a thank-you note after the interview?

Whether live-out or live-in, chefs rarely prepare more than lunch and dinner five or six days a week on a regular basis, though the work week often includes the weekend. Todd Lowey, private chef to entertainment mogul David Geffen in Beverly Hills and Malibu, generally prepares lunch and dinner from Wednesday through Sunday, with the number of diners ranging from one to 20. Stephen Ainge, former chef to Prince Charles and the late Princess Diana as well as to the Rothschild family, also works Wednesday through Sunday in his employer’s homes in Manhattan or the Hamptons. Some households that require 24-hour coverage employ three chefs working in shifts, Paier says, while one couple he knows, with households in 10 different locations, employs a full-time chef (as well as a complete staff) in each. Employers commonly offer official vacation time of at least two weeks, but employers end up granting far more because of travel schedules and other commitments. Ainge often finds his time off swelling to seven or eight weeks annually.

At the low end of the pay scale, full-time private chefs with the experience of a few years command $35,000 to $55,000 annually, depending on location and duties, says Ray Wells, director of career services for the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. According to Wells, the median annual compensation is $60,000 to $70,000, exclusive of perquisites, increasing to $80,000 to $100,000 and more at the top tier or when travel or entertaining is extensive. Paier adds that a top-flight chef can make $130,000. Couples average $150,000, he says, with one of the pair serving as chef and the other as butler or house manager. Paier knows of one couple in Switzerland that earns $250,000 annually.

Mr. Geffen asked me a good question: ‘Are you going to be happy & comfortable cooking me the meals I want to eat?’

An annual salary review or an automatic 5 to 10 percent cost-of-living raise (which relieves negotiation anxieties) is customary. The average year-end bonus ranges from two weeks of salary to $5,000, though Paier says the end-of-year envelope can contain as much as $30,000. He estimates that about half of all private chefs now receive health insurance (either paid for or reimbursed) and sometimes a 401(k) plan and other benefits. Employers should note that chefs are better informed and more demanding than they once were when it comes to compensation and benefits. Cathy Ramus left the Palm Beach family she had served for four years after they refused to offer her health insurance. Her new family offered benefits right away. “I didn’t even have to ask,” she says. “It was a given.”