Nine News.
Recently, the topic of "a post-90s guy earns 50,000 a month as a private chef, and the order is scheduled for March" has been on the hot search.
The party Ding Yao told Jiupai News that the monthly income of 50,000 yuan refers to the month when orders increased sharply on the eve of the Spring Festival, and the usual income was not stable. "On the eve of the Spring Festival, there were 11 orders a day at most, and it returned to normal in the first month, with an average of two or three customers per day. ”
Ms. Zeng, who works part-time as a private chef, believes that the income of this industry depends on personal choice. "If it is regarded as a part-time job, the income is still considerable, which is more suitable for people who are not busy with work. ”
Jiupai News contacted three private chefs, "health" and "hygiene" are the selling points in their mouths, and they all said that while being more free, walking into different kitchens also tests the comprehensive ability of a chef.
Here's what they had to say.
[1] On the eve of the Spring Festival, the number of orders increased sharply, and the usual income was unstable
Ding Yao, born in the 90s, is a full-time private chef in Hangzhou
I was surprised that it was on the hot search, I didn't expect so many people to pay attention to it.
In fact, about the monthly income of 50,000 yuan, it is the eve of the Spring Festival, our single volume has increased sharply, at most there can be 11 orders a day, our team one or two people go to one, that month is also the highest income of the year, and it will return to normal in the first month, with an average of two or three customers per day. And we don't just take private chefs, we also accept rural banquets and large-scale wedding banquets. So usually our income is unstable.
Our team now has nearly 20 people, mainly cooking Hangzhou cuisine and Cantonese cuisine. I am a native of Hangzhou, and I receive orders around Hangzhou, mainly relying on self-promotion to obtain customers, and another way is to introduce regular customers.
Source: Interviewee's social account.
The process is to make an appointment at a time and then communicate the menu. When communicating with customers about the menu, we will ask about the taboos and tastes, but it is difficult to adjust the taste, and some customers will feel that it is salty, but it is very rare.
The dishes are purchased on the same day, and if the vegetable market does not have this dish, it is necessary to communicate with the customer to change the dish. After buying the food, processing the ingredients, then cooking, and when they are done, we have to clean up. We wear chef uniforms throughout the process, which is a sign of professionalism.
Generally, it is a table of dishes at a price, like **, we are 2000 yuan to start the order, including material costs, depending on the number of diners depending on the number of dishes, generally 10 people have 20 dishes.
People who hire private chefs generally have a kitchen at home and are equipped with cooking conditions. If not, we have to bring our own, we have never received a situation where a person has invited a private chef, at least it is a couple or a couple, and more of a grand family dinner.
In the second half of last year, three or four of us went to a jewelry company to cook at home, and they made jewelry displays for customers, and we had a meal after the meeting. The company didn't have a kitchen, including water, we had to bring everything ourselves, and we cooked directly next to the window of their office, which was very challenging. It was a serving, a total of 10 people.
There was also an annual meeting of the company and we were asked to cook dishes for more than 80 people, and we almost all of us went out, close to 20 chefs. Cooking in their canteen, we arrived an hour earlier due to the lack of fire on the stove, which is somewhat similar to the feeling of making a flowing water mat in the village, but the quality of the dishes is more refined.
I studied cooking for three years in high school and another three years in college. After graduating, I went to the hotel for two or three months, and then opened a small restaurant in the food court for a few years. At the end of last year, I sold the shop and decided to work full-time as a private chef because I felt that the income was quite good and the prospects were good.
For guests, the privacy of private chefs will be better, and the rest of the food is more assured.
For me, it's more free, and if there's something on the day, I don't have to take orders. Being exposed to different people and kitchens brings freshness and is also more challenging.
[2] If it tastes good, it will have repeat customers, and it will earn a considerable amount of income as a part-time job
Ms. Zeng, 35 years old, Wuhan, HR, part-time private chef
I used to open a café and like to cook food, such as grilled vegetables, stir-fried vegetables, steamed, seafood, fish and other home-cooked dishes. I usually like to study dishes at home and invite friends to eat at home.
I didn't have a job some time ago, so I hung up a post on the Internet and worked as a part-time private chef. Customers in need contacted me after seeing the post, and I did so, and it has been almost two months now.
For customers, cooking at home is more secure, so the main focus of private chefs is cleanliness and freshness.
When a customer contacts me, I check with the customer about the number of diners, age, alcohol consumption, taste preferences, and food preferences, etc., and recommend some dishes according to the characteristics of the people who are eating, or prepare them with ingredients that the customer already has. Generally, it takes one to two hours to cook the dishes, and the kitchen utensils and ingredients are provided by the customer. I bring my own shoe covers and masks so that customers don't have to worry about it.
Source: Courtesy of the interviewee.
Most of the customers who place orders are elderly and children at home, office workers who don't have time to cook, and young people who are tired of eating takeout and want to change their tastes.
After communicating the demand, the customer needs to prepay the deposit on the platform first, and then confirm the receipt and pay the balance after I finish the dish, which is more secure for both parties.
I mainly charge according to the number of dishes, the base price is 68 yuan, 88 yuan can make four dishes, and the order is also four to six dishes, if the dishes are particularly complicated, they will be charged.
Cooking at home is a two-way street, and I consider the cost of time and safety before deciding whether to take the order. I generally don't charge travel fees, and when I encounter orders with long distances and few dishes, I will discuss with customers in advance**. During the Spring Festival, because of the high labor costs, a certain amount of additional fees will be charged as a service fee.
This job is relatively simple, no need for polite greetings, no need to deal with interpersonal relationships too much, and mainly speak in terms of the taste of food.
The general customer's demand is not too high, and if it tastes good, there will be repeat customers. There are also customers who make unreasonable requests, such as helping to clean the house, but I will refuse, and I don't need to have a good relationship with customers like a regular housekeeping aunt.
During the Spring Festival, there are a lot of orders, from the first day to the sixth day of the new year, there are orders to contact me, sometimes I have to make two orders a day.
Some families usually invite housekeeping aunts to go home for the New Year during this time, and they will ask me to cook for a few days. There are also customers who can't prepare for the banquet with relatives and friends, so they ask me to come to help with the cooking.
If you want to treat it as a full-time job, you can do more publicity and promotion on the Internet and other platforms, and the number of orders will naturally rise, and the private chef will have repeat customers.
I don't think it's realistic to work as a full-time private chef in the short term. "If it is regarded as a part-time job, the income is still considerable, which is more suitable for people who are not busy with work.
[3] Being a private chef is a test of the chef's comprehensive ability
Mr. Yao, born in the 70s, is a full-time private chef in Wuhan
I am almost 50 years old, Cantonese, I studied art in my hometown when I was young, and then worked as a chef in a hotel for nearly 30 years.
In 2022, I started working as a private chef. At first, I worked half a day at the hotel and the remaining half worked part-time, but at the end of last year, I quit my old job and started working full-time as a private chef.
The reason why I chose to be a private chef is because I like it very much, and I am very optimistic about this direction, as long as I believe in my skills and team, and serve customers well, I will not worry about no business. There is no need to look at anyone's face except the guests.
Source: Courtesy of the interviewee.
Compared to working as a chef in a hotel, being a private chef is equivalent to facing customers directly. Therefore, it is more difficult for private chefs, in addition to being able to cook a variety of dishes, such as cold dishes, hot dishes, pastries, and sashimi; You should also wash and chop vegetables by yourself and handle the ingredients; You should also be able to communicate with people so that guests can recognize your dishes and character. When you go to someone else's house, you must meet the requirements of others in terms of words and deeds, dishes, and hygiene. All in all, it is necessary to have a good foundation in all aspects. It took me half a year to get used to it.
There are more than 40 people in our team, although there are many chefs in our team, but we can't cover all tastes of food, mainly do some local cuisine, Cantonese cuisine, Hunan cuisine and other popular dishes.
Customers rely on online publicity to solicit, and second, they rely on acquaintances to introduce. It mainly undertakes family banquets, dinners, birthdays, housewarming or birthdays.
The minimum labor cost for a single order is 500 yuan, and I can earn more than 10,000 yuan a month when it is stable, and it will be a little more on the eve of holidays. Before the Chinese New Year, there were many orders, up to a dozen orders a day.
After deciding on the date, menu and budget, we usually leave at 6 a.m. to buy groceries. If it's a dinner party, you have to go to the customer's house at 2 p.m. to start work. After a set of processes, it generally takes 4 hours to process to the table. If you don't have a pot at home, we will bring your own, but a handling fee will be charged.
Sometimes, when the guests finish their meal and we clean up and are leaving, they will give a standing ovation, which is not experienced in working in a hotel, but only when they go into the home.
There are also some guests who are more difficult to serve, such as once we came to cook for a family, 10 people ate, there was only one pot at home, the dishes included mutton and beef, I and another chef felt that we couldn't do it, so we asked this lady to borrow a pot or buy one, but she didn't understand it very much, and felt that she could do it, why can't we.
If we only use one pot, we don't have to eat until 9 p.m. When her husband heard this, he said how it would work, so he went and bought a new pot. We made them 4 cold dishes, 10 hot dishes, 1 main course and 1 fruit platter that day.
Nine News.
Reporter: Huang Jialiang
Intern reporter: Mao Qinkai.
Editor: Ren Zhuo, Wang Jiaqing.