Pricing guides & free calculators for chefs
How to price private dinners, meal prep and catering so every job pays you, with the formulas and worked examples.
Free calculators
How much food per person
How much meat, sides, salad, appetizers and dessert to buy for any number of guests.
Meal prep pricing calculator
Free meal prep pricing calculator for personal chefs: enter clients, meals, groceries and hours to get your service fee, price per client, price per meal and real hourly pay.
Private chef price calculator
Free private chef price calculator: enter guests, groceries, your hours, staff and costs, choose a profit margin and get your price, price per person and profit.
Guides
How much to charge as a private chef
A step-by-step way to price a private chef dinner: add up groceries, your hours, staff and overhead, then set a margin. Worked example and free calculator.
How to price meal prep
Price weekly meal prep the way personal chefs do: a service fee for your time plus groceries at cost, split between clients. Formula, worked example and free calculator.
How to price catering
How to price a catering job so it is profitable: scale food for a buffet, count staff hours, add direct costs and overhead, then price by margin. Worked example for 50 guests.
Food cost, markup and margin
The difference between food cost percentage, markup and profit margin, with formulas, a conversion table and the yield math chefs need for shopping lists.
Deposits and cancellation policy
How much deposit a private chef or caterer should take, when the balance is due, and a simple cancellation policy you can copy into your proposals.
How to raise your prices
When grocery prices go up or your hours grow, your price has to follow. How to work out a new price, when to tell clients, and a message you can send.
Writing a private chef proposal
What to include in a private chef or catering proposal: the menu, what’s included, one clear price, deposit and cancellation terms, and what to leave out.
Skip the spreadsheet
ChefCents turns a client request into a menu, a shopping list, your true cost and a profitable price.