What Do Private Cook Do?

Occupation Description Prepare meals in private homes. Includes personal chefs.

List of Private Cook Job Duties

• Keep records pertaining to menus, finances, and other business-related issues.
• Prepare meals in private homes according to employers’ recipes or tastes, handling all meals for the family and possibly for other household staff.
• Shop for or order food and kitchen supplies and equipment.
• Create and explore new cuisines.
• Cool, package, label, and freeze foods for later consumption and provide instructions for reheating.
• Plan and prepare food for parties, holiday meals, luncheons, special functions, and other social events.

Private Cook Skills

Private Cooks state the following job skills are important in their day-to-day work.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Management of Material Resources: Obtaining and seeing to the appropriate use of equipment, facilities, and materials needed to do certain work.

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Learning: Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Other Private Cook Job Titles

• Household Cook
• Culinary Worker
• Holiday Food Prepper
• Certified Personal Chef (CPC)
• Cooking Chef

Are There Job Opportunities for Private Cooks?

In the United States, there were 25,000 jobs for Private Cook in 2016. New jobs are being produced at a rate of 5.2% which is below the national average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 1,300 new jobs for Private Cook by 2026. There will be an estimated 3,700 positions for Private Cook per year.

The states with the most job growth for Private Cook are Nevada, Oregon, and Florida. Watch out if you plan on working in Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, or North Dakota. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

How Much Does a Private Cook Make?

The average yearly salary of a Private Cook ranges between $25,610 and $62,600.

Private Cooks who work in California, make the highest salaries.

How much do Private Cooks make in different U.S. states?

State	Annual Mean Salary
California	$40,080

Tools & Technologies Used by Private Cooks

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Private Cooks:

• Web browser software
• Email software
• Intuit QuickBooks
• YouTube
• WordPress
• Work scheduling software

Becoming a Private Cook

Education needed to be a Private Cook:

What work experience do I need to become a Private Cook?

Where do Private Cooks Work?

The table below shows some of the most common industries where those employed in this career field work.

References:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics
• College Factual
• O*NET Online

Image Credit: U.S. Army Europe Images via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic

More about our data sources and methodologies.