How personal chefs became Covid-19’s must-have luxury service: restaurant-quality meals from your own kitchen became the ultimate pandemic comfort

Over the past year, the pandemic has played havoc with the restaurant industry worldwide. With the temporary closure of eateries and the uncertainty of when – or even if – restaurants would reopen, demand for personal and private chef services has surged. The difference? Personal chefs own their own businesses, whereas private chefs are employees in a particular household, defines the United States Personal Chef Association, which estimates there are 5,000 to 6,000 chefs working in this way throughout the country. According to a CNBC article from October 2020, the personal chef industry was already experiencing a boom before Covid-19 hit the US, and the trend has continued as the pandemic has played out. Meet Gordon Ramsey’s all cooking, all dancing daughter Tilly Ramsay Closer to home, the Hong Kong Chef Association has seen demand for home chefs increase during the Covid-19 era too. “The requests for home chefs have certainly increased, either as employees or simply one-off engagements for special occasions,” says Anita Cheng, the association’s culinary national team manager. “With the social distancing restrictions, some people chose to have relatives and friends in their homes – if only for those that have a more spacious home. Chefs are invited to cook, usually in the form of a set menu, chef’s table, barbecue or semi-buffet, including Western and Chinese cuisine, or more often a mix of both.” Personal chef business Mobichef also saw business grow in Hong Kong over the past year. “There has been a significant growth in the demand for personal chefs since June 2020,” says Fanny Suen Hiu-yan, founder of MobiChef, which offers a choice of 40 top chefs and 20 types of cuisine, as well as waiting staff expert at setting tables and serving wine, and dinnerware and cookware rentals. Hong Kong’s 6 hardest restaurant tables to book right now “We think that this trend will continue because of the pandemic. People prefer to dine in a private place with close friends, which can reduce the risk of virus infection. Moreover, since people are more concerned about hygiene, booking a personal chef to cook in your own kitchen is the best choice, especially when people understand that the price of booking a chef is comparable to dining in a fine restaurant.” On hygiene, she says: “To ensure food safety, our chefs follow strict hygiene guidelines: such as they need to wear a mask and gloves when they are cooking; they can only arrive at the cooking venue via point-to-point transport, among other measures.” Tom Burney has worked as a private chef with families and on yachts, and now owns a food and drink consultancy firm, offering personal chef and catering services. He also has regular clients he cooks for a few times a week. Radical Chic’s innovative take on Italian cuisine in Hong Kong “Ultimately it creates a synergy that you cannot recreate even in the top restaurants,” says Burney. “A chef creating a menu solely for you and the executive chef overseeing every detail of the service. From the chef’s side it is unique too – to really be a part of someone’s special life event rather than just being the guy who cooks the food, I’m actually able to make an event even more intimate and relaxing by being privy to more about the clients than simply their food preferences.” The Landmark Mandarin Oriental has been offering events at private homes for 15 years and currently offers dinners from the hotel’s restaurants Somm, Amber and Sushi Shikon. “The menus we cater are created based on the kitchen facilities available, also based on the space and equipment available and the party size – around that we create a bespoke experience. But technically all dishes are available,” says Richard Ekkebus, the hotel’s director of culinary operations and F&B. What is ‘three-yellow’ chicken, and why are top chefs going crazy for it? Meanwhile restaurant group JIA recently launched their own personal chef services, JIA Everywhere, which sees their chefs offering their culinary services at your home. One of the group’s chefs, Agustin Balbi, says he aims to offer the same experience as that you would get were you at his restaurant. “We make the same food as we serve at the restaurant because that is the reason people called us to cook for them, so we must respect that.” “We will also bring as much as we can from Ando, such as centrepieces for the tables, napkins, menus, perfume, plates and even the music we use in the restaurant. The idea is to recreate Ando at your home,” he says. 7 restaurants to visit in Tseung Kwan O this summer Which K-pop idol is the best chef? 6 Hallyu stars with crazy cooking skills For chefs, the demands are always changing. Burney says there is a big difference between working as a private chef for a family and the personal chef service he offers now. “The main difference is the need for the chef to be fluid in terms of planning, realising that plans or desires may change in a moment or they may not know what they want until the last minute,” he explains. “Things come up with families and you may need to pull something out of nothing at a moment’s notice or have something big prepared over a few days which has to be turned into sandwiches at the last moment. “In the world of event catering and personal chef events a lot of focus is placed on diligent and advanced planning to ensure everything runs smoothly and to expectations.” Want more stories like this? Sign up here. Follow STYLE on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.