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London Office +44 (0)20 7795 6255

Bath Office +44 (0)1225 484190
private chef hire

Hire a Private Chef in London for your UK Country Home Overseas / International

Some of our clients wish to enlist the full time expertise of a Private Chef or Family Cook. This can be a fantastic option for families or individuals who want high quality, healthy food at home every day. A Private Chef will plan meals according to the principal’s dietary requirements and can cater to dinner parties whilst a cook will suit principals who prefer a less formal type of assistance.

A Family Cook’s abilities will range from candidates who provide good family cooking to those who can provide buffet style lunches and parties for up to 40 guests. It is important for you to clarify your requirements early on in your consultation to assist us in providing the most suitable candidates for your selection.

Private Chef/Cook Duties

Duties can include all or most of the following depending on your requirements:

chef Household Staff Agency

Typical Duties:

  • Prepare simple and healthy lunches and suppers
  • Curate the family meal plan according to the client
  • Take note of any allergies or intolerances and cook accordingly
  • Create menus for entertaining
  • Oversee table settings and serving
  • Kitchen and waiting staff management (if applicable)
  • Hire waiting staff for formal occasions
  • Plating on formal occasions
  • Bake and replenish fresh bread and cakes
  • Create home made ice cream
  • Cook and bake for the children
  • Create Birthday/celebration cakes
  • Ensure clients never run out of their favorites or necessities
  • Leave the fridge organised for Chef’s days off
  • Keep an up-to-date kitchen inventory
  • Order provisions and keep to budget
  • Accounting and stocktaking for the kitchen

Private Chef/Cook Jobs

Domestic Couple Job, Cornwall
An experienced and adaptable domestic couple are sought for a large private residence in Cornwall, serving as the family’s second home.
  • Cornwall
  • 43392AM
  • April
  • Offering a salary of £70,000-£75,000gpa depending on experience.
APPLY NOW
Part time Nanny/Housekeeper, Islington
Warm and reliable part time Nanny/Housekeeper is sought for a lovely family based in Islington.
  • 43425AM
  • ASAP
  • £18–£20 per hour, depending on experience
APPLY NOW
Part time Nanny/Housekeeper, Hayes
Highly organised and proactive live out Nanny/Housekeeper required for a lovely family based in Hayes. This role will be on a mixture of sole and shared charge caring for a baby boy who is currently 2 months old. The ideal candidate will take initiative and be meticulous.
  • 43061
  • January start
  • Offering a salary of £18-20phn (up to £31,160gpa).
APPLY NOW
Live out Housekeeper/Cook, Kensington
Seeking a professional, full-time Housekeeper/Cook to join a private family’s household team in London, Kensington. Highly professional and experienced live-out Housekeeper/Cook sought to assist a family based in Kensington. The main focus of the role will be cooking as well as assisting the current Housekeeper with all general housekeeping duties.
  • 42598
  • January 2026
  • Offering a negotiable salary dependent on experience.
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Domestic Couple, Bromley
Delightful client with large home and young family seeks experienced, pro-active and adaptable Housekeeping/Maintenance Couple for long term role working Monday to Friday 8.30am for an 8-10 hour day.
  • 41638
  • ASAP
  • £70,000 - £75,000gpa depending on experience.
APPLY NOW
Live in Housekeeper,Hampstead
Valued returning client is seeking an organised and professional live in Housekeeper to assist in their household based in Hampstead.
  • 42333AM
  • ASAP start however there is some flexibility for the right candidate
  • £50,000gpa.
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Experience

Chefs will have at least 5+ years’ experience working in a similar role.

Qualifications

All Chefs will have up-to-date Health & Safety and Food & Hygiene Certificates to demonstrate practice and knowledge. Many of our Chefs will have been trained in and have experience of working in 5 Star hotels or even in a Michelin Star restaurant. Some of our Chefs will also have formal training and qualifications from either Le Cordon Bleu, Leiths, have a qualification from City and Guilds, a BTEC/HND in Professional Cookery or a Foundation Degree in Culinary Arts.

Live-in salaries

Private Chef Cost for Live-In – Salaries range from £700+ net per week typically for up to 10-12 hours per day, Monday to Friday.

Live-out salaries

Private Chef Cost for Live-out – Salaries range from £850+ net per week typically for up to a 10 hour day, Monday to Friday.

London Office

Bath Office

Placing Private Household Staff in London, the UK and Overseas with trusted clients

Testimonials

Thank you so much for your support throughout this process. We are so pleased to have found such a wonderful family to work for and have lots to thank you for.
Household couple
As a candidate with Staff of Distinction, I am very pleased with them. The jobs they have on offer are always very high end and the interactions with the company feels close and personal, like they really look at what is appropriate for me, and put me forwards for jobs that fit my needs.
MarinelaLondon
I am so grateful for using the Staff of Distinction Agency to find my ideal job in London. The staff have been very helpful and professional. Thanks a million.
CoraLondon
Everything is going great here, love the job, love the people and the house and area. Best thing I ever did. Thanks for all your help in my getting the job.
CandidateLondon
We are very happy with Staff of Distinction, as we want to find our right position and they are helpful staff who helped us very much with our search. We appreciate their service and have good feelings about the agency. Thank you kindly for all the jobs and understanding.
Household couple

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of domestic household staff do you offer your clients?

We specialise in placing permanent domestic staff with our clients all of whom are looking for staff with a solid work record and references to demonstrate their skills and expertise.  Our staff range from:

All our our domestic staffs have minimum of 5+ years’ experience with some possessing 20+ years’ experience giving our clients complete peace of mind. 

Our candidates’ nationalities vary according to the role and we take applications from an array to include British, European, Filipino, Nepalese and more.  Please note that in order to work through Staff of Distinction, the candidate must hold the relevant work visa and/or passport for the Agency to accept their application

if applying for a UK job.  For overseas jobs, we would ask that the client takes legal advice in their country of residence in order to fully comply with their country’s laws. 

All UK employers of domestic staff are required to pay Tax and National Insurance along with NEST Pension Contributions.  If the job is overseas, the Tax Laws of that country will apply and it is the employer’s responsibility to ensure they are compliant.

The beauty of using Staff of Distinction for all your household staffing needs is that we will only introduce to you candidates who either hold a British Passport or who are legally allowed to work in the UK.  We do not accept applications from candidates who have yet to apply for their UK work visa.  For international jobs, our clients are of the mind that they may have to apply for a working visa depending on which country the job is based, however, we will always try to ensure the staff possess the passport that is most favourable when matching to the job.

When we take applications from staff we will discuss where they would like to find their next job and check that they have a legal entitlement to work there whether its in the UK or overseas.

Now in our 30th year, we have a built fine reputation with clients and candidates and both return to us time and time again.  Not only that, they tell their friends and family about the success they have had with Staff of Distinction which means we have lots of recommendations.  That said, we also advertise our jobs on our website which does create a large response from suitably experienced applicants

A client will telephone the Agency and speak to the specialist consultant who will note their requirements and by careful questioning will build a full picture of what the job entails.  Our experience and know-how enables us to fully understand the workings of the client’s household requirements and thus we can fully how to fulfil that role.  We will discuss the working days, hours, duties and salary for such an Employee and send our Terms of Business. Once all agreed, our specialist search begins!

No we don’t charge a fee to register or to start the search. We do ask that you agree to our Terms so that we can commence our search. Once the offer of employment has been confirmed by both the client and the candidate has accepted, we will charge an Introduction Fee which includes a 12 week Replacement Period.

Our Service includes a 12 week Replacement Period which gives our clients peace of mind.  While this is rare, if the member of staff is not the right fit and this is apparent during the first 12 weeks’ employment, 

we will look at other applicants for the role to replace the original member of staff on a like for like basis.  We would like to emphasise this rarely happens but is there for back-up which our clients welcome. 

Firstly, before we send any candidates’ information to our clients, we will discuss the role with the best suited candidates and gain their consent to share their details.  Our clients will only receive CV’s and references of candidates who are genuinely interested in the vacancy and also whom are very well suited.  

We can of course begin our search immediately according to your wishes but we would discuss with you why they are not working out and if there is anything you can do to improve their performance or, depending

on the issues, how you can resolve with your current member of staff before starting the search for a new candidate. We are always available to give advice if needed depending on the circumstances, but last resort, we can

look at your other options before you take the leap.

Firstly we would look at if this was a new role or an on-going role.  If this is a new role, it’s important to have a well set out Job Specification to clearly list the duties and responsibilities therein.  The time it takes to 

perform the duties must be realistic and any member of staff starting a newly created role will understand that a degree of flexibility is required to finalise the best working routine and practice.

We can work to any timescale but our clients typically look 3 months’ ahead and our candidates are either readily available or will usually have a one month notice period to fulfil.  That said, our clients register at a convenient time

based on their circumstances.  If it’s an urgent request, we will work night and day to fulfil the vacancy, however, all jobs will receive the dedication required in order to fulfil the client’s needs and expectations. 

Yes all household staff should be issued a Contract setting out the Terms of their employment.

Staff of Distinction will take care of all aspects of the contract by supplying a legally binding contract that is issued once the placement has been confirmed by both parties.