Most household executives will be slaving over a hot stove this holiday in a bid to churn out an acceptable Christmas lunch, but a growing number of young professionals will outsource the exhausting task to private chefs.
In the past five years the hiring of private chefs has become popular with the wealthy, and more recently young professionals with disposable income are craving an exclusive culinary experience, which can cost up to R1,500 a person.
Chefs’ services include devising menus, shopping, cooking in your home and cleaning up.
UK-born private chef Matt Manning, who trained under Gordon Ramsay, said SA’s challenging economic times have had no impact on people wanting the experience.
“I would not say it has impacted the number of inquiries — they have remained fairly consistent over the past few years.
“However, there is a greater emphasis on value — people want more bang for their buck and are also shopping around to get the best possible rate.
“I have also noted that there is an emerging ‘middle’ clientele — whereas in the past private chefs were employed mainly by the wealthy, older and more established clients, I have seen a new clientele emerging.
“They are young professionals with disposable income who want an exclusive and special experience,” he said.
Manning, who is based in Cape Town, typically charges between R500 and R1,500 a person and can cater for four to 30 guests at a time.
Heather Hook from Johannesburg used Chef & Guests during last year’s festive season and was impressed.
“My schedule is beyond manic. All I had to do for this dinner was get dressed and walk downstairs … By the time our guests arrived the house smelled like I had been cooking all day,” she said.
Miles Reolon, director of Seasoned Chefs, said this has been “our busiest year yet”.
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