Guides
Tipping a private chef: voluntary, always.
The direct answer: whatever you want, including nothing. Gratuity is always voluntary here — the 20% service charge on your quote is not a tip; it funds coordination, planning, and insurance.
What the service charge is (and isn’t)
The 20% service line pays the infrastructure — menu planning, scheduling, insurance, the quote desk. It does not reach the chef as a gratuity. If the evening earned one, hand it over or add it to the balance; if it didn’t, tell us that instead.
What guests typically do
For exceptional evenings, guests commonly add 10–15% directed to the chef and crew. For Stay Chef weeks, an end-of-week envelope is the norm. Both are appreciated; neither is expected, and no quote will ever pre-add a tip line.
Keep reading
- guide Private chef vs. restaurant: the real arithmetic.
- guide Private chef, personal chef: the difference is the day.
- guide A fixed written quote vs. a bid queue.
- guide Read before you book.
- guide How a private chef works, in four steps.
- guide Hiring a private chef in Hawaiʻi, without the runaround.
- guide Which island is yours?
- guide What your kitchen needs — less than you think.
Get a written quote
The button is not “Book now.” You tell us the table; we send a written quote — and that quote is the confirmed total.