The Interview Starts in the Driveway.
Chef-to-Chef Mentorship for professional chefs pursuing private service
Your food gets you in the room.
Everything else gets you hired.
Most chefs think the interview starts in the kitchen. It doesn’t.
Most chefs think the interview starts in the kitchen. It doesn’t.
The interview starts the moment you pull into the driveway…
Before you’ve unpacked your knives.
Before you’ve washed your hands.
Before you’ve sliced a single onion.
The household is already asking questions you don’t even realize they’re asking.
Did they arrive calm?
Are they organized?
Did they transport the food properly?
Do they respect our home?
How do they interact with the housekeeper?
Did they ask thoughtful questions?
Will they make our lives easier… or more complicated?
Yes, your food matters.
If your cooking isn’t exceptional, nothing else will.
But when you’re interviewing alongside other talented chefs, the conversation quickly becomes about something much bigger than the food.
Can we imagine this person in our home four or five days a week?
Nobody teaches you how to prepare for that part.
Culinary school doesn’t.
Restaurants don’t.
Most recruiters can’t.
And the families interviewing you certainly won’t.
That’s why I created Chef-to-Chef Mentorship.
You’re preparing for the wrong interview.
When chefs prepare for a private service trial, they usually spend all of their time thinking about the menu.
Should I cook fish?
Should I make dessert?
Should I play it safe?
What if the timeline changes?
What if the market doesn’t have beautiful produce?
Those are good questions.
They’re just not the only questions.
Because while you’re thinking about dinner…
The household is wondering something entirely different.
“Can I trust this person in my home?”
Not just for tonight. For months. Maybe years.
The interview isn’t just about whether you can cook.
It’s about your judgment.
Your adaptability.
Your professionalism.
Your discretion.
Your presence.
It’s about whether a family can picture living with you, working with you, and trusting you with one of the most personal parts of their daily lives.
Restaurant Chefs and Private Chefs think differently.
The biggest transition isn’t learning how to cook in someone’s home.
It’s learning how to think inside one.
Restaurant chefs create menus and invite people to experience them.
Private chefs step into someone else’s world and create food around the people already living in it.
Every decision changes.
Not because your standards change.
Because your purpose does.
You’re no longer cooking for hundreds of guests. You’re cooking for one family, one routine, one household.
The goal isn’t simply beautiful food. It’s making the right decisions for the people sitting at your table.
That shift changes everything.
The work they never see… but always experience.
Most families can’t explain exactly why they love having a great private chef
They’ll tell you you’re an excellent chef.
A pleasure to be around.
That you make life easier.
But what they’re actually experiencing is something much bigger.
Fresh flowers.
A beautifully organized refrigerator.
Countertops that always feel intentional.
A calm kitchen.
Their favorite breakfast quietly appearing on a busy morning.
Fresh muffins waiting for tomorrow.
Their dog being greeted before you unpack your groceries.
A home that somehow feels more peaceful because you’re in it.
None of those things happen by accident.
They’re hundreds of intentional decisions made throughout the day.
Most of them invisible.
The family never sees the work.
They simply experience what it feels like to have a great private chef.
That’s what exceptional private service feels like.
And that’s what we work on together.
Why I created
Chef-to-Chef Mentorship
For years I interviewed chefs for ultra-high-net-worth households.
I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to stop an interview and say…
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing.”
“You’re making this much harder than it needs to be.”
“I wish someone had explained this before today.”
But I couldn’t.
In that moment, I wasn’t their mentor.
I was their interviewer.
I kept watching talented chefs miss opportunities—not because they couldn’t cook—but because nobody had ever explained what they were actually walking into.
The interview.
The trial.
The salary conversation.
How to move through someone’s home.
How to build trust.
How to make good decisions in an unfamiliar kitchen.
None of it is taught.
All of it matters.
Chef-to-Chef Mentorship exists because those conversations deserve to happen before you walk into the house.
WHAT WE'LL WORK ON TOGETHER
Every mentorship starts somewhere different.
✔ Maybe you have an interview next week.
✔ Maybe you’re preparing for a trial.
✔ Maybe you’re negotiating an offer.
✔ Maybe you’re deciding whether private service is right for you.
✔ Maybe you just need another chef who’s been there to help you think through your next move.
We’ll start where you are—and build from there.
The Investment
This mentorship is designed as a progression.
Some chefs need clarity.
Some need accountability.
Some need ongoing strategy as they navigate interviews, trials, negotiations, and the first months inside a new household.
Choose the level of support that best fits where you are today.
Single session - $300
CHEF STRATEGY SESSION
One 50-minute mentorship session
Let’s Figure It Out.
Reasons CheFs book this session:
Preparing for an interview or trial
Exploring whether private service is the right fit
Reviewing an offer or negotiating compensation
Working with a recruiter
Refining your résumé, portfolio, or professional presence
Growing into a leadership role
Looking for experienced Chef-to-Chef guidance as you navigate your career
Unsure what your next move should be
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✓ Review your résumé or portfolio
✓ Prepare for interviews and trial days
✓ Evaluate job offers
✓ Develop your private service strategy
✓ Strengthen your professional presence and communication
✓ Create a practical action plan for your next steps
Three-session package - $900
CHEF-TO-CHEF MENTORSHIP
Three 50-minute mentorship sessions
Build Momentum
Some goals take more than one conversation.
Whether you’re preparing for private service, navigating a career transition, growing into a leadership role, or working toward a long-term goal, this mentorship gives us the time to think strategically, adjust as new opportunities arise, and build on each session.
You’ll leave each call with clear next steps, and we’ll continue refining your approach as your career evolves.
Reasons choose this mentorship:
Preparing for multiple interviews or trials
Transitioning into private service
Working toward a promotion or leadership role
Navigating recruiter conversations and job offers
Wanting an experienced chef in your corner throughout the process
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✓ Three 50-minute Chef-to-Chef mentorship sessions
✓ Personalized career strategy
✓ Interview and trial preparation
✓ Recruiter and compensation guidance
✓ Leadership and professional development
✓ Ongoing accountability between sessions
✓ A customized action plan that evolves with your progress
FIVE-session package - $1200
IRREPLACEABLE CHEF INTENSIVE
Five 50-minute mentorship sessions + dedicated support
Create Transformation
Every career is different.
This Intensive is built around your goals, your opportunities, and the direction you want your career to take.
We’ll move beyond interview preparation into long-term strategy, evaluating opportunities, negotiating confidently, reviewing compensation packages, discussing contracts and NDAs, and making decisions that support your career for years to come.
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✓ Five 50-minute mentorship sessions
✓ Everything included in Chef-to-Chef Mentorship
✓ Career & opportunity strategy
✓ Compensation review
✓ Contract & NDA guidance
✓ Salary negotiation coaching
✓ Dedicated support between sessions
Every session includes a pre-session questionnaire so we spend our time solving problems instead of gathering information.
After each session, you’ll receive follow-up notes, action items, and resources you can continue using long after our conversation ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Not necessarily.
If you’re preparing for one interview or one trial, a single Strategy Session may be exactly what you need.
But most chefs find that one conversation raises new questions as opportunities progress.
The three-session mentorship allows us to prepare together before the interview, refine your strategy before the trial, and continue working together as you evaluate offers or begin your new role.
Private service isn’t just about getting hired.
It’s about succeeding once you’re there.
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Absolutely.
Many chefs come to me because they’re trying to decide whether private service is the right next step.
We’ll talk honestly about your goals, your experience, and what this career actually looks like.
If private service is the right fit, we’ll prepare for it.
If it isn’t, you’ll still walk away with a clearer understanding of your strengths, your opportunities, and where they belong.
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Yes.
I’ve built a successful independent private chef business myself, and many of the same principles apply.
We’ll talk about pricing, client relationships, professionalism, communication, boundaries, and creating an experience clients remember.
Whether you’re pursuing full-time employment with a household or building your own private chef business, the foundation is the same: good judgment, consistency, professionalism, and trust.
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Discretion is part of this profession.
Everything discussed during our mentorship sessions remains confidential.
I expect the same level of professionalism from the chefs I mentor that I practiced throughout my own career.
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This mentorship isn’t for chefs looking for shortcuts.
It isn’t for people chasing the social media version of private service.
And it isn’t for anyone who believes they’ve already figured everything out.
It’s for talented chefs who know they’re capable of more and want to understand what private households are actually looking for.
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Yes.
Real-time support is available as an add-on.
Whether you need guidance before an interview, someone to help you think through a last-minute decision during your trial, or support during your first month inside a new household, we’ll discuss the level of support that’s right for you.
I created this mentorship because I spent years wishing I could coach the chefs I was interviewing.
There were countless moments I wanted to pause an interview and explain what was actually happening.
To tell a chef they were worrying about the wrong things.
To explain what the family was really evaluating.
To help them understand why one decision helped build trust while another quietly worked against them.
But I couldn’t. In that moment, I wasn’t their mentor.
I was their interviewer.
I’ve spent nearly three decades in the culinary industry, working in catering, fine dining, restaurant ownership, executive leadership, corporate dining, independent private cheffing, and as a full-time private chef inside ultra-high-net-worth households.
I’ve also been the person hiring private chefs.
I’ve watched talented chefs lose incredible opportunities—not because they couldn’t cook—but because nobody had ever explained how private households actually make hiring decisions.
Chef-to-Chef Mentorship is the conversation I wished I could have had with every one of those chefs.
Now I finally can.
Your career deserves more than generic advice
Private service rewards presence, judgment, discretion, adaptability, and intentionality just as much as it rewards technique.
When you understand what a family is actually evaluating, you stop preparing for a cooking trial…
…and start preparing for the role.
That’s when everything changes.
A private chef isn’t remembered for one extraordinary dinner.
They’re remembered for how life felt when they were there.
The calm.
The trust.
The consistency.
The thoughtful details.
The confidence that someone had already considered everything before they ever had to ask.
That’s what families remember.
And that’s what makes an exceptional private chef unforgettable.
