Transcript
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[00:00:00] I get this question about what do you really need equipment wise to start a personal chef business? To cook for other people and get paid for it? And I went through a ton of lists from magazines to major brands to influencers and let me tell you, people are just trying to sell us a lot of stuff. But really when it comes right down to it, when you’re starting a personal chef business.
Is there equipment that you really need besides an oven, a stove, and a refrigerator? That’s what you’re going to find out right now.
Hey there, Chef Shelly here. I’ve had a successful personal chef business for over 15 years and when I’m not cooking for my own clients, I help passionate cooks just like you start your own personal chef business so you can get paid to do what you love on your own terms. If that sounds like something you’re interested in, be sure to like, subscribe and ring that little bell so that you [00:01:00] never miss one of my weekly videos.
You know, we cook dinner at home for ourselves all the time, but when we start thinking about doing it for other people, we just kind of have the feeling that we need a lot more stuff, even if we have a lot of stuff already. So listen, when it comes right down to it, Other than the oven, the stove and the fridge, there are some basics that you need.
And if you’re making yourself dinner on a regular basis, you probably have pots and pans, oven mitts, baking sheets, knives and cutting boards, spatulas and tongs. Really? These are just regular tools that all passionate cooks have. Probably a lot have, right? So, but what about the other things? What about small appliances?
Do you need them? Are they worth spending the money on? Listen, after years and years of [00:02:00] doing this, I’m going to tell you exactly what not to waste your hard earned money on, and then I’m going to share a super tip about two things that really matter. I cannot do without when I’m cooking for a client.
Let’s start with number eight. I’m going to do these in order, from things that you probably already knew you didn’t need, to something I bet you thought you had to have, that you really don’t.
Let’s start with a KitchenAid. Brand name, we’re basically talking a stand mixer. Is this something that you need? Is this something that’s really going to help you when you’re cooking for a client? Generally in a personal chef business, the two biggest services that we offer are personal chef services, AKA weekly meal prep services, and Small event catering like in home dinner parties, maybe small buffets and stuff like that.
Is a KitchenAid something you need? Not really because 99 times out of 100 you use a stand mixer [00:03:00] for baking. So if you’re going to be doing something that you really need a mixer to help you with, probably a hand mixer would cut it, but I really can’t even think of anything you’re going to need that for.
Number seven. A rice cooker. We all know you can cook rice on the stove, right? So a rice cooker would save you a burner and the rice will turn out perfectly every time, but it’s definitely not something that you have to have.
Number six, a blender. Rarely, rarely, rarely are you going to need a blender. The only thing off the top of my head I could come up with that I have consistently had to use a blender for was a pureed soup.
And if that’s something that you have to do, it’s a lot easier to take a stick blender. AKA an immersion blender than to haul, especially if you have a big heavy Vitamix like I do. You’re [00:04:00] just really not going to need that. A stick blender will really cut it. And as a bonus, if you have a good one, it can also double as a mixer.
Mine has a whisk attachment and a mini chopper because we’re going to get to chopping in just a minute. Now we’re going to get into some ones that you might be more leaning towards.
What about a slow cooker? Number five, the only time you’re going to need a slow cooker, if you are doing Personal chef services, aka weekly meal prep services for a client is if you’re starting something in the slow cooker and leaving it for them that they’re going to come home to or enjoy that night.
And honestly, I haven’t actually had that happen, but I have heard from some people, but that is not something that you necessarily have to offer. And if the client wants it, they probably have their own slow cooker. Now we’re [00:05:00] really getting into it.
Number four. I might get some pushback on this one, but an air fryer. If you have an oven, you don’t need this. An air fryer really doesn’t do anything that an oven can’t do, but if you only have one oven at the client’s house, an air fryer can help you maybe double up and get two things going at one time if they need to be done like at really different temperatures, but you definitely don’t have to have one.
Number three. Food processor. Listen. A food processor can’t do anything that a knife and cutting board or a box grater can do, right?
It might do it faster. But all the time it takes to clean that darn thing is probably going to make up for any time you’re saving. You really, unless you have a really, really heavy veggie prep meal cook day, are not going to need to haul a food processor with you.
Number two, a [00:06:00] microwave. Nope, not that you would take one with you, but you do not need to worry about whether the client has one or not.
There’s really nothing that a microwave is going to do in the cooking you’re doing for clients that you’d have to have. Sure. It can heat, you know, melt butter fast. It can heat stock if you need it or crisp bacon, but none of that absolutely has to be done. And really it’s not going to save you a whole lot of time either.
The number one thing that you do not have to have to start your personal chef business to cook for clients. This one’s going to be a shocker because I actually have videos, I talk about this one, I have two of them, I love them, and I do use them, but you don’t have to have it, is a pressure cooker. Common brand name now, Instant Pot.
Okay, again, anything you can do in this, you can do on the stove, you can do in the oven. Now, it does [00:07:00] go faster in a pressure cooker, and if you have an electric one, which is the Instant Pot, it would save you a burner in case you have a heavy, heavy stove day. But really, you do not have to have one at all.
Honestly, I’ll say it again, if you’re cooking dinner on the regular at home, you have everything that you need to cook a personal chef service, a. k. a. a meal prep service for a client. Now there are going to be things, like I said, that will make it easier or harder faster or more likely there might just be things that you want, but you do not need to spend a lot of money on equipment or toys until you have a client.
It’s much more important to get some solid practice cook days under your belt and that’ll actually help you find out exactly what your highest priorities are for purchasing when you do get a client. You can get my free guide, How to Do Meal Prep for Clients. The link’s right here by this [00:08:00] video. And after you go through all the things, and you’ll find really fast what it is that’ll make your cook time faster, easier, or maybe that you don’t actually need at all.
But here it is. I promised at the beginning, after going through all this stuff that you don’t have to have, here are two that are the biggest help to me that keep my cook days going faster. First of all, multiple 12 inch nonstick skillets, saute pans. and utensils like spatulas and tongs. All right.
Sometimes on a cook day, it seems like everything needs the oven and you can double things up. But when everything has to be done on the stove, nothing beats having at least two 12 inch nonstick pans. I use them constantly. And honestly, that doesn’t mean I don’t have all the other things. [00:09:00] I have them all, but I also had a chocolate tempering machine.
So obviously I’m way past what any reasonable person would get. So let me know in the comments, what do you have that you use the most or what do you have that you never use and you probably need to get rid of? I’ll see you next week.
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