Personal Chef & Private Dinner Party Catering
Cooking multi-course dinners in clients' homes for birthdays, anniversaries and small celebrations, priced per head with menu tiers.
Hosts want restaurant-quality dinners at home without cooking or cleaning. Typical offers: three-course menus per head with canape and wine-pairing upgrades. Weekly meal-prep for families creates weekday recurring income. Holiday lets and Airbnb guests book one-off celebration dinners. Gross margin figures are planning estimates of revenue minus direct costs (materials, consumables, fuel and per-job expenses); they exclude the owner's own labour, so treat them as a guide to job economics rather than take-home pay.
- Starting capital: 1000–3500 GBP
- Total starting capital: 2200 GBP
- Setup: 3-5 weeks
- Gross margin: 60-70%
- Business model: Per-head menus for in-home dinner parties, plus weekly meal-prep for busy households
- Category: Food & Drink
Risks
- Lone working: Solo prep and service limits covers per event.
- Ingredient inflation: Menu pricing must track food costs.
- Irregular hours: Evenings and weekends are the core working time.
Costs
- Equipment — Professional knives, cookware kit box and transport containers — 800 GBP
- Compliance — Food hygiene Level 2, allergen training and insurance — 400 GBP
- Marketing — Sample menu photography and website — 300 GBP
- Working capital — Working capital for ingredient floats — 700 GBP