Many people think that personal chefs for hire and home cooks are a luxury that only wealthy people can afford. The truth is that many people from all different walks of life can afford it. In fact, rather than asking yourself if you can afford a chef or a cook, you should be asking yourself whether you can afford NOT to have one. A personal cooking service done right can save you not only money but a far more precious commodity, time.

Chefs for Hire Don’t Have Impulse Buying

Food waste is a major problem globally. In the United States 31% of the food supply goes uneaten(1). Consumers were responsible for wasting 2/3 of it, around 21% of the available food supply. There are many different reasons for that waste. One important factor is consumers buy more than they need. Supermarkets are strategically designed to entice us to spend money.

Have you ever notice that some of the most commonly purchased items are in the back of the store? Forcing you to go through fully stocked shelves to get them. Even for people on a strict budget, impulse buys are part of today’s shopping experience. We often end up with a lot of food that we don’t really need. A lot of that food often ends up in the trash. Not only is that bad for our planet, it also costs consumers a lot of money. A chef for hire will do your grocery shop upon request. Since they do not impulse buy – you will end up reducing your expenses on food overall and reduce food waste. Spending $135 a week on a chef’s meal prep helped my family reduce our food expenses by half, eliminated food waste and packaging waste is reduced dramatically.

Chefs for Hire Will Not Buy More Than Is Needed

Not only will hiring a chef avoid the issue of impulse buying, they also make sure they do not buy more than is needed. Many shoppers tend to overestimate how much food is required to feed themselves and their families.
Personal cooks have the expertise needed to shop for quality ingredients, wisely and frugally. They are experts at affordable meal preparation. Since affordable meal preparation starts at just $100 you could save far more than it costs to have the meal prepared for you. Chefs meal prep for the week can cost less than the price of a takeout. How much do you spend today on takeout per week? Or on meal kits, that you end up spending hours in the kitchen cooking and cleaning up?

Less Takeout with Chefs for Hire

Food is an essential part of our life as well as our health. We need to eat every day, usually a few times each day. When our schedule stops us from cooking our own meals we often end up eating out, getting fast food or ordering delivery services. This is not only one of the most expensive ways to eat but often the least healthy way to get our nourishment. This food is typically loaded with fats, sugars, excessive salts, unnatural chemicals and preservatives. Having a chef cook in your home will bring the control back to your hands. You choose the recipes, the ingredients, the quantities and request a certain own cook or have the platform assign one for you. Wouldn’t you like to come home to a great smelling dinner, a clean kitchen and a healthy meal for you and or the family? Not only to save money but also to save the hassle of ordering a takeout, to save time and provide healthier food options tailored to each one’s dietary needs. 

Chefs for Hire Save You Time

Time seems to be more valuable than ever in today’s hectic, fast paced society. Between work, taking kids to school, soccer practice and running errands we are busier than ever. Hiring the services of cooks will save you a lot of that precious time. Time not spent on planning, shopping, food prep,  cooking and cleanup will be yours to use in other ways. Spend it with family, friends or just take some time for yourself. When considering if you can afford a chef for hire – be sure to think about how much your time is worth, in addition to the other savings you could make. Remember, time is money.

Summary

A chef for hire planning everyday meals in an efficient way on a regular basis, can potentially save you money, time (which is more money) and stress (which is money too in future psychological or medical expenses). A chef for hire can help avoid impulse buying, simplify weekly meal planning that can reduce grocery expenses, food and packaging waste and there will be less need to eat out or take away. These savings will most likely more than cover the cost of a chef and will give you back at least 9 more hours per week if not more that can be then invested in children, life partners, oneself, friends or anything else desired. And if that is not enough then healthy and tasty food is very easy to get used to.

Resources

(1) Buzby, J.C., Wells, H.F., and Hyman, J. 2014. The Estimated Amount, Value, and Calories of Postharvest Food Losses at the Retail and Consumer Levels in the United States. Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Information Bulletin Number 121 (Feb.).
(2) https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/01/grocery-costs-for-family/2104165/

* The cost includes meal prep, storage of the cooked meals and cleanup. It does not include ingredient costs or serving.