1. How can I afford a private chef and how can a private chef save me money?

The service price starts at $100. By choosing a chef on the Foodom platform to shop for your groceries you can potentially reduce your average grocery spending dramatically. The chef will buy only what’s needed for the meal without impulse shopping or buying extra quantity beyond what you need—food that you might throw away after.
In the United States,* 31% of the edible and available food supply went uneaten. Consumers food waste represented 21% of the available food supply. The mean weekly grocery shopping of a married couple with children in the US** is $224, average consumer food loss or waste is 21%, meaning that the average family with kids in the US throws away $47 worth of food every week.
Booking a chef once a week could be not much extra cost to your family by planning ahead and reducing impulse buying and food waste, and at the same time saving many hours per day thinking about what to cook, grocery shopping, preparing and cleaning up. 

2. Who are the chefs?

We take safety very seriously! That is why all of the chefs go through a detailed screening process, ID, and criminal background checks. They also have general liability insurance and a food safety certificate and at least 7 years of professional culinary experience. Open Your Kitchen to a Cooking Revolution!

3. Is it safe to have a cook that I don’t know at my home?

Your safety is our top priority. All of the chefs on the Foodom platform have been carefully vetted by our team, and have food handling and food safety certification. They go through a detailed screening process, including ID and criminal background checks and they have general liability insurance. The chefs join our chefs community and get support from the experienced chefs in the community. They are local, from your community, aiming to help one another to make life easier and better for everyone. 

Our customer and chef support is available 7 days a week 8am-7pm to ensure the highest quality of service and satisfaction for our customers and chefs. For best experience, we strongly encourage all Foodom users to only work through Foodom for safety, support and ease of use. 

4. Do I need to be home during the meal preparation? Can my children and pets be at home at that time?

You don’t need to be at home during the meal preparation. Please specify in your order how to enter to your home or if you prefer to do it off line, please call us to provide this information over the phone. Place in a visible place in the kitchen the cookware needed for cook and the groceries that do not need to be refrigerated. If you chose to be present, please allow the cook to enter into your home and introduce them to your kitchen. Children and pets must be supervised by a parent or caregiver at all times.

5. Who provides the equipment?

While the chefs will provide their own knives. You will need to have a working stove, oven and refrigerator, pots and pans. If you would like them to prepare a meal that involves special equipment such as a grill, spiralizer, Instantpot or other equipment, you will need to provide it. If you want them to make meals with leftovers or meal prep for the week, you’ll need storage containers. They can even provide these for you, buying it for you at the grocery store. If you have any questions about your kitchen or storage containers, please contact us and ask!

6. What is included in the price? What about tipping?

Included in the price is the meal preparation, packing and storing if needed, and cleanup after the cooking. If you want the chefs to buy the ingredients for you, the shopping fee covers obtaining and transporting the items and your card will be charged after the shopping for the cost of the ingredients. You may tip if you would like to, this is up to you to choose.

7. Do I have to buy full containers of spices, herbs, and oils for one meal?

The chefs can purchase spices for your pantry and keep an inventory for future visits. However, we understand that buying full containers of spices, herbs, and oils can be expensive for just one meal and that’s why we encourage chefs to add to our menu recipes and meals that are popular and often cooked. If a unique spice is needed the chef can buy it by the oz when available at the grocery store. We are open to hear about your preferences and learn about your further needs.

8. What happens if I don’t have time to clean my kitchen before the arrival of my chef?

Chefs expect a clean and tidy kitchen work space to make their work efficient and professional. Make sure to tidy up before their arrival so it’s ready for them to start cooking when they arrive. If the kitchen is messy and the chef needs to clean it before, make sure to ask for the pre-cooking cleaning service ($35 for up to 30 minutes of cleaning). If you didn’t order the pre-cooking cleaning service and the chef doesn’t have enough time to clean until their next cooking job, they will take pictures of the kitchen and leave without cooking, you will not be refunded. Please note that chefs review clients after a completed transaction and other chefs can see the reviews. This is one of their considerations when deciding if they want to approve the order.

9. What if I want to change a menu item?

We want to provide you with the meal you want! You can easily customize the meal to fit your needs in the order comments field.
You can change your order until it is approved by the chef, and once it is approved, the chef sets up his/her schedule and will not be able to add changes.

10. If I select an organic meal, will every ingredient be organic?

If you are supplying the ingredients, it will be your responsibility to ensure that they meet your standards. If the chef is shopping, he/she will make sure to purchase purchases organic ingredients, unless an ingredient is not available in organic. Let us know in the comment section of our order or in your profile if this is acceptable to you.

11. What is the cancellation policy?

Once an order is booked and confirmed, cancellations made within 72 hours of the cooking service cannot be refunded. If it’s canceled prior to that, you will be refunded back the amount we charged minus the transaction fee. Please email us at support@myfoodom.com with refund request. For full details read the terms of use.

12. Do I need to provide a 1099 to the chef?

No, we will take care of that through the platform and our partnership with PayPal Marketplaces, on the customer behalf for the independent contractors chefs. Our goal is to make it easy for all of our users.

13. Is there an app I can use to book orders online?

Not yet! Foodom is a young startup, and growing. We are adding new parts and features to our website, to make it work great on any device, and we will notify you as we add more options online and with an app. Make sure you are signed up to get our updates below.