Cost guide · New York CityHow much does a private chef cost in NYC?
Bringing a chef into your kitchen is more within reach than most people assume, though the price moves a lot with the menu. Here is what a private chef really costs in NYC in 2026, with sources.
Prices sourced July 2026 · NYC cost guide
In short
A private chef in NYC usually costs $90 to $200 per person for a full dinner, and that covers menu planning, grocery shopping, cooking, plating, serving, and cleanup. A dinner for six comes to roughly $720 to $1,050 total. What moves the price most is how involved the menu is and how premium the ingredients are.
What it costs in NYC
| Type | Typical NYC price (2026) |
|---|---|
| Per person (full dinner) | $90 to $200 |
| Dinner party for 6 (total) | $720 to $1,050 |
| Standard 2-course dinner | lower end of the range |
| 5-course tasting / omakase | top of the range or above |
| Premium ingredients | market cost + a sourcing fee |
A private chef's price is normally quoted per person, and it bundles everything from menu planning and grocery shopping to cooking in your kitchen, plating, serving, and cleanup, with no restaurant service charge and no tipping to worry about. A relaxed two-course dinner sits at the low end. A five-course tasting menu or a sushi omakase pushes toward the top, or past it.
Group size and ingredients push the number around. A dinner for six typically runs $720 to $1,050 total, and premium items like dry-aged beef, live lobster, or seasonal truffles get billed at market cost plus a small sourcing fee. Booking a week or two ahead is usually plenty, though holidays fill up sooner.
This is a different thing from a meal-delivery subscription, where chef-made meals are cooked somewhere else and shipped to you. Hiring a chef means the cooking happens right there, for you, at your table.
Paying less than the platforms
Meal-delivery services like CookUnity bill per meal on a subscription for food cooked off-site. Bobby is being built as a marketplace where you book a private chef directly at their own rate plus a flat $1, so you get a chef in your own kitchen and the chef keeps 100 percent of their fee. The comparison is below.