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Custom Menu Design
Your menu is built from scratch around your preferences, dietary needs, and occasion. No preset menus, no templates.
If you're still weighing whether to book a chef or a caterer, our private chef vs. catering breakdown covers cost, guest count, and the right fit for each format.
A private chef with MileHighCook typically runs $150–250 per person, all-inclusive — custom menu, all groceries, cooking, tableside service, and cleanup in a single number. Where you land comes down to guest count, menu complexity, and service level. Here's exactly how the pricing works.
Most MileHighCook private chef experiences land between $150 and $250 per person, fully all-inclusive. Where you fall in that range comes down to your menu and service level — here's what that looks like for a typical evening.
That single number covers custom menu design, all groceries, the chef's fee and labor, in-home cooking, tableside service, and full cleanup. The only thing we suggest on top is a 20% gratuity. Multi-day and full-week engagements — a private chef for a ski-week rental in Vail or Park City, for instance — are quoted at the same per-person rate per meal. An event minimum applies; ask us for your market's.
The most important thing to understand about MileHighCook pricing: every proposal covers everything. There are no line items added after the fact.
Every MileHighCook proposal is custom — here are the four variables that move the number.
"How much is a private chef?" means something different depending on whether you're planning one evening, a standing weekly dinner, or wondering what full-time help would run. Here's how the same all-inclusive rate plays out over time.
When people ask what a private chef costs for a year, they usually mean one of two things. The first is a full-time household chef — a salaried employee who typically runs $70,000–120,000 or more per year before groceries, benefits, and payroll. The second is what most families actually want: a standing arrangement where a professional chef cooks for them on a regular schedule. That's what we do. A family of four having one chef-prepared dinner a week invests roughly $2,400–4,000 a month — about $31,000–52,000 over a full year, still well under half the cost of a salaried chef, with no payroll and no commitment beyond the meals you book.
By the day, everything is quoted at the same $150–250 per-person rate per meal. For full-day service — breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a vacation home, for instance — we build the day around your actual meals rather than a flat fee, so a lighter breakfast never costs what a plated dinner does.
If weekly meal prep is what you're after — a chef shopping, cooking, and portioning several days of meals in your kitchen in a single visit — that's its own service with its own pricing, quoted per household. See our personal chef meal prep service for how it works; your menu comes back within 24 hours.
Cost is one factor, but it's worth weighing alongside the experience itself — see why a private chef is worth the investment for the full picture on what you're actually paying for vs. comparable dining experiences.
When people see a private chef quote, they compare it to a restaurant check. That's not the right comparison. Here's what a restaurant dinner for 6 actually costs — and what you get.
Tell us your date, location, guest count, and occasion. We respond within hours and have a fully custom all-inclusive proposal back within 24 hours.