When you’re hiring a private chef in South Florida, it can be difficult to know who to trust for your special holiday or dinner party catering. Varying prices, credentials, experience, ingredient sourcing, and more can make it confusing when you’re trying to sort through options and make a decision.
To help, here are 10 essential questions to ask before hiring a private chef in South Florida, along with insights from our Miami culinary team (Best of Florida in Catering winner 2024 and 2025) on what to look for in the answers.
Recommended Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Private Chef
To sort through your options, it’s best to compare apples to apples, so to speak. Pose the questions below to any private chef or dinner party caterer you talk to, so you can easily find the one that’s just right for your occasion, dietary needs, and budget.
1. How do you accommodate dietary restrictions and food allergies?
To ensure that all your guests enjoy your occasion – whether they’re vegan, gluten-free, allergic to specific foods, etc. – it’s essential to understand whether a private chef or dinner party caterer is experienced and trained in preventing cross-contamination and modifying dishes to accommodate special dietary needs with skill and ease.
Many chefs and culinary companies run from these food challenges. Others claim they can accommodate dietary restrictions, but fail to deliver on that promise. Some have deep experience, training, and a passion for ensuring that no one misses out on a delicious experience due to special dietary needs.
Research each potential private chef company’s website, but also examine their Google reviews and other testimonials. Look for specific mentions of how they handle food allergies and special dietary needs. Also, ask questions about their cross-contamination training and kitchen safety processes and protocols.
2. What kind of ingredients do you use, and how do you source them?
Ingredient quality and freshness have a significant impact on taste, and, of course, cost.
Does the private chef use conventional or organic produce, herbs, and spices? Do they use grass-fed beef and lamb, organic chicken, and wild-caught seafood? Do they use seed oils? Where do they buy ingredients? And when do they order the ingredients for your occasion?
At The Pickled Beet, for example, every dish begins with freshly harvested produce from organic farmers. We use fish caught last night by local South Florida fishermen, Berkshire pork, and grass-fed beef and lamb flown in from small American family ranches. We source our ingredients from purveyors with whom we have long-standing relationships, and we use only the freshest ingredients and healthy oils. If a client needs a specialty item, such as diver scallops, we have them flown in fresh.
“The Picked Beet catered our holiday vacation, and I cannot say enough good things about the service and quality of the food. We had a ton of dietary restrictions, and they handled them all, from vegan to low-sodium. Would highly recommend Chef Elizabeth and her team.”
– Lizbeth H.
3. Do you specialize in any particular cuisine or style?
Depending on what you’re looking for, this is a crucial question to determine whether a chef or boutique caterer is a good fit for your needs.
Some chefs specialize in a particular cuisine or style, and they can be a great choice if that is specifically what you need. Others have a broader range of experience, and the most experienced chefs have a wide repertoire of dishes and cuisines they prepare.
The key here is to understand what you want and ensure that the private chef you hire matches your needs.
Our talented chef team at The Pickled Beet boasts an average of 20 years of experience in crafting gourmet meals across a wide range of cuisines, with a repertoire of more than 3,000 tested recipes.
4. Can you create a customized menu for my event, or am I limited to your sample menus?
Some chefs provide menus you must order from, while some offer sample menus with a varying degree of flexibility. Still others, like The Pickled Beet, provide sample menus as a source of inspiration and work with clients to create a customized menu, with dishes that can be on or off our menus.
If you have special dietary needs or want a fully customized menu for your dinner party or other in-home occasion, it’s important to ask this question and understand your options.
5. What’s included in your service (setup, serving, cleanup)?
To truly compare private chef services, understanding what’s included is vital – so you are prepared and also understand pricing differences.
Specifically, look at:
- Do they provide ingredient sourcing and purchasing? (most do, but we recommend asking anyway)
- Do they provide drop-off catering options? Gourmet holiday meals? If so, what does that entail? Where is the food cooked and when?
- If you’re looking for a buffet service, will they set it up and then leave? Will they set up, then serve, and clean up? Are both options available, at a different price point for each?
- If you’re looking for a multi-course, plated dinner party caterer, will they cook, plate, serve, and clean up?
- Is gratuity included in the price?
6 – Are you licensed and insured? Do you have food handlers training?
Among all the recommended questions to ask before hiring a private chef, this is one of the most important. Specifically, we recommend the following:
- Ask if they have a food service license or catering permit issued by the DBPR (Department of Business and Professional Regulation).
- And confirm where they prepare the food: is it in a licensed commercial kitchen?
- A private chef or dinner party caterer who does NOT have a catering license but is preparing food off-site and delivering food to you is a major red flag under Florida law.
- Ask to see proof of their insurance. No evidence of insurance is risky for you and your home.
- Ask about the food certifications they and their team members hold. No food safety certification raises your risk of foodborne illness (a parting gift no host or guest wants!).
- Be cautious of any service provider with a vague contract or, worse yet, no contract at all.
At The Pickled Beet, we have been in business since 2006, cook in our own licensed commercial kitchen located in Miami, and we received a perfect score of 100 during our last routine inspection by the health department.
Additionally, all of our staff (even our office manager) have not only a ServSafe Food Handler Certification but also a ServSafe Manager Certification. The Manager level is an advanced certification for those responsible for overall food safety, covering comprehensive food safety principles, regulatory compliance, HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point, to ensure food safety at all critical points: receiving, cooking, holding, transport, serving), staff supervision, and crisis prevention in food service operations.
“The Pickled Beet is always so creative. They extract flavors from food and dishes like no other. From preparing delicious and weekly tasty dinners for a few, to gatherings of 20 to 30, special parties and even tailgating food that is both good to the taste buds and good for the body, they do not disappoint.”
– Clint P.
7. How far in advance should I book?
Don’t skip this important question! It can be 2 to 12 weeks, depending on the provider, how busy they are, and the time of year.
At The Pickled Beet, we recommend booking with us at least 6-8 weeks in advance; more for November or December, because we fill up quickly for holiday parties, meals, and other in-home gatherings.
8. Can you provide reviews, testimonials, and references?
Do your research, and pay attention to what matters most to you, such as experience with your size and type of event, past client feedback around service and food quality, and how they handle (or don’t) any specific cuisine or special dietary needs.
9. What is your pricing structure, and what kind of budget should I plan on?
“It depends” is the most accurate answer.
Prices vary widely with good reason, so it’s important to understand what, specifically, you’re asking for and how that impacts your budget.
If you’re looking for a sit-down, 5-course surf and turf dinner with servers for 20 guests, that would be on the high end of the pricing spectrum. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a drop-off meal with one protein, two sides, and a simple dessert for 2-4 people, that pricing would be much lower.
To break that down further, the most common factors that impact pricing are:
- Ingredients (baked chicken and diver scallops, for example, have significantly different prices)
- Whether the ingredients used are conventional or organic, and whether they are commonly available or a specialty item
- How many ingredients are needed (for example, multiple appetizers can cost more than a simple meal)
- The intricacy, time, and staff involved in preparing the dishes (multiple appetizers can cost more than a simple meal; but a complex meal can cost more than simple appetizers … so “it depends”)
- The number of dishes, courses, and guests
- The range and amount of special dietary needs
- The type of service and staffing needed:
- Drop-off catering
- Buffet – cook, set up, and leave
- Buffet – cook, set up, serve, and clean up
- Cook, plate, serve, clean up (number of courses, number of guests, and more)
At The Pickled Beet, our pricing varies based on your event menu selections, the number of courses, the number of guests, and the level of service. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect your cost to be equivalent to or higher than what you would pay at a top-tier, fine dining restaurant.
10. What makes you unique?
A final suggested question to ask before hiring a private chef is to ask the chef service or small event caterer what makes them stand out. In addition to all the information you have already gathered, this will help you determine who best fits your vision, needs, timeline, quality, and budget.
Why Choose The Pickled Beet for Your Dinner Party Catering and Private Chef Needs
At The Pickled Beet, our award-winning South Florida boutique catering services make it easy to host memorable, stress-free, gourmet dinner parties and other gatherings. We work closely with each client to craft menus that reflect the occasion and their personal preferences, allowing them to relax and fully enjoy their guests.
Our skilled, professional chefs prepare dishes from all over the world, including Asia, Italy, France, Mexico, India, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. We are also specialists in creating or re-making favorite recipes to accommodate guests’ food allergies, dietary lifestyles, and unique preferences.
From drop-off gourmet holiday meals … to multi-course plated and served dinners with suggested wine pairings, we will work with you to craft the perfect menu and services for your occasion.
What sets The Pickled Beet apart?
We are:
- A passionate, dedicated team of experienced, talented gourmet chefs
- A fine dining private chef and catering service provider that easily accommodates food allergies and special dietary needs (such as gluten-free, paleo diet, AIP diet, and vegan catering)
- A 2-time winner of Best of Florida for Catering (2024 and 2025)
- Based in Miami with our own commercial kitchen, serving all of South Florida
- Experienced at providing luxury private chef services for dinner parties, visitors, holidays, and other special occasions
- Flexible; we work with clients to create custom menus and dishes
- Private jet in-flight catering specialists, providing elevated dining experiences in the air as well
- Committed to using only the freshest, premium, organic ingredients (such as organic produce, organic poultry, grass-fed beef and lamb, wild-caught seafood, and Berkshire pork)
- A South Florida chef team that averages close to 20 years of professional experience
- Licensed, insured, trained, and safety certified
- Accessible – you get to talk to real people, including your event’s lead chef
“The Pickled Beet is my go-to anytime I want a special event catered. From anniversary dinners to special holiday meals, their food and service can’t be beat!”
– Jennifer B.
Common Misconceptions When Hiring a Dinner Party Caterer or Chef in South Florida
After more than two decades of experience in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Miami Beach, and throughout South Florida, we have encountered a lot of misconceptions about hiring private chefs and dinner party catering services. After all, vetting gourmet culinary providers isn’t something most people do every day.
Some of the most common misconceptions and assumptions we see when hiring a private chef are:
- All private and personal chefs are licensed, insured, and experienced
- All chefs know how to handle food allergies, intolerances, cross-contamination, safety issues, and special dietary needs safely (and deliciously)
- You have to go to a prestigious culinary school to be a great private chef
- The cost is about the same as going out to eat
- It doesn’t matter where they cook – in a commercial kitchen, their own home kitchen, or my kitchen
The reality is:
- In South Florida (or anywhere), you need to be cautious when hiring; don’t be shy – ask to see proof of insurance, inquire about food safety training, and verify their experience
- Not all chefs have advanced knowledge and experience in handling food allergies and special diets; not all have cross-contamination training plus processes in place to prevent it as their everyday norm; and not all enthusiastically welcome special diets
- A great chef has a combination of years of experience, on-the-job training, a passion for their work, a gift for extracting flavor out of dishes, and, in some cases (not all), formal training
- The cost depends on your menu selections, ingredients, number of courses, number of guests, and time and labor involved
- Where your event cuisine is cooked matters. It is common (and legal) for private dinner party chefs and caterers to cook in a licensed commercial kitchen and/or in their client’s home. However, they cannot legally cook in their own home kitchens, unless they are only baking (cottage laws allow baking, but nothing else).
Ready to Experience The Pickled Beet Difference?
Hiring a private chef should feel effortless and extraordinary. By asking the right questions, you’ll find a partner who can elevate your event from simple to spectacular.
At The Pickled Beet, we’re passionate about crafting unforgettable in-home dining experiences throughout Miami-Dade and South Florida. Whether you’re hosting an intimate dinner, planning a holiday gathering, or celebrating life’s milestones, our team will bring the luxury restaurant experience directly to your home – safely, beautifully, and deliciously.
Let us bring a gourmet experience to you – in Miami, Coral Gables, Miami Beach, Ft. Lauderdale, or anywhere in South Florida.
To get started, please contact us for customized pricing and scheduling.
- FIRST, please fill out our Catering Booking Request Form.
- NEXT, please schedule a short phone call so we can learn more and provide you with a customized quote. It’s helpful if you review our catering menu and think about your budget before the call.
