Meal Prep FAQ

Kansas City and its metropolitan areas are as unique as the tastes their citizens enjoy. MyChef KC’s extensive selection of chefs caters to many cooking styles and nutritional criteria. You’ll have the chance to meet a personal chef, get to know them, and let them get to know you. We take a number of steps before the cooking gets started to make sure it’s a good fit and you’ll enjoy your experience.

We have one goal: your satisfaction with the food and service that MyChef KC delivers, one bite at a time.

We understand that most people’s homes aren’t equipped like a restaurant! Our chefs are more than capable of adapting to different cooking environments. If you have desires that outpace your kitchen’s accoutrements, we’ll be happy to help you find cost-effective tools to add to your kitchen so that your meals are the best they can be.

Absolutely! You will be a part of the menu creation and recipe formulation! This is a cooperative experience, where you and your chef work together to achieve the best possible meals. Feel free to voice your suggestions or cravings.  From specific nutrition needs to dietary preferences to food allergies to certain foods/spices/herbs that some people cannot stand (we’re looking at you, cilantro!), we’ll talk about the meals, tweak the recipes, and make suggestions about ways to create dishes that can improve your health while pleasing your palate.

But in the end, the most important part is that you love what you’re eating! We’ll do what it takes to make sure you’re satisfied with every bite.

Our clients are often shocked by our prices. Specifically, their eyebrows go up when they find out how affordable it is to have your own personal chef come cook in your home! We charge $49 an hour, plus the cost of food. Our services take typically 4 hours per week, on average. Note: We do not cover the cost of groceries and other extra necessities for preparing and/or packaging the meals. You’ll need to have a payment supplied up front for that, in the form of card or cash, whichever you’re most comfortable with.

Your personal chef can absolutely create meals and snacks that fit your diet! We have tons of experience with diets—diabetic, keto, organic, vegetarian, vegan, weight loss, heart healthy, and more. We can execute almost any diet plan, and we will adapt the menu to your needs and cook the food in any form or way you want. See? It’s nice having your own personal chef!

The answer depends on you! We can package your food up however you prefer, and whatever works best with your routines.  Pre-portioned? Family style? Both?

As a professional in the food handling and preparation industry, your MyChef KC home chef will be happy to make recommendations that will help you get the best results.

MyChef KC will provide you with a service manual outlining our meal prep services in detail in Kansas City. We do that so that, as you and your personal chef create amazing menus and food to fit your situation, we are fully transparent about all costs and yummy expectations.

That being said—unlike other services, we do not require contracts, charge any sign-up fees, nor do we charge you if you wish to end service! We do have a holding fee  of $65 for taking a week off, a 3 hour minimum for our weekly service, as well as a travel charge for clients outside of our normal service areas.

Every situation is slightly different. However, in our experience, for the average family of 4, receiving most of their weeknight food can expect to pay a cost around $300 – $350 total. Are there just 2 of you? That total cost comes down. Things to consider: Different ingredients cost different prices. Chicken and ground beef will be cheaper than shrimp and halibut. Keep that in mind when making requests. Also, the benefit of an hourly service is that if one week someone is out of town or you have dinner arrangements already and don’t need as many meals, then your total will be less.

To ensure you choose a diet plan that’s right for you, you should consult a professional dietician or your healthcare provider. As a meal prep service in Kansas City, we can help you follow your diet through pre-prepared meals in the portions you need.

We can also help you make sure you’ve got the nutritional values dictated by your diet. We understand that dieting is hard. It’s tough to start and tough to make it last. But you don’t need to be miserable while doing it! Do your research, talk to your healthcare professional, and pick a diet that not only will help you accomplish your goals, but one you will enjoy while doing it!

For consistent meal prepping and tasty variety, we’re there for you. You can do this!

Think of it this way: How many people can you fit into a kitchen? Our classes are designed for participation by all so that everyone has a chance to learn, to cook, to laugh, and to eat! During your consultation, we can discuss how many attendees will need to work in the cooking area. Your chef will make sure that, together, you’ve worked through all the details for a successful group class.

Your chef can absolutely teach you how to cook for your specific diet. During the consultation, we can look at the diet plan, discuss food preferences that fit into the plan, and work up a menu. Then we can come to your home, ingredients in tow, and, together, help you discover how to make that diet both healthy and tasty.

You don’t have to go it alone in the kitchen. Your chef can give you a 1-on-1 class whenever you need it.

Our cooking classes in Kansas City can include a cooking demo for any number of participants. Instead of being as hands-on as a cooking class, the demo is more of a “show and tell” on great ways to cook awesome food. If you’re unsure what topic you want to dive into, don’t worry! We have a team of chefs with many different specialties & skillsets. We can make plenty of recommendations on different ideas!

It works much like a class: you have a consultation with your chef to discuss the food to create, the technique to demo, and the location of the demo. Here’s the easy-peasy beauty of a cooking demo: just like our weekly service, your chef will source the ingredients, serve the food (if desired), and clean up.

The pricing for your cooking class or demo varies based on the event’s details. This can include the number of participants, the amount of ingredients to source, and how long the event is expected to last, and of course, your budget. All of these details will be clearly delineated during your consultation with your chef, so you have no worries or surprises for your class/demo—just a great time learning, cooking, and eating.

That’s one of the wonderful benefits of having MyChef KC come to your home and cook for your event right in your own kitchen. Any event where you want to enjoy the food, impress your guests, and make the whole time a little “extra” is the right time for MyChef KC.

We cook for:

• Private dinners
• Holiday parties
• Action stations
• Graduation parties
• Backyard Weddings & BBQs
• Birthday parties
• Retirement parties
• Small office parties
• And more!

If there’s a kitchen we can work in, then we’re there to elevate the event experience for everyone.

As your event chef in Kansas City, we’re dedicated to one thing: making you happy. Part of that is our deep respect for our clients’ cultural traditions for food. As professional chefs, we love to cook and explore all forms of food preparation.

During the menu phase, we’ll work with you to create a plan that supports the joy, the meaning, and the respect of the event. We can shop wherever you need us to purchase the exact ingredients that bring your guests the tastes and qualities of the celebration. Plus, we can include cultural cooking protocols to ensure all is as you need it.

To join MyChef KC, you’ll need to have already had 3+ years of chef training along with professional experience and food handler certification. You also need to be passionate about food, and enjoy cooking a wide variety of flavors and cuisines. All of this should be visible on your resume, and your certifications should be available for inspection as we thoroughly screen, background check, and vet our chefs.

Our chefs are also extremely efficient, with the ingrained social skills to positively interact with clients. You’ll be doing your cooking in their kitchens, supplying food for their lives, so the ability to empathize, adjust, lead, and follow are all important for a position as a personal chef at MyChef KC.

You’re certainly welcome to have the “tools of the trade” at your disposal. However, because we utilize a customer’s kitchen for their meal preparation, we usually use what they have on hand. This keeps our chefs efficient and allows the customer to see how great food can be made with what they have on hand. Plus, you never leave your favorite gourmet knife at someone else’s house!

No, and yes. The difference between these positions is that a private chef works for clients on a full-time basis, preparing all their meals daily and often living on the premises.

With our chef jobs in Kansas City, you’ll work as a personal chef, arriving at the customer’s home at a specified time—with any needed ingredients in hand—to create fresh, home-cooked meals at a reasonable price. We provide custom-designed menus and recipes that fit the goals and palates of our clients, usually taking 4 hours or less to cook a full week’s set of meals.

We absolutely do offer gift cards! There’s nothing like the gift of saving a busy family, a friend on the go, or senior parents’ time in the kitchen while still making sure they eat properly. Plus, the gift card could be used for more MyChef KC services, including cooking demonstrations, special event food preparation, and more.

Basically, our gift cards provide home-cooked, chef-curated meals and party foods—great for new parents, housewarming gifts, presents for the hard-to-buy-for, and anyone on your list who loves eating gourmet food.

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