When you are willing to run the business of visiting chef service, you should be able to know and understand well about the job’s terms. Spend the time to meet with clients to discuss menu and ingredient choices. Tour the kitchen you’ll be working in to learn about your working area. You can offer menus of available, tested recipes or ask for requests and suggestions from your clients. Be sure to discuss any special ingredients they may want, and ask about allergies and special diets.
Plan on shopping for ingredients on your own, from suppliers you know and trust. You should be able to perform some of the prep work on dishes in your own kitchen and finish them on-site. In some cases, you may want to subcontract desserts to a professional pastry chef and arrange for just-in-time delivery to the home. You should work with a knowledgeable wine merchant to match libations to menu items (and to your client’s budget). Do the same with suppliers of gourmet cheese, meat, and other specialty items. You may need a helper for food preparation, serving, and/or cleanup.
For the up-front expenses, you may need to think about the tools and devices. In that case, you’ll need specialty pots, pans, and cooking utensils. For unusual dishes you may need specialty oven pans and serving platters. You may also need to purchase and maintain some basic and unusual ingredients. You should build a library of cookbooks and reference books; a great deal of information is also available on the Internet. Other costs include advertising and promotion.