Personal & private chefs · Manhattan
Find a vetted personal chef in Manhattan for weekly meal prep, or hire a private chef for a special occasion at home. Serving the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, West Village, Chelsea, Tribeca, and beyond.
Featured chefs
Every chef on Sous is vetted, ServSafe-certified, and background-checked. Browse, watch their intros, and request the one that fits your vibe.
What is Sous
A personal chef — sometimes called a private chef — collaborates with you to make a menu you'll love, shops for groceries at your favorite store, cooks for you in your kitchen, and leaves it cleaner than they found it.
Weekly ServiceFor busy families who want home-cooked meals without the time cost.
Your chef gets to know your family's needs, comes to your home weekly, cooks, and leaves your kitchen cleaner than they found it.
$258–282 + groceriesaverage chef fee · 4 dinners, 16 servings
Private DiningFor groups celebrating birthdays, anniversaries, bachelorette parties, dinner parties.
A chef comes to your home, prepares an unforgettable meal, and handles everything from menu to cleanup.
$625–680 + groceriesaverage chef fee · 8 guests, 3 courses
How it works
See who's available in your area, learn how they cook, and read what their clients say.
Message the chefs you like, talk through your tastes, diet, and kitchen, and build a menu together.
They shop, cook, plate, and leave your kitchen cleaner than they found it.
Why families choose Sous
We found Chef Maurice through Sous and couldn't have been more delighted. My nanny who made meals for us quit and Chef Maurice was an absolute lifesaver! Three dishes complete with generous sides — absolutely mouthwatering. We had enough to feed the whole family for the entire week.
Lucia L.
Manhattan · Sous customer
Who Sous is for
Most of our customers told us they never imagined hiring a personal chef. Here's what they say now.
“My nanny who made meals for us quit and Chef Maurice was an absolute lifesaver.”
After the baby, dinner becomes the part of the day no one has bandwidth for. A chef who knows your family takes it off the list.
“I got a fridge full of mix-and-match dishes and I've been eating like a queen for less than it would have cost to DoorDash McDonald's 8 times.”
A fridge full of meat, veggies, sides, and sauces — built around what you actually like to eat. A weekly chef often costs about what your delivery habit already does.
“She's just been nailing it every single time. I think she just really knows us a lot more now.”
Whole foods, ingredients you can name, and menus that get more dialed in every week.
“5 courses, including one of the best risottos I've ever had. From the personalized menu to the wine pairings to the highest quality of ingredients, everything was perfect.”
A chef brings the restaurant to your home for the night that has to be perfect.
Real pricing
Pricing on Sous is dynamic — your menu, your hours, and your chef all shape what you pay. Below are platform averages, not fixed prices.
Groceries billed separately as a reimbursement. Your price varies with hours and your chef's rate.
4 dinners Mon–Thurs · family of 4 · 1hr menu planning + 1hr grocery shopping + 4hr in-home cooking & cleanup
Avg chef hourly rate ~$43–$47/hr × 6 hours
Groceries billed separately as a reimbursement. Your price varies with guests, courses, and your chef's rate.
8 guests · 3 courses · private dining at home
From Manhattan kitchens
I was laying in bed one day trying to think of a way to make things better for our life and randomly decided to google how much a personal chef would be. Sous came up. My mind was completely blown that it's actually something we could fit in our budget.
Becca B.
Sous customer · Weekly meal prep
Great service, would absolutely recommend! Chef Maurice put together a top notch meal prep menu that took into consideration all of our requests and goals. Flavors were diverse and amazing.
Jana C.
Manhattan · Weekly meal prep
We had a great experience with Sous and Chef Maya. I loved that I had eaten at the restaurants Maya had worked at — her food was delicious, she was a delight, and it was really easy to work with Sous to get it all arranged.
Common questions
If your question isn't here, message us — most replies are within an hour during the day.
Chef rates are typically around $40-50 per hour. Your total depends on your household, menu, and the chef you pick — run a search at sous.so to see an instant quote. Groceries are billed separately at cost.
Yes. Sous chefs are used to working in Manhattan kitchens of every size. They bring their own tools, stay organized, and leave your kitchen clean.
Browse vetted Manhattan personal chefs at sous.so. All chefs are background-checked and ServSafe-certified. Browse profiles, watch intro videos, and book directly online.
In your home. Sous chefs shop at the store you choose, drive to your home, cook in your kitchen, plate the food, and clean up before they leave. Sous is not a delivery service or a meal kit — your food never sits in a warming bag.
Yes — that's our Special Occasion service. Most parties are 6–12 guests with a 3-course menu the chef collaborates with you on. Bachelorettes, anniversaries, milestone birthdays, and dinner parties at home are the most common bookings.
It's one of the most common reasons people use Sous. Several Manhattan chefs specialize in postpartum-friendly cooking — warming, easy-to-reheat meals, lactation-supportive ingredients, and freezer-ready portions for the early weeks.
Yes. Every chef on Sous is ServSafe-certified and asked about allergen handling during onboarding. You can filter chefs by diet — gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, vegan, low-FODMAP, halal, kosher — and your chef builds the menu around your household.
Yes. Gift cards cover any service amount. The recipient picks their own chef, collaborates on the menu, and chooses the date — you just hand over the food.
Most Manhattan weekly meal prep clients spend less than they were spending on delivery for the same number of nights — and they get real, tailored, in-home cooking instead of warming-bag food. The math usually shocks people.
Ready when you are
Browse Manhattan chefs, watch a few intros, and book the one that fits. Your chef shops, cooks in your kitchen, and cleans up before they go.