Become A Personal Chef

Become A Personal Chef
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Marketing

 The personal chef life is wild, profitable, meaningful — and absolutely not for the faint of heart. Join Louie as he spills the truth about clients, confidence, pricing, lifestyle, and everything they never taught you in culinary school. Come for the stories… stay for the transformation. 

  1. Sep 18

    42 - There Has Never Been A More Magnificent Time To Be A Chef

    Have you ever stopped to think about how ridiculously lucky we are to love food right now? For most of human history, dinner was determined by geography, season, preservation, wealth—and sometimes simple survival. Today? We complain when the supermarket is out of cilantro. In Episode 42 of The Become A Personal Chef Podcast, Louie Montan takes a trip through culinary history - from cooking over primitive fires and eating beside the Nile, through smoky medieval taverns, spice routes, sailing ships, early American kitchens, the family dinners of 50 years ago, and finally into the almost absurd culinary abundance we enjoy today. You’ll discover: What dinner might have looked like for ordinary people throughout historyWhy spices once inspired fortunes, exploration, and journeys across the globeHow wealth still couldn't buy historical diners access to foods we take for grantedHow railroads, refrigeration, supermarkets, and global transportation transformed what we eatWhy strawberries in January are more remarkable than we realizeHow the modern spice aisle would have astonished some of the wealthiest people in historyWhy today's ordinary home kitchen contains technology earlier cooks could barely imagineHow phones, tablets, cooking videos, and instant access to culinary knowledge have changed what it means to learn to cookWhy our increasingly adventurous taste buds create enormous opportunities for today's personal chefsAnd why the entire world of food is now sitting at our fingertipsPepper and cinnamon once traveled across continents. Today they're in aisle four. Our ancestors struggled to control cooking fires. We turn a knob. A good home cook once relied on a handful of trusted dishes, a cookbook, family knowledge, and whatever the local market happened to carry. Today she can decide to make something she's never cooked before and have a world-class chef teaching her from a tablet five minutes later. Yeah... we've got it good. This episode is a celebration of cooks, chefs, ingredients, gadgets, markets, recipes, cultures, curiosity, and thousands of years of human beings figuring out what's for dinner. If you love food, you hit the historical lottery. So taste something unfamiliar. Learn another dish. Use the weird spice hiding in the back of the cabinet. Cook something your grandmother made and then cook something her grandmother could never have imagined having access to. Because... There has never been a more magnificent time to be a chef. Revel in it. 🎧 Listen in—and then go cook something. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to build or grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Books, resources, tools, and practical help for building the business behind the food 👉 ThePersonalChefStore.com — Books and digital downloads created specifically for personal chefs, plus chef apparel, kitchen art, gifts, and food culture 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working personal chefs: claim your listing and help clients discover you 📚 BOOKS TO BUILD, GROW & NICHE YOUR PERSONAL CHEF BUSINESS ➡️ How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable personal chef business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️ The Personal Chef Sales Manual Find clients, communicate professionally, build trust, and become more confident selling your service https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️ Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Build a more recognizable personal chef service by developing specialties clients are actively looking for https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️ Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Create memorable, higher-value services that give clients another reason to hire—and refer—you https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️ Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your culinary knowledge into additional income, authority, and opportunities beyond the weekly cook day https://amzn.to/3MjLN1R 🎙️ THE BECOME A PERSONAL CHEF PODCAST If you're enjoying the show, please follow, subscribe, comment, and share it with another chef or food lover. We recently crossed our first 1,000 downloads. Thank you for helping us get there. Now help us find the next 1,000. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    42 - There Has Never Been A More Magnificent Time To Be A Chef

  2. Sep 7

    Episode 41 - YOU’RE NOT JUST A CHEF ANYMORE - YOU’RE AN OPERATOR

    Being a talented cook may get you hired but becoming an operator is what helps you build a personal chef business that lasts. In Episode 41, we talk about the moment every personal chef eventually faces: realizing that cooking is only one part of the job. Behind every successful cook day are menus, shopping, scheduling, client communication, payments, containers, travel, boundaries, follow-ups, and dozens of decisions nobody warned you about. You’ll learn how simple systems can reduce burnout, protect your creativity, and make your entire service feel calmer and more professional. We’ll cover what to standardize first, how to design your week instead of surviving one day at a time, why boundaries are part of good service, and how to turn experience into an operation that becomes easier - not harder - to run. Plus, we take a moment to celebrate the Become a Personal Chef podcast crossing its first 1,000 downloads. Thank you for helping us reach this milestone. You’re still a chef. You’re simply becoming the person who makes sure that chef has a business worth showing up for. Books, digital resources, and practical tools for personal chefs: ThePersonalChefStore.com 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    Episode 41 - YOU’RE NOT JUST A CHEF ANYMORE - YOU’RE AN OPERATOR

  3. Aug 17

    40 - What You Should Know Now — Wrapping Up the First 40

    If you’re listening to this episode, you didn’t just find the show — you stayed. This milestone episode closes out the first 40 conversations of The Become A Personal Chef Podcast by zooming out and reflecting on what this journey has really been about. Not tactics. Not hacks. But identity. Across these episodes, we talked about calm as a professional skill, boundaries as respect, systems as relief, and the quiet intimacy of working in someone else’s home. On the surface, it sounded like business advice. Underneath, it was about becoming the kind of personal chef who lasts. In this episode, Louie reflects on the patterns that emerge after experience starts to settle in — less chaos, more clarity, stronger instincts, and a shift from reacting to leading. It’s about recognizing growth you may already feel, even if you haven’t named it yet. This is not a “how-to” episode.  It’s a pause.  A checkpoint.  A reminder that sustainable success comes from doing the right things — calmly, consistently, and with intention. If you’ve been listening along, this episode is for you. Take a breath.  You’re doing better than you think. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    40 - What You Should Know Now — Wrapping Up the First 40

  4. Aug 10

    39 - Get It in Writing — Why ‘Nice’ Was Costing Us Money

    There’s a phase almost every personal chef goes through. I call it the nice phase. You’re flexible.  You’re accommodating.  You don’t want to scare anyone away. So you say things like:  “I’ll just figure it out.”  “Don’t worry about it.”  “We’ll play it by ear.” And slowly… quietly…  that niceness starts costing you. Payments drift.  Schedule changes become casual.  Groceries get fuzzy.  And you start hearing: “Oh, I didn’t realize that wasn’t included.” Here’s the truth we learned the hard way. We didn’t have bad clients.  We had unclear expectations. And clarity doesn’t make clients uncomfortable.  Ambiguity does. This is Louie, behind the scenes. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    39 - Get It in Writing — Why ‘Nice’ Was Costing Us Money

  5. Aug 3

    38 - What No One Tells You About Being in Someone Else’s Kitchen

    No one tells you this when you become a personal chef:  the job isn’t just about food. It’s about stepping into other people’s lives—their routines, pets, habits, surprises, and most meaningful moments—and doing your work with grace. In this episode of The Become A Personal Chef Podcast, Louie Montan shares real stories from inside client homes that reveal what personal cheffing actually feels like: the intimacy, the humor, the trust, and the quiet responsibility of being a professional guest in someone else’s space. You’ll hear about: The moments that remind you you’re not “back of house” anymoreHow pets, guests, and households become part of the jobWhy personal cheffing is more intimate than anyone admitsHow professionalism shows up in small, unseen waysWhat it really means to be trusted in someone’s homeThis episode is for chefs who’ve ever laughed, paused, adapted, or felt the weight of being invited into someone’s life. Because personal cheffing isn’t just cooking.  It’s presence.  And it deserves care. 🎧 Listen in—and recognize yourself in the stories. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    38 - What No One Tells You About Being in Someone Else’s Kitchen

  6. Jul 27

    37 - The Sunday Night Panic That Shouldn’t Exist

    That Sunday night anxiety?  The half-written menus, scattered notes, and feeling like you’re already behind? That’s not creativity struggling.  It’s structure missing. In this episode of The Become A Personal Chef Podcast, Louie Montan breaks down why weekly meal planning isn’t busywork—it’s a professional skill that protects your time, your energy, and your sanity. You’ll learn: Why “winging it” creates anxiety before the week even startsHow structure makes clients feel calm and taken care ofWhy fewer, clearer choices speed up approvalsHow templates eliminate endless revisions and late-night textsWhy planning systems are the backbone of sustainable growthThis episode is for chefs who love cooking—but are tired of Sundays feeling like a countdown to chaos. Because planning isn’t restrictive.  It’s freeing. 🎧 Listen in—and end the Sunday night panic for good. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    37 - The Sunday Night Panic That Shouldn’t Exist

  7. Jul 13

    36 - Why Japanese Cuisine Changes the Trajectory of a Personal Chef Business

    What if one service could instantly change how clients perceive you — without louder marketing, more hustle, or explaining your worth? In this episode, Louie Montan unpacks why Japanese cuisine experiences act as a silent authority signal in the personal chef world. From omakase-style dinners to seasonal, ritual-driven service formats, this episode explores how restraint, precision, and intention create trust — and why trust closes sales faster than persuasion ever could. This conversation is less about food and more about identity, confidence, and positioning, and it pairs directly with Louie’s book Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Japanese Cuisine Experiences. If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing great work but still getting compared on price, this episode will show you exactly what’s missing — and how to fix it. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    36 - Why Japanese Cuisine Changes the Trajectory of a Personal Chef Business

  8. Jul 6

    35 - Your Knife Bag Is NOT Enough — Why Professional Tools Make or Break Your Cook Day

    Every personal chef remembers the moment they open a drawer and think,  “Oh no.” In this episode of The Become A Personal Chef Podcast, Louie Montan breaks down why relying on client kitchens is one of the fastest ways to lose time, confidence, and control—and why professional chefs don’t hope the right tools are there. They bring them. You’ll learn: Why beautiful kitchens are often the least usableHow bad equipment quietly sabotages timing and food qualityWhy clients are impressed—not offended—when you bring your own toolsHow planning tools backward from the menu changes everythingWhy equipment isn’t an expense—it’s insuranceThis episode is for chefs who are done improvising with warped pans, dull knives, and mystery spatulas—and ready to work like the professional they already are. Because hope is not a strategy.  Preparation is. 🎧 Listen in—and stop gambling with your cook day. 🌟 RESOURCES, LINKS & NEXT STEPS 🌟 Looking to grow your personal chef business? Start here ⬇️ 👉 BecomeAPersonalChef.com — Explore our brand-new bookstore & resources 👉 PersonalChefFinder.com — Working chefs: claim your listing and get discovered 📚 Books to Build, Grow & Niche Your Personal Chef Business ➡️How To Run A Successful Personal Chef Service The step-by-step guide to turning your passion for cooking into a profitable business https://amzn.to/4owVJST ➡️The Personal Chef Sales Manual Close clients, communicate like a pro, and build trust in any kitchen https://amzn.to/4oELsUO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Special Diets Specialize, stand out, and scale with confidence https://amzn.to/3KDQ8MN ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Signature Services Design, price, and deliver high-value experiences that set you apart https://amzn.to/48RLHqO ➡️Niche Up Your Personal Chef Service with Teaching & Classes Turn your cooking skills into income, influence, and independence https://a...

    35 - Your Knife Bag Is NOT Enough — Why Professional Tools Make or Break Your Cook Day
See All (43)

Trailer

About

 The personal chef life is wild, profitable, meaningful — and absolutely not for the faint of heart. Join Louie as he spills the truth about clients, confidence, pricing, lifestyle, and everything they never taught you in culinary school. Come for the stories… stay for the transformation. 

Information

  • Creator
    Become A Personal Chef
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    43
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Become A Personal Chef
  • Show Website
    Become A Personal Chef

You Might Also Like