How Much Does a Private Chef Cost in Miami?
A private chef in Miami costs $200 per guest — the chef's fee — plus groceries billed separately; most dinners land around $250 per guest all-in, with a $2,000 event minimum. With Chef Marina Staver, the fee covers menu design, morning-of sourcing, cooking from scratch in your kitchen, plating, and cleanup. A dinner for ten guests starts at $2,000. Your custom quote arrives within 24 hours.
- Chef's fee — $200 per guest, Michelin-level, cooked from scratch in your kitchen
- Groceries — billed separately, sourced the morning of your dinner
- Most dinners land around $250 per guest all-in
- $2,000 event minimum per dinner
- Bartender or server staffing available as an add-on
- Custom quote within 24 hours
Private chef cost is the most-searched question in this category — and the least answered. Most Miami companies make you submit a form before you see a number. This page puts the numbers first, so you can check the math before you ever talk to us.
What's included in the price?
The $200 per guest is the chef's fee, and it covers the complete evening: a menu designed around your guests, every course cooked from scratch in your kitchen, plating and service, and a kitchen left cleaner than we found it. Groceries are sourced that morning and billed separately — most dinners land around $250 per guest all-in.
Chef Marina Staver is a European-trained private chef with more than two decades of private kitchen experience for clients across Europe and now South Florida. She is the chef at every dinner — not a name on a roster. Here is what the price includes:
- Menu design — written for your table: the occasion, the season, every allergy and preference accounted for.
- Sourcing — ingredients selected that morning, for one dinner, not in bulk.
- Cooking — from scratch, on-site, in your kitchen. Nothing pre-made, nothing reheated.
- Plating and pacing — courses arrive as your evening unfolds, warm from the pan to the table.
- Cleanup — the kitchen returned to order before we say goodnight.
And what's billed separately, so there are no surprises later: groceries at cost, rare-by-request ingredients — caviar, specific vintages — at market price, and bartender or server staffing at $50–55 per hour per staff member with a five-hour minimum (about $260 per staff member for an evening).
What changes the price of a private chef?
Four inputs move a quote up or down: headcount, course count, sourcing level, and staffing.
- Headcount. The math is simple: $200 × the number of guests, plus groceries, with the $2,000 event minimum protecting smaller tables. Twelve guests scale exactly the way you'd expect — no per-event surcharges hiding in the fine print.
- Courses. A three-course dinner and a five-course tasting are different evenings — more courses mean more sourcing, more prep, and a higher per-guest figure.
- Sourcing level. Seasonal Florida seafood sits inside the standard quote; rare-by-request items (caviar, specific vintages) are added at market price, always confirmed with you first.
- Staffing. Tables of twelve or more often add a server or bartender — $50–55 per hour per staff member, five-hour minimum.
We cook from Homestead to Palm Beach, across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties — at home, in vacation rentals and Airbnbs, and on board.
What does a private chef dinner cost? Four real scenarios
Here is what real evenings cost, using the three numbers that matter: the $200-per-guest chef's fee, groceries billed separately — most dinners land around $250 per guest all-in — and the $2,000 event minimum.
| The evening | Guests | Starting price | The math |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anniversary dinner at home | 2 | $2,000 | Event minimum applies |
| Dinner party | 6 | $2,000 | 6 × $200 = $1,200 → minimum applies |
| Dinner party | 10 | from $2,000 | 10 × $200 |
| Holiday table | 12 | from $2,400 | 12 × $200 |
- Dinner for two. The full dinner-party treatment, scaled to one table: a menu written for two, sourced that morning, cooked while you pour the wine. Priced at the $2,000 event minimum — most couples book it for anniversaries and proposals.
- Dinner party for six. The most common booking. Six guests, three to five courses, the host at the table instead of at the stove — priced at the event minimum.
- Dinner party for ten. From $2,000 plus groceries, the per-guest math takes over. One kitchen, one long table, courses paced so the conversation never has to stop.
- Holiday table for twelve. From $2,400 plus groceries — add a server if you want the evening fully hands-off. December dates fill earliest — the calendar, not the price, is the constraint.
Planning one of these evenings? Tell us the date and the headcount — your custom quote arrives within 24 hours.
Planning a day on the water? → yacht chef in Miami · Or see how a dinner party with Marina comes together → private chef for a dinner party
How much is a tasting menu at home?
A multi-course tasting menu starts from the same $200-per-guest chef's fee plus groceries; the course count and sourcing set the final figure, confirmed in your 24-hour quote.
A tasting evening is a different rhythm — six or more small courses paced across the night, each one plated in front of your guests. Because every tasting menu is composed for the specific table, we don't publish a flat rate: you tell us the occasion and the headcount, Marina drafts the menu direction, and the quote lands in your inbox within 24 hours.
Do private chefs charge per hour or per event?
The Staver prices per event, not per hour — a $200-per-guest chef's fee with a $2,000 minimum — so the evening runs at your pace, without a clock.
Hourly rates in Miami usually belong to weekly meal-prep services: a different service, built around batch cooking and containers in the fridge. A private dinner is one complete production — menu, sourcing, cooking, service, cleanup — and pricing it per event means a long dessert conversation never costs you extra. The one hourly element is optional staffing: bartenders and servers at $50–55 per hour, five-hour minimum.
Is a private chef worth it compared to a restaurant?
At around $250 per guest all-in, a private chef dinner sits in the territory of a tasting-menu restaurant night — except the table is yours, the menu is written for your guests, and nobody drives home afterward.
What the restaurant bill never includes: a menu that adjusts to every allergy at your table, a start time you choose, conversation at your own volume, and a kitchen cleaned while you finish the last glass. What it does include — and we don't charge: the drive, the valet, the room full of strangers. For a milestone evening, Michelin-level cooking in your own home is the version your guests will still be talking about next season.
Private chef cost in Miami — frequently asked questions
From $200 per guest — the chef's fee — plus groceries billed separately, with a $2,000 event minimum; most dinners land around $250 per guest all-in. One night means one complete event: menu design, morning sourcing, from-scratch cooking in your kitchen, plating, and cleanup. A dinner for ten guests starts at $2,000. You receive an exact quote within 24 hours.
A dinner for two is priced at the $2,000 event minimum, plus groceries. The evening is built like a full dinner party scaled to one table: a menu written for two, ingredients sourced that morning, every course cooked from scratch in your kitchen. Couples book it most often for anniversaries and proposals at home.
Both models exist in Miami. The Staver prices per guest — a $200 chef's fee plus groceries, most dinners landing around $250 per guest all-in — with a $2,000 event minimum, so larger tables scale simply: $200 multiplied by your headcount, groceries at cost on top. Optional bartender or server staffing is the only hourly element, at $50–55 per hour per staff member with a five-hour minimum.
Hourly rates in Miami usually apply to weekly meal-prep services — a different service from a private dinner. The Staver prices per event, from a $200-per-guest chef's fee, so there is no clock on your evening. Support staff, when requested, are the hourly element: $50–55 per hour, five-hour minimum.
Multi-day stays — vacation homes, villas, Airbnbs, yacht charters — are quoted per dinner from the same baseline: a $200-per-guest chef's fee plus groceries, with a $2,000 minimum per event. We are an event-based service rather than a live-in arrangement. Send the dates and headcount, and one quote covering the full stay arrives within 24 hours.
Menu design around your guests, cooking from scratch on-site, plating and service through the evening, and full kitchen cleanup — that is the $200-per-guest chef's fee. Billed separately: groceries at cost, rare-by-request ingredients such as caviar at market price, and optional bartender or server staffing from about $260 per staff member per event.
We have our own plates and serveware and can bring them, depending on your guest count. For larger tables we recommend a rental service and coordinate the order for you. We can also design the table setting for your evening — we agree the direction with you and send a preview beforehand.
Every dinner is one complete production for one client: a menu written for your table, a morning spent sourcing, an afternoon and evening cooking in your kitchen, and the cleanup after. The minimum reflects a full day of work dedicated to a single event — published here instead of hidden inside a quote.
What will your dinner cost?
Tell us three things — the date, the headcount, and what you'd like to celebrate. You'll have a menu direction and a custom quote within 24 hours. No deposit until you approve both.
Request your quote74 Google reviews — a 5.0 rating · Prefer to talk? +1 (954) 940-2459
See the full service → private chef in Miami · How a dinner party comes together · Or start at The Staver