Chef Products

Necessary chef products run the gamut from proper professional attire to menu software and marketing materials. Being listed in a network's membership directory by community can bring e-mails from those looking for a personal chef or a small event caterer near them. Basic information can be exchanged through e-mail. Yet when visiting the home with a personalized suggested menu and pricing for the prospective customer, attractive business cards, paper stock and a colorful presentation folder look very professional.

Looking the part when visiting a customer also makes a big impression, though the chef's hat can be left at home. Discuss "how to dress for initial interviews" with your peers, through an online forum of the network you belong to. Incidentally, the American Personal Chef Association also has an open forum where interested folks who aren't members can ask questions of others in the industry.

Chef products that will absolutely be needed include sturdy but disposable containers for the meals. (If your client had time to fuss with washing dishes, she would also have time to cook, and wouldn't need your services.) The standard disposable containers, which are sold in various sizes, are made of paperboard and have clear plastic dome lids. They can be heated in either a microwave or conventional oven (up to 400 degrees), and have the pleasant appearance of stoneware.

More on Chef Products for Promotion

Promotional material doesn't come cheap, or it will look cheap. Part of your chef products budget should go on business cards and a 3-part brochure. Add a matching folder with pockets. Presenting a proposed menu with pricing as a package will show a client you're professional. Cloth patches showing affiliation and/or certification can also be added to chef attire.