The Personal Chef Industry
Prior to 1992 the Department of Labor Statistics had the number of personal chefs/household cooks at less than 5,000 and generally employed by wealthy individuals. With the creation of a personal chef service in 1987 by the husband and wife team of David MacKay and Susan Titcomb-MacKay, the definition of the personal chef was destined to change.
The introduction in 1991 of the United States Personal Chef Association, the first and only trade association exclusively for the personal chef, ushered in a new era in culinary arts. Suddenly there were personal chef services focusing on Middle America while private chefs/household cooks were still employed almost exclusively by wealthy individuals.
After two decades of growth and development, the industry is strong and is one of the fastest growing segments in the culinary arts. As a certifying body for the personal chef industry, the United States Personal Chef Association developed and standardized the educational requirements now used across the country in community colleges and culinary schools offering personal chef training and business education.
Today, according to the Department of Labor, the number of private chefs/household cooks is over 9,000 (which is inclusive of both personal chefs and private chefs) and represents a growth of 4,000 positions in a short 15 years.