Booking a private chef for Christmas: what it costs and what to arrange now

Handing Christmas dinner to a private chef means nobody spends the day stuck in the kitchen. But Christmas Day is a date like no other for chefs, so it pays to know what to expect and to start planning early.

We looked at every completed yhangry booking in the UK last Christmas, plus the bookings already made for this year, to show what Christmas Day really costs, when people book and what ends up on the table.

Last Christmas, most Christmas Day bookings came to between £1,560 and £2,080, and around a third of groups spent more than £2,000. The typical booking was about £1,700, against about £620 for a private chef dinner on any other day of the year.

The total barely changes with the size of your group, so the price per head depends on how many of you are eating.

Completed UK yhangry bookings for 25 December 2025.

A family of eight should expect to pay more than £200 a head, while a big gathering of 16 or more may pay closer to £120. If you are budgeting, start with the total and work back.

At the top end, our biggest Christmas Day booking to date came to £10,400. It was a four-to-five-course lunch with canapés for 25 guests at a family home in Kent last Christmas, booked in October with ingredients included. That works out at about £416 a head.

Experienced chefs often price Christmas Day well above the typical figure. “I currently have a £5k minimum for Christmas Day,” says Chef Ben Axford, who started out at £3,000.

Christmas Eve and the days between Christmas and New Year are much closer to a normal December dinner. Last year the typical Christmas Eve booking cost about £89 a head, roughly half the Christmas Day figure. If your family is flexible about which day you celebrate, it is worth asking about both.

Christmas Day is booked much further ahead than a normal dinner. Last year the typical Christmas Day booking was confirmed about nine weeks before the day. Around six in ten were confirmed by early November, more than eight in ten by 1 December, and fewer than one in ten in the final ten days.

This year is busier still: by early November, around 30% more Christmas Day bookings were already confirmed than at the same point last year. Late bookings do still happen, but don’t rely on finding a chef in the last week.

Most Christmas Day bookings are a family lunch at home. Nine in ten were in the customer’s own house, with a typical group of ten. Two thirds chose a plated three-course meal, and around one in eight went for a sharing or buffet-style lunch.

Turkey isn’t a given. It appeared on just under half of the menus customers accepted, with beef on a similar share and fish or a vegetarian main often offered alongside.

Ten guests in a rented house in Dorset. The group booked Chef Robert K in April, eight months ahead, and paid £1,716 all in, covering ingredients, cooking, service and clean-up. Robert’s menu let them pick two starters, two mains and two desserts. The mains covered rolled turkey with sage and shallot stuffing and pancetta-wrapped chipolatas, a brie and leek filo tart and a poached salmon fillet, so meat-eaters and non-meat-eaters ate from one menu. Roast potatoes, glazed parsnips and carrots, red cabbage and Brussels came as standard, and Christmas pudding was on the dessert list. The guests said Robert started preparing as soon as he arrived and kept the kitchen organised and tidy.

Ten guests at home in London. This family booked Chefs Kasia and Richard in late November, about a month before the day, and paid £1,664. They chose a sharing-style lunch: canapés adapted to be vegan, two mains picked from a list including stuffed turkey breast, roast beef, nut roast and a wild mushroom and truffle pie, then eight sides from goose-fat roast potatoes to Yorkshire puddings. Afterwards they singled out how juicy the turkey was, and said the vegans at the table were just as happy with their options.

Both groups paid close to the typical total for the day. One booked very early; the other found a chef with a month to go.

Before you think about the menu, pin down where you will be, how many people are coming and when you want to eat. Those answers let a chef judge whether the job works before you spend time on dishes.

Give the exact date when you enquire. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and a December get-together are different requests, and a menu offered on another day won’t necessarily have the same price or availability on the 25th.

A traditional roast on platters suits families who want to help themselves, especially with children at the table. A plated meal gives the day a slower, more special pace, but needs more preparation and serving space. Tell the chef which you prefer.

For bigger groups, sharing is often the smartest choice. Chef Paul Dunn, part of the yhangry chef community, is cooking a hot buffet for 30 this Christmas Day at £120 a head: “This will be big sharing bowls of veg and I will be doing turkey and a glazed ham. No plating, no faff.”

Then name the two or three dishes you care about most. One family wants turkey with every trimming; another would rather have beef, fish or a vegetarian centrepiece. Clear priorities give the chef room to design a menu that works in your kitchen.

Count adults and children separately, and say whether the children need a different meal or an earlier serving time. Collect everyone’s dietary requirements before the menu is agreed. If a guest has an allergy, arrange a direct conversation with the chef about ingredients and preparation before you commit.

Staying in a rented property? Ask the owner whether outside chefs are allowed. Send the chef photos of the kitchen and dining space, including the oven, hob and fridge. A big dining table doesn’t mean the kitchen can handle a big Christmas lunch.

Check who handles shopping, ingredients, service and cleaning. Ask who supplies roasting tins, serving dishes, crockery and cutlery. If you want waiting staff, put that in your first brief so the chef can quote for the day you actually want.

Agree arrival and meal times, and ask how the chef plans to cook your menu. Christmas lunch means several dishes competing for oven space. Last Christmas, one London family lost an oven to a last-minute electrical fault; their chefs, Felix and Maki, worked around it, and the family still rated the day five stars. Even so, tell your chef about any appliance that can be temperamental.

Before paying, check the deposit or payment requirements, the deadline for final guest numbers and the cancellation terms for your date. Peak dates can have different conditions from an ordinary dinner. Keep the agreed menu and inclusions in the booking conversation so everyone can refer back to them.

On yhangry, you secure your chef with a 20% deposit, and the balance is taken 30 days before your event. Book within 30 days and you pay in full upfront. You can add guests after booking, but read the cancellation terms before you pay, as refunds depend on when you cancel. Full details are on our FAQ page.

Once the chef is booked, hand out the remaining jobs. Someone still needs to sort the drinks, lay the table and tell guests when to arrive. Giving those jobs away lets the host actually enjoy having a chef, rather than swapping one long to-do list for another.

Ready to plan your Christmas? Send your brief through yhangry with your postcode, guest numbers and the dishes that matter most. Chefs will come back with menus and full prices for your date, and availability is confirmed for each booking.

How much does a private chef cost on Christmas Day? Last Christmas, most yhangry Christmas Day bookings in the UK came to between £1,560 and £2,080, with around a third over £2,000. Per head, that ranged from about £260 for groups of six or fewer to about £120 for groups of 16 or more.

How far in advance should I book a private chef for Christmas? The typical Christmas Day booking was confirmed about nine weeks ahead, and around six in ten were confirmed by early November. Enquire as soon as you know your date, location and guest numbers.

Is Christmas Eve cheaper than Christmas Day? Usually, yes. Last year the typical Christmas Eve booking cost about £89 a head, roughly half the Christmas Day figure.

Can a private chef cook Christmas dinner in a holiday cottage? Yes, as long as the owner allows outside chefs. Send the chef photos of the kitchen, oven and dining space before booking so they can check the menu will work.

Do private chefs cook a traditional turkey dinner? Many do, but it isn’t the only option. Last year turkey appeared on just under half of accepted Christmas Day menus, with beef, fish and vegetarian mains also popular.