So you want to launch a private chef business? 👩‍🍳

In this episode, we sit down with Dara Lyubinsky, founder of Nourish Culinary, to break down what it really takes to build a successful personal chef company; from cooking in New York’s high-pressure restaurant kitchens to serving private clients (including Eli Manning and Lorne Michaels) and scaling a 25-person private chef team.

Dara shares her unconventional path from media (Time Magazine + TV food production for The View) into the culinary world, why she left restaurants after just a year, and how she turned a solo hustle into a thriving business of private chefs.

We also get into:

- The reality behind the “Instagram chef” lifestyle

- What clients actually want (hint: it’s not fancy plated food)

- How to hire the right chefs for in-home work

- The business side no one talks about

- And the wildest requests she’s ever gotten (yes… including gourmet baby food delivery)

If you're thinking about becoming a private chef - or just want a behind-the-scenes look at this growing industry - this episode is packed with real talk, strategy, and insights.

Chapters

00:00 Intro

00:52 Meet Dara Lebinsky (Nourish Culinary)

01:28 From media career to culinary school

02:54 Getting laid off & entering restaurant kitchens

03:28 Why she left restaurants after 1 year

04:20 Discovering private chef work

05:15 Leveraging media + networking in NYC

06:10 Cooking for high-profile clients

07:20 Launching Nourish Culinary

08:17 Moving from solo chef → business owner

09:25 Scaling during COVID

10:15 Letting go & trusting a team

11:46 Growing to 25 chefs

12:18 Hiring, training & building a brand

13:19 “Hire slow, fire fast”

13:44 Misconceptions about private chef life

14:54 Social media vs reality

16:03 Business skills chefs don’t expect

16:28 Different types of clients

17:20 Dinner parties vs weekly meal prep

18:41 The reality of doing everything as a private chef

19:29 Respect for restaurant chefs

20:54 Food trends & what clients actually want

22:40 Why vegetables are the real focus

23:30 Meal kits vs private chefs

25:44 Wild client requests (baby food story!)

28:15 Cooking for athletes & private planes

29:48 Behind the scenes of food on TV

32:18 Building a healthy work culture

34:41 Breaking toxic industry cycles

36:26 Rapid fire questions (tools, mistakes, trends)

37:58 Outro

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Connect with the Podcast

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Follow Claudia: @claudia.saric

Follow Spencer: @RestaurantSpenny