Private Chef Cost Per Portion and Plan Size (UK)
Why the same menu costs more per portion on a smaller plan, and where to set a minimum.
The short answer
Cost per portion is the whole booking divided by the portions it produces. Because the shop trip, the drive and most of the cook session are the same whatever the count, a smaller plan carries all of it on fewer meals. That is why the same menu costs £9.45 a portion at twenty and £12.30 at twelve.
Step by step
- Total the booking, not the plate. Shop, containers, hours and travel together.
- Split what scales from what does not. Ingredients and containers scale with portions. The drive and the session very nearly do not.
- Divide by the portions actually produced. Not the portions you hoped for when you quoted.
- Set a minimum plan size. Below a certain count the booking earns less than the hours are worth, however happy the client is to pay the per-portion rate.
One menu, three plan sizes
Travel at £18 held constant; the session shortens slightly on smaller plans but does not halve.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| 12 portions, booking total | £147.60 |
| 12 portions, cost per portion | £12.30 |
| 20 portions, booking total | £189.00 |
| 20 portions, cost per portion | £9.45 |
| 28 portions, booking total | £230.40 |
| 28 portions, cost per portion | £8.23 |
Between a twelve and a twenty eight portion plan the cost per portion falls by nearly a third, on the same menu and the same drive. A single per-portion rate across all plan sizes means your small clients are subsidised by your large ones.
Why it matters
Plan size is the biggest single lever on a private chef's economics and the one least often priced for. Seeing the per-portion cost at each size turns the decision to accept a small booking into arithmetic rather than goodwill.