Pricing, Booking & How It All Works
Everything you need to know before booking Chef Matt — pricing, gratuity, tax, travel fees, dietary accommodations, and the consultation process.
Check AvailabilityHow It Works
A simple, guided path from first inquiry to your last bite.
1. Inquire
Tell us your date, guest count, and what you have in mind.
2. Consult
Chef Matt walks you through menu, format, and pricing.
3. Design
We build a custom menu around your dietary needs and preferences.
4. Cook
Your chef arrives, cooks in your kitchen, plates, and serves.
5. Enjoy
You host. We handle everything — including cleanup.
Pricing & Frequently Asked Questions
Private Parties
How much does a private chef dinner party cost?
Private dinners are $125 per person, plus groceries at cost. Every event has a $1,000 minimum in chef services. Menu planning, shopping, cooking, plated service, and full kitchen cleanup are included.
Can I book for fewer than 8 guests?
Yes. The $1,000 minimum applies to the total chef services, not the headcount. Smaller groups, like a dinner for two, four, or six, are welcome. The service fee is simply $1,000.
What does a private dinner cost all-in?
Example for 8 guests: $1,000 chef services, groceries typically $350–$500, and a 20% gratuity of $200. That comes to roughly $1,550–$1,700 total, or about $195–$215 per guest, before beverages and any applicable tax. It's a restaurant-level meal in your own home: no travel, no reservations, a menu built around your guests, and no dishes left behind.
How much is the Chef's Table experience?
Chef's Table is $150 per person and always starts with a consultation with Chef Matt. It's a favorite for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special occasions.
What do cocktail parties and brunch cost?
Cocktail parties are $150 per person with a $1,000 minimum. Private brunch is $150 per person. All events carry the $1,000 minimum.
Can I add courses or beverage service?
Menus include four courses. Each additional course or extra selection within a course (like a second dessert) is +$10 per person. Beverage pairing and pouring service is +$10 per person.
Can I customize the menu?
Yes. Choose one of our signature menus, mix and match dishes across menus, or build a fully custom menu with Chef Matt. Our most requested are the Chef's Table, At-Home Steakhouse, and Coastal Seafood menus.
Weekly Meal Prep
How much does weekly meal prep cost?
Standard Meal Prep is $400 per visit. Macro Meal Prep is $500 per visit. Dinner + Meal Prep is $600 per visit. Groceries are billed separately at cost and typically run $100–$300 per visit, depending on what your pantry already has. See all meal prep packages.
What's included in Standard Meal Prep?
Your chef cooks 5 protein dishes, 2 vegetable sides, 2 carb sides, and 1 dessert, built from up to 7.5 lb of protein, 5 lb of vegetables, and 5 lb of carbs. Menu planning, grocery ordering, cooking in your kitchen, labeling, storage, and cleanup are all included.
What is Macro Meal Prep?
The same build as Standard, portioned into individual labeled containers. That's roughly 18 grab-and-go meals, about 4 lunches and 4 dinners for two people. Ideal for protein targets, GLP-1 plans, and busy weeks.
What is Dinner + Meal Prep?
Your chef prepares the week's meal prep and cooks a fresh dinner for that night.
How often do I need to book meal prep?
A minimum of twice a month. Billing is weekly. You can skip or pause when you need to, but frequent skips may release your weekly slot to another client.
Do I need to be home for meal prep?
No. Many clients are at work while their chef cooks. You'll just need to provide kitchen access and be available to receive the grocery delivery.
Do you bring containers?
No, you supply the containers.
How soon can I start meal prep?
New clients can often start within a week.
Is there a travel fee for meal prep?
No. Weekly meal prep has no travel fee.
Cooking Classes
How much are in-person cooking classes?
In-person classes are $150 per person with a $1,000 minimum. Groceries are billed separately at cost. Classes include hands-on instruction, equipment, aprons, take-home recipe cards, eating what you cook, and full kitchen cleanup.
How much are virtual cooking classes?
Public virtual classes are $75 per person. Book as few as one seat on our public class calendar. Private virtual classes for your own group are $100 per person with an 8-person minimum ($800).
What's the difference between public and private classes?
If you have a group, it's a private class built around you. If you're joining on your own or with a partner, book a seat in a public class.
What if a public class doesn't fill?
Public classes run with 8 or more seats sold. If a class is under 8 seats 72 hours before start time, it's rescheduled and you'll be moved to the new date.
How far in advance should I book a class?
At least 72 hours. Private virtual classes receive their shopping list the same day they book.
What kind of classes do you offer?
In-person classes are great for date nights, team building, family events, and friend groups. See Pasta Making below for our signature class. Virtual classes focus on everyday healthy cooking, including high-protein, GLP-1-friendly, and longevity-focused meals.
Pasta Making
How much is a pasta-making class?
$150 per person with a $1,000 minimum, plus groceries at cost. Instruction, pasta stations and equipment, a full dinner, dessert, and kitchen cleanup are included.
How does a pasta-making class work?
Your chef arrives early and preps everything except the pasta. Each guest gets their own station with a board, roller, and tools. Guests enjoy the first course while they mix, roll, and cut fresh pasta. The chef then serves a salad, cooks the pasta, and serves dinner, followed by dessert. We clean up and leave.
What's on the pasta-making menu?
Four courses, with 3–4 handmade pasta shapes served with a classic San Marzano tomato sauce, plus a protein and a seasonal vegetable. Menus can be customized.
Is pasta making good for groups?
Yes. It's our most popular format for birthdays, bachelorettes, date-night groups, family gatherings, and team building.
Pizza Making
How much is a pizza-making party?
$125 per person, plus groceries at cost, with the standard $1,000 event minimum. See the pizza party page.
Do I need my own pizza oven?
No. Your chef brings a professional portable pizza oven and sets it up on site. You just need a safe outdoor spot, like a patio, deck, or driveway.
Do guests make their own pizzas?
They can. Your chef runs the oven and makes pizzas for everyone, and any guest who wants to jump in can stretch dough, build their own pie, and fire it in the oven. It's a party first, with as much hands-on fun as your group wants.
What's included in a pizza party?
A four-course menu built around fresh pizzas from our professional portable pizza oven: fresh dough, sauce, and toppings, plus oven setup, cooking, service, and full cleanup. Additional courses are +$10 per person. Groceries are billed at cost.
Billing & Policies
How do groceries work?
Groceries are a pass-through cost. You pay exactly what the food costs, with no markup. We use grocery delivery as our standard sourcing method, and you reimburse the delivery fee, service fee, and driver tip with the groceries. Groceries typically run 35–50% of the chef service fee depending on the menu (seafood and steak run higher; vegetarian runs lighter).
Is gratuity included?
A customary 20% gratuity is added to every event contract. It's calculated on culinary fees only, not on groceries, travel, rentals, or tax. If you'd prefer to tip your chef directly in person, we'll remove it from the invoice.
Is there a travel fee?
Events more than 25 miles from our regional base (Williamstown, NJ for NJ/PA; Surfside Beach for SC) carry a flat $100 travel fee, one per event, not per chef.
Do holidays cost more?
Major US holidays carry a 35% surcharge on the chef service fee (groceries are never surcharged). We are closed on Labor Day.
Do you charge sales tax?
No NJ sales tax when groceries are reimbursed by the client. PA charges 6% (with an additional 2% in Philadelphia). South Carolina and other states collect applicable sales tax.
How do I book a private chef party?
Check availability, have a quick consultation, and sign your contract electronically. A 50% deposit on chef services confirms your date. Your final invoice, including groceries at cost and any travel fee, is sent 1 business day after the event and is due within 3 business days.
How far in advance should I book?
At least 2–3 weeks, and earlier for holidays and summer shore season.
When are guest count and menu final?
Guest count and menu lock 72 hours before your event. Reducing guests after that doesn't reduce the fee. Guests added after the lock are billed at the per-person rate plus their ingredient cost.
What is your cancellation policy?
Cancel 2+ weeks out for a refund. Inside 2 weeks, your payment becomes a credit toward a future event (plus any groceries already purchased). Deposits are only forfeited for a same-day no-show.
Who will be my chef?
Chef Matt leads a team of trained private chefs across NJ, PA, and SC. Your chef may be Chef Matt or a member of his team, all working from his menus, standards, and service process. ServSafe certified and fully insured.
Do you handle cleanup?
Yes. Every event includes complete kitchen cleanup.
Dietary Needs
Do you accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions?
Yes. Gluten-free, celiac-aware, dairy-free, keto, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, and food allergies. Chef Matt has celiac disease himself, so gluten-free cooking is personal, not an afterthought. All allergies must be shared in writing before the menu locks at 72 hours, and any guest added after that must disclose allergies in writing before service.
Service Areas
What areas do you serve?
Chef Matt's serves three states. New Jersey covers all four regions — South Jersey (Cherry Hill, Haddonfield, Moorestown, Marlton, Medford), the Jersey Shore (Avalon, Stone Harbor, Cape May, Sea Isle, Ocean City, Long Beach Island), North Jersey (Jersey City, Hoboken, Ridgewood, Montclair, Morristown), and Central Jersey (Princeton, Bernardsville, Basking Ridge, Far Hills). Pennsylvania covers Philadelphia and the Main Line — Gladwyne, Wayne, Bryn Mawr, Villanova, Devon, Berwyn. South Carolina covers Myrtle Beach and the Grand Strand.