For Florida private chefs & meal prep
Allergies, anniversaries, and dinner parties with your name on the menu.
Cooking in clients' homes puts you one allergic reaction, one slip on their marble floor, one undercooked course away from a claim that names you personally. The LLC plates the risk where it belongs - on the business.
Start My LLC — $164.99 All-In →Florida's $125 state fee included · filed by real people in our team
Why private chefs & meal prep in Florida use an LLC
The allergy claim
You can ask about allergies twice and still get sued over a sauce. Food liability is the signature risk of the trade, and it follows the cook.
Working in someone else's kitchen
Their cooktop, their pans, their grease fire. Damage claims in high-end homes escalate quickly past the dinner's price.
The licensing fork
Florida treats cooking in a client's home differently from preparing food in yours. Private chefs cooking on-site generally operate outside restaurant licensing - but prepare and transport food from your own kitchen and you're in catering territory, which requires a licensed facility. Structure matters before the first booking.
What your chef business needs alongside the LLC
- General liability with products coverage (food-borne illness is the policy line that matters)
- Client agreements issued by the LLC covering allergies, kitchen access, and cancellations
- A business account - deposits and grocery floats stay separable from your money
Business website: Menus, testimonials, booking - $499 for the site that books the table. Learn more →
Questions private chefs & meal prep ask us
Do private chefs need a license in Florida?
Cooking in the client's own kitchen as their personal chef generally falls outside DBPR food-service licensing. Cooking in YOUR kitchen and delivering - meal prep, catering - requires a licensed commercial kitchen. The LLC is correct for both models; the licensing depends on where the cooking happens.
Is an LLC overkill for weekend dinner parties?
Food plus other people's homes is a liability pairing insurers write whole policies around. At $164.99 all-in, the entity is cheaper than the menu for one table.
Can meal prep and private dining share one LLC?
Yes - one entity, multiple service lines. Just know the meal-prep side may trigger the licensed-kitchen requirement even when the in-home side doesn't.