Essential Standards and Expectations for Hiring Private Chefs

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While we all are looking for, of course, the highest salary possible, we all want that. It is making sure that that lifestyle matches what they're offering. If you're a chef and you're thinking about how to venture into the private chef space, how to set yourself up for success from resume to first interactions with your clients as well as succeeding at the job. Our one on one coaching got you covered. Go to www.

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Dot Privatechef, dot CC and connect with me. Decades of experience can be your support to seize the next private chef opportunity.

Welcome to the private chef podcast serving the 1%. I'm your host, Hannes Henshi, and on our show, we speak to the best chefs, how they honed in on their skills to excel in the industry, and what it takes to work as a private chef for some of the most exclusive clients in the world.

Welcome back to the Private Chef podcast. I'm your host, Hannes Henshi. Today we are joined by Carmen Garcia with over 15 years of experience in the stuffing industry. She later founded her own recruitment company called Hudson Stuffing. Join me today to learn more about Carmen's exciting career journey, the nuances of private service industry trends, and the dynamics of recruiting private staff.

Carmen, it's an absolute pleasure to have you on the show with us today. Thank you for joining us. So welcome to the show. Common thank you. Nice to be here with you today.

Why I wanted to speak to you, just so everybody has some context, is really your latest post about reiterating the standard of Hudson stuffing, which is your agency. And I think this would be something really valuable for the Sheffield to speak about, is like, where do these standards come from? And I will just quickly read them out. You must meet the following requirements. Having five years of experience in the role you're applying for, must be able to provide verbal references from the last three.

Employers must meet us in person. I love that one. Must have two recruiter interviews. Maybe you can speak to that. Yeah.

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And I think the first one, which is what we were speaking about, is the reference checking. You know, I think that has become a big topic of conversation with agencies, with candidates. You know, a lot of people ask us to hold off until a trial, sometimes even until an offer is made. And I think it's the understanding on the agency side, we are being trusted to send people who are fully vetted before sending people out. And a big part of that is speaking to references.

And of course, there's always leeway and some flexibility with that. But being prepared to have those two to three references that can be contacted before a trial is offered, definitely before an offer is made. You know, you're going into people's private homes, there's children, there's valuable personal information in the home. I think that it's important for candidates to understand the position that the recruiters are being put in. You know, we're meeting you.

A lot of times it's over FaceTime or Zoom, depending on location. That's why now we are pushing to try and meet people in person. I have offices in New York and Florida. Those are my biggest markets. Of course, we place all over the US and sometimes international.

So we are aware that we can't meet everyone in person, and that's not the expectation. But we do think if we are in your location and you are there, meeting in person just offers that other extra step of the vetting process. And it also works really well because we can meet like this on FaceTime. I think you're great. And then in a week or two, you know, there's new jobs coming in, and you come and you meet with us, and there's just something that stands out to me about this candidate coming and making their way to meet with us, where I'll get on the phone with my clients and say, you know, you have to meet Maria.

She just came to my office. She was so lovely. She brought. It just adds this personal touch of the human part, which before, when I first started in the industry 16 years ago in New York, I was never allowed to send out any candidate. Had not one of us in the office met with them in person.

It was a requirement, and I think Covid did change that. It also opened up the recruiting world, because now we are able to place people in Texas and California, you know, overseas, without meeting people in person. So that expectation has left a bit. But coming from a background where that was a must, I'm trying to keep that. And again, we try and do it with our clients, too.

It's not just on the candidate side. If I go to a client's home or family office and I get to meet the other staff that's there, the other people that there, it just makes my matchmaking skill, you know, a bit better, and it's also better for me to be able to tell my candidates I met so and so in person. This is what the home was like. This is how many staff there is. This is what the expectation is.

There were people wearing uniforms. So just being able to give that personal detail on both sides, I think is important. And going back to the reference side, I think if it's a colleague or a manager. It doesn't always have to be the client. You know, we understand that a lot of these clients, they won't even get on the phone with another client.

You know, they're high profile, you know, they're traveling. But being able to have those two or three references ready to go when you're interviewing, especially with agencies, just always know that's going to be the expectation and just be ready to explain. This is why they can't be called or if they can be held off. But I have my direct manager, and of course that counts, too. It's just being able to speak to someone to verify what that person did, how long they were there, and especially how they worked.

On the private side, in a home. With colleagues, there's just something about actually meeting somebody in person or shaking their hand and seeing the entire body language, which is a lot chunk of like, hey, how will this person be inside somebody's home? Like, maybe they have very awkward body language or signals, or there's something about them. Or maybe on the flip side, they could be, like, very pleasant in appearance and how they speak and easy to be around and easy to have a conversation, but also not too talkative. You know, all of those nuances that you can, I think, gauge when you meet somebody over a cup of coffee.

Exactly. And also for the candidate, right. We're asking for very personal information. We're asking for your ids, sometimes your Social Security, your birth certificate. We're asking to speak to these employers.

So I think it also adds, you know, a sense of safety to our candidates. You know, and like you said, even meeting like this on video, you know, some people are awkward on video. You know, I feel like I'm better in person than on video. And I have a lot of candidates, too. Will say, oh, will the client just meet me in person?

Instead of a FaceTime or Zoom? I'm just better in person. So I think, again, it is, you could like someone on Zoom and be like, wow, they're great. They had a great personality, or they were very positive. But then, like you said, when you meet them in person, you shake your hand, you know, you have that eye contact, and you get a feel for their demeanor, you know, even just showing up on time or bringing the things that you asked for.

So I do think it makes a huge difference to meet people in person. So what do you think is the ratio of applications per open position when it comes to chef roles right now? Hi. There's. There's so many people and not just chef Rose.

I think right now, there are so many people without work, and that's where it's gotten difficult, even, like, as a boutique agency, you know, it's myself and Amanda that I have in Florida full time. Even just answering emails with. With resumes, you know, I'll post a position, and I can have anywhere from five if it's, you know, somewhere where I don't have candidates to over 100 applications per job post. And with chefs, I think, too, I think definitely one of the positions where, if we post a job, we just get so many resumes for the chef postings. Why do you think that shifted so much?

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Because I remember, like, two years ago, it was not quite the same, and it felt like it was more of a chef's market. Like, people that were looking for jobs had a little bit of a choice, and now I feel like that kind of flipped. Yeah. And I think Covid changed a lot of that. You know, I think a lot of people were without work or have stayed without work.

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A lot of restaurant losings. I do think that chefs is one of the positions where people also stay longer term, where, for example, nannies. I think there's a lot of turnaround in nannies, and not for any bad reason. It could just be the ages or the stages that the children are in. I think with chefs, they sort of grow into the role.

They grow with a growing family. So it's not. There's not so much turnaround with chefs, so they tend to stay in the positions longer. And I see that a lot with resumes. I think with chef resumes, you have that five to ten years per family where, you know, maybe with nannies or even housekeepers, it's two, three years is sort of that turnaround.

Maybe five. But you don't see those ten to 15 years with one family. And I think with private chefs, I see that long term a lot more. I mean, I've interviewed somebody here, Veronica Eichen, and she's almost 20 years with the same families. Okay.

Which is amazing. I mean, those are the best candidates to present, because it's. Here's that one reference, or maybe there was one from years ago, and just that longevity is amazing, but hard to come across. I think 20 years is definitely rare. Yeah, that was very outstanding, and it's very rare.

B
And sometimes I also think it's. I saw one resume just this week where somebody spent six years with one family, but then he had, like, one year, one year, one year. And then the families afterwards weren't quite the same match. But I think because he was already very long with one, he knew what he wanted, and he felt like the families afterwards weren't quite there. Yeah.

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And you never know what the families are asking for. You know, sometimes they'll say, we don't want someone that's been 20 years with one family, because then they're stuck in their ways or stuck in how they do things. And not just for chefs, for estate managers, for house managers, where sometimes people will say, you know, we want that two to three years experience or five years max. And that way, you know, it's someone who will adapt to the way we like things done or are more flexible and again, not totally set in their ways. Yeah, I can see that.

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Imagine you especially maybe if it's elderly couple. Let's say you work 20 years with an elderly couple and they have their routine, which is super set, and you just cater to that for 20 years, and then you maybe come to a younger family that has kids and that has more going on, and they want to explore different diets and things, and you will feel like you landed in a completely different world. Right. Or even the travel expectation or moving around with the family. So, you know, a lot of these clients, when they come to us and they tell us this is what the job is, we want someone who's done exactly this or has been in this type of household.

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And that could mean exactly a family with young kids, with pets, with extended family coming in and out, like you mentioned, maybe spending the summers in the hamptons and entertaining a lot or working with other chefs. So there's always sort of a standard of what our clients are looking for. And then. Right. That's our job, to match these candidates with what the clients are looking for and vice versa.

Right. A candidate can say to us, I only want to work with one person or a household with no children, no pets, no travel. So it is a lot of trying to match both sides of what people are looking for.

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Kind of taking it back a little bit. Where do you think a chef can put his best foot forward first approaching you like. And that starts with, like, the first engagement. Like, maybe I'm contacting you on LinkedIn, maybe I'm replying to one of your posts. And how would you ideally want that to happen?

So that you think somebody is sincere, somebody knows what they're getting into. They definitely looked and read through the details, like, what gives you that sense that somebody is sincere and actually went the extra mile by reading everything and maybe even putting their resume forth in a certain way. Yeah. And, you know, that's a tough question to answer because I don't want to say that I won't look at a resume if we don't have an open position. You know, I get contacted all the time where someone will email me and say, you know, your name came up in conversation, or, I saw one of your posts.

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I wanted to have my resume with the agency. And we're always happy to save those. And we'll get back to them and say, or we try to. Right. Thank you for sending your resume.

We'll let you know if something comes up or, you know, I always tell people, follow my company Instagram page. I post every job on there. And even if it is a confidential search, nine out of ten times, our clients will say, we can put one line like, you know, private chef kneaded upper west side. Contact us for more information. But I think initially, just sending, sending an email with your resume with just a quick opening, you know, looking for private chef work in New York City.

Or like you said, if it's someone who hasn't worked privately and is coming from a restaurant background, you know, maybe pointing that out, you know, I have 15 years in restaurants, but I've done catering or some private parties or just to give us a sense of, okay, they've had some private home experience, because, again, if they're going through the agency, you know, unfortunately, by the time a client gets to the agency, it's because they know exactly what they want and what they're looking for as far as having that private service experience. But that being said, I just placed a chef in Miami with one of my colleagues who came from a restaurant. You know, maybe he had done some catering experience, but never worked as a private chef per se with one family. And we made a very successful placement, both parties. He's been there eight months now, and it's been an amazing match.

So there is a way to do it without having that experience. But it is, like you said, just reading those job posts, it'll say, you know, hospitality background, welcome to apply. Or, you know, five star Michelin restaurant experience, a plus. So we'll add that so that candidates know you can apply, you know, even if you don't have the exact five years experience. But in general, again, by the time the clients are coming to the agency side, it's because they want that home private experience.

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Yeah. And, I mean, there's. There's a personality difference sometimes, right? It's people that thrive in a commercial setup might be slightly different from the personality that thrives inside a home where it's time to bite your tongue occasionally, and you kind of have to know when to talk, when not to talk, and when to engage, when not to engage. And I think being okay with ever changing schedules, taste, diets, right.

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I think I've never worked as a chef, and I can barely cook, so I don't know what that's like. But, you know, I think it's also, I was a teacher right out of college, you know, so I worked in a classroom setting. Not the same maybe comparison, but moving to New York, I started working in recruiting, but I also did tutoring, having the background in education, babysitting, even, you know, and that was something I didn't do growing up. I always worked with children. I worked at afterschool care, camp counselor.

Again, I was a teacher for six years for the public school system in Miami. But then being thrown into a household, and there was a chef, there was another nanny, there was a housekeeper. The parents were there watching everything that you're doing with the child. To me, that was, and again, I wasn't even nannying. I was tutoring.

And still, that was really different from coming from a classroom where I'm doing exactly the same thing. I have my lesson plans. It's me and the children. And then adding all these different personalities into the private side. Definitely different, you know, and I think, like what you said, coming from working in a kitchen or a corporate environment into a household, there's just so many other things that, that are constantly moving and constantly changing.

So having that personality that you can roll with things and be okay with constructive criticism or, you know, saying, the food needs this or this week, I've decided I don't want to eat this anymore. And now this is my new diet. So, yes, I think that that flexibility part of personality is huge in working in the private side. I think this is quite a challenge for chefs. It's like literally being told to cook the opposite of last week.

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Every other week, I'm like, oh, now I want the broccoli boiled, then I want it steamed, then I want it fried. And I'm like, and like, okay. And you just have to, like, friendly, roll with it and be like, okay. You literally just told me to do the other thing last week. Yeah.

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One of the things we get a lot, too, is especially in a household with, with children, right. You're cooking almost five different things for one meal because they all have their likes and dislikes, so it's not just one menu. Sometimes you're doing up to five menus for just one sitting. So that's actually pretty common, I think, in a world, or, like, in their bubble of the world, it's very common for everybody to get what they want. And once they have a private chef, or if they're already used to having a private chef, they just want that to continue where, like, hey, these kids like that, you know, and then maybe John likes this and Mary likes this, and that's why.

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And then the chef is like, okay, I'm literally cooking five different dishes here, right? Yeah. Yeah. I think that is very common. And I think, again, when speaking to chefs in particular who want to transition into the household, it's making sure that you are going to be okay with that dynamic and, you know, knowing what to expect.

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And like you said, there isn't really trainings for this. You know, people sort of fall into the private service industry a lot of times by accident or a need or just word of mouth, and then you just learn as you go, and there really isn't a manual, per se as to, hey, this is what it's going to be like. And I think, you know, it is important, like you said, to have a podcast like this and share your own personal experience of, this is how I transition. This is what happened to me. These were my experiences.

And that sort of sets the expectation for future chefs who are thinking about. And there are so many positive things about working on the private side compared to working in a restaurant. Just like with teachers, there's such a plus side of being a nanny instead of working in a classroom with 30 children. And again, growing up in Miami, I went to college in Miami. Again, kind of fell into teaching.

It's what I enjoyed doing at the time, I had no idea that Nanning was a career or even a choice of a career until I moved to New York and started working in recruiting. And I remember my first agency, I would tell my boss, these nanny jobs would come in, and they were paying, you know, five times what I made as a public school teacher. And, you know, they would say, college degree, speaking a second language, and I'd be like, can I apply for that position? You know? And I just didn't know that that was.

It was a career. And it's not something that, at least where I was, that was not taught where I think now, especially, again with COVID things really changed, and people wanted to hire private chefs, and there were chefs without work, you know, coming from the restaurant side. And there was a big need for people in private service. So that opportunity really presented itself where people, teachers got to try out, you know, teaching at home or privately, and chefs got to, you know, work privately for families. So I think it opened the door to a lot of people wanting to work in the industry.

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Do you feel overall, and this is a tough question. I know I've tried to kind of size this before. Do you think the market with private chef positions as such is growing in overall size or, you know. Yeah, that is a tough question to ask because I feel, and I am not a specific, just chef agencies. Right.

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There are agencies who only do chefs, so they might answer this question differently. I think chefs and drivers are probably the jobs that come in the least, and I've always thought it's because of the longevity of people who stay in those roles. So, no, I don't think there's a ton of opportunities. There's not. Those jobs don't come in every day.

They come in phases. You know, I think, like, right now, we have three open chef jobs that are New York City based. And that's a lot to have for me at one time for chefs. Also, summer's coming, so that probably is when more chef opportunities tend to come in. But compared to the other household roles that we fill, no, I think chefs, they don't come in as often.

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I mean, if I think about, let's say I get into effluence, probably the first thing I would like to have is maybe help in the household, like, the basics. So that would be a housekeeper role. And then if I think about it, maybe if I'm a busy executive, I want personal assistant before I want a chef at home. So. And then I think before I want a driver, I probably want a chef.

If I think about that kind of the sequence of how it would add to those. Yeah. And I think before people try hiring a driver or a chef, and again, I know this depends on a lot of things, but there are so many services for food, right? I mean, whether it's just getting on Uber or uber eats or dash or even these meals that come and you really just throw a couple things together, heat it up, and they're ready, especially people on specific diets. And the same thing with drivers.

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There's so many car services, taxis, that those two are probably the ones that people think, okay, I'll get to that eventually. Yeah. Yeah, I think that makes a lot of sense. So what are some of the personality traits that you think make a good person inside a home, whether it's a tutor or nanny? Like, what do you think are the non negotiables around a personality that need to be there in a home.

I think flexibility is probably one of the key things. You know, you're being thrown into someone's household where it's not an office, it's not. There's really nothing routine about the way a home runs. So someone who's just willing to go with things, happy to help with things that might not be in their job description, but if the parents are willing to do it, I think the person in the home should be happy to help with those things. You know, obviously not daily.

If you're a nanny and they're asking you to do deep cleaning, different thing. Or if you're a chef and they're asking you to drive the children. But I think just being a team player and happy to help with anything is probably the key personality trait. And of course, like any job, right. I think you have to be nice, you have to be respectful and just be able to get along with multiple personalities because you never know who's going to come into that household, who is going to be the new hire and just keeping it professional, because I think a lot of lines are crossed when you work in private service, whether it's with the client or with your colleagues, you know, and you want to like the people that just like in an office setting, you want to have a friendly dynamic.

But I think in a home, it's almost harder to keep that professional separation. So I think those things are important to have when considering working on the private side. Once one of the principals actually said, and it was about the tonality she was using towards me, and I said that she can't speak to me that way. And she said, I'm in my home. I'll speak whichever way I want.

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I'm like, yes, but this is a professional work relationship. Yeah, yeah. And I think that is something that we stress every day to our clients and candidates, you know, and it goes both ways. Right? Like, sometimes candidates will say, well, you know, I want to be paid cash.

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I want to be paid half on, half off. You know, that is not a professional environment. You know, you want to be treated corporate and professional. We have to do it across the line, you know, and even with our clients, they'll interview people and ask things that we legally cannot ask and they should not be asking. But it's the same thing.

It's almost like the laws don't apply to me because you're in my home and I'm asking these questions. So it is a lot of educating both our clients and candidates like, even though it is very personal and you're working out of people's homes, keeping it with that corporate mentality. And that's why it's important to have contracts in place. You know, what your overtime is, what your days off are, what your holidays are, and having these contracts to make sure that everyone knows, while, again, you're working in someone's home. And the lines can get crossed a little bit because it may become a bit more casual, just naturally making sure to always remember that you want to be treated professionally and vice versa.

With our clients, with our candidates. Like you said, you can't just yell because I'm in your home. There has to be a level of respect for both parties. Yeah. Do you think that some of the principals are not even aware of what they're not allowed to ask or they ask regardless.

There's probably a mix of both, you know, and I think sometimes people don't know and they're new to it. You know, I think it really depends on the client. Right. There's. There's.

There's clients who have been hiring staff all their lives, grew up with staff in the home, and then there's new. New wealth or new people that are coming into. This is my first time hiring someone I don't even know. How do I put someone on payroll? You know, do they get overtime?

What are the state laws? So there is a lot of educating on both sides. And even with our clients, we do have to send them, you know, the information or tell them this is what the law is in New York or. Yeah. So sometimes I think it is innocent, and sometimes even when you're just interviewing, and I, when I interview people, too, a lot of times, I know that there's questions I have to go through in order to be able to present my candidates, but it definitely does tend to become more of a conversation.

And sometimes. Sorry for the interruption. We will be right back. And if you're a chef thinking about venturing into the private chef space, this is for you. We coach you on how to set yourself up for success from resume to first interactions with your clients as well as succeeding at the job.

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Our one on one coaching got you covered. Go to www. Dot privatechef. Dot catch and connect with me. Decades of experience can be your support to seize the next private chef opportunity.

A
That kind of loosens up the questions that people ask or even the information that people share with you, because it does turn into more of a conversation. So what are some of the things that technically, like the candidates shouldn't be or shouldn't be revealing. Like, what are some of the things that you can't ask a candidate? Yeah. And you can reveal whatever you'd like.

You know, there's no law. And you can talk as a candidate. You can share, but, you know, asking your age, your religion, you know, your race, if you have children, your marital status. I mean, those are questions that shouldn't be asked. Where you.

Where are you from? You know, as far as, you know, questions like that should not be asked. And I think during COVID again, all of these lines got crossed, you know, and a lot of. Yeah, I was just thinking back to some of the interviews. I was like, I think I've been asked pretty much all of those.

I mean, we got the craziest questions where it was like, I would take notes every time I was meeting people. I need to add this to things that can and can't be said, you know, and. And a lot of times it was for safety reasons. You know, I think during COVID people were asking, how many people are in your household? You know, how many people do you interact?

Who comes in and out of your house? What does your husband do for work? Where do your kids, you know? So it was a lot of personal questions, like, do you go out? Where do you go out?

How often? You know? And again, that was, I think, not innocently, but sometimes it really was because of the fear. It wasn't coming from a bad place. Or clients would ask us, can you ask if they're married?

How many people live? And I said, you know, as an agency, we can ask those questions. You know, if it comes up in conversation while you're interviewing the person, they can share what they're comfortable sharing with you. And part of the trainings that we do on the agency side, we actually did an Instagram live about this a few weeks ago. It was how to navigate difficult questions that are asked during the interview process.

Sometimes a mom will ask a nanny, well, do you have kids? How old are your kids? And if you don't want to answer that question, for whatever reason, it is saying, are you asking because of the travel? Yes, I can spend the summer in the Hamptons. I have family that helps me with anything that's needed.

That's just one example of a question a lot of nannies get. Is the children part. There's ways that we try and help our candidates navigate those uncomfortable questions that probably should. Shouldn't be asked during an interview. Do you think they're being asked whether they have kids?

B
Because it restricts their availability and flexibility. Yes, I think that that's typically what it is. And also some moms will say to us, well, you know, if they have a toddler at home, I don't want to take away their time with their kids because I need them to work late night, and I would feel guilty having someone stay overnight. And I know their child is waiting for them at home. So sometimes, you know, I don't think it comes from a bad place either.

A
I think it is concern of, or, you know, our job description requires traveling for a month. Are they okay leaving their own child? And what they don't understand is, a lot of times people do have families or husbands or siblings who live with them or our neighbors, and they're comfortable doing that. And some people just. I think that makes them nervous that, you know, that might become an issue down, down the line.

B
Yeah, I think that's generally part of, like, what creates longevity. It's. It's really like, hey, can we paint a reasonable picture of what can be expected on both sides? And, like. And they're like, if you're actually fine with being away for a month and then we're only being away for a month instead of three or four months, then I think that that's where longevity can be created.

But for that, both parties actually need to be truthful with each other and cannot paint a rosy picture. Yeah. And I think that comes with that salary expectation, too. Right? Like you said, if.

A
If they're offering you 250,000 a year, but it requires two or three months out on a yacht, you know, and then maybe another month traveling to the Hamptons or two months, you know, the expectation is that when we're interviewing candidates, you know, I always ask. I don't ask, do you have kids? Or what is your marital status? It's. This is what this client is looking for, and they want longevity.

Like, are you okay every summer spending three months out in the Hamptons, you know, being able to go back on your days off, of course. Or, you know, they travel internationally where you wouldn't be able to fly back and forth. So I think it is being just very honest with your recruiter, too. Right? This is.

This is my lifestyle. This is what my expectation is. This is what I can offer clients. And then that's where it's our job to try and match you with the right client, that, you know, there are jobs where it's just city based. It's five days a week.

You know, maybe they need flexibility for weekends or a random week to the Hamptons. But again, if, you know it's going to be all summer, you do have to be realistic. Like, is this something that I can sustain for years? Because that's what this client is looking for, is a long term fit. Yeah.

B
And then it needs to be a realistic match. But sometimes. I've also had families where initially they told me, oh, it's limited travel, and we are very, like, we're very predictable. We already know month ahead. And then when I actually spoke to the assistant after I was hired, it turned out that they do do a lot of, like, impromptu things, and it is not as it was projected.

And then you feel a little bit bummed. But you already signed up for the position. Yeah. And that happens. And I think, you know, it's a hard thing to navigate.

A
Right. A lot of times when we're taking on clients, a lot of times we don't get to speak to the actual client. Like you said, we're speaking to the assistant, the family office. And until you're in that role, there's really no way of knowing, you know, what is expected. We can only gather all the information.

We get the job description, we get the contract. So we're hoping that all of that is included. But, yeah, I think it's keeping that in mind. Again, working on the private side, that flexibility is key, and you don't have to do it. Right.

If they said it was one way or another, then it's not the position for you. Of course, you can part ways, but I think during the trial, during the interview process, especially if you have limitations on travel or you don't want to, you've done it too much, and this is what you're looking for. It's making that really clear, not just to your recruiter, because if you're interviewing on your own throughout that interview process, is just reiterating, like, just want to confirm this is what the travel or the overnight expectation is, this is what I can offer you. And just being as clear and honest as possible, I think is. And that way the client, too, will feel comfortable, like we really want to hire him.

You know, if he's saying four weeks a year is all he can do, let's make sure that we stick to that. So I think just having that communication is really important. And earlier you mentioned something about, like, if the salary is of a certain capacity, like, usually if a chef roll crosses to 200,000, there is a different expectation on availability. Like. And that's definitely something that I noticed as I was progressing in kind of the salary range, there was also the expectation of availability went up and up.

B
Like, there was less so of maybe a consent that, you know, whether it's around the holidays or something, it's like by us giving you a higher salary, our family becomes a priority over maybe your personal family holidays or whatever it is. Yeah. And I think it's keeping that in mind when you're applying. Like, of course, when you see these large salaries, how exciting. Yes, I want this job, but knowing exactly what does that mean?

A
And that's reading the fine print and really understanding. Like you said, what is the flexibility that comes with this salary? And not just for chef jobs with, you know, nannies, with housekeepers, with butlers, estate manager is the weekend necessity. Right. If they need you on the weekends, they tend to, the salaries tend to be higher, but the expectation is that you work every single weekend, you know, so while we all are looking for, of course, the highest salary possible, we all want that.

It is making sure that, that lifestyle matches what they're offering and that you're willing to give that up. Or maybe you're in a time in your life where you do have all that flexibility, you know, that isn't exciting or you want to travel and have that experience, you know, it's wonderful. But if you're more settled or, like you said, have done this for so long and now you're ready to sort of have more of a work life balance, the expectation of the salary is not going to be up there for those kind of roles. Yeah. Yeah.

B
And I think this is where it helps to have clarity, and maybe this is something where you can actually help candidates. And when they come and approach you and you hear them describing what they want, obviously, everybody wants the highest possible salary. But then you're also reading between alliance, you're like, I think you actually looking more for a little bit, maybe stability and being closer to your family and you don't want that much travel. So maybe the particular job that you applied for is not quite for you. It's maybe for somebody younger with less commitments in their personal life.

A
Yeah. And I think that's a hard, it's a hard thing to get across because I think there's a lot of groups where people will say, well, I know someone who's making $50 an hour and I'm making 35 an hour, and there's two kids and they have one child or a housekeeper. It could be any position. And it's like, well, did you ask them what is their schedule? How often are they traveling?

Do they work weekends, are they on call with personal assistance especially. That happens a lot too, where the salaries range so much. There really is no standard at this point. But if you're on call twenty four seven, the expectation is that you're living with your phone next to you and at any moment those salaries are going to be higher. Where if it's a Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 05:00 with, of course, I mean, we're all attached to our phones, so there's always some email and things like that.

Those salaries tend to be lower because the expectation of availability is lower. Yeah. You know, the salary thing is a constant topic of conversation because there is also no standard in some sense. I mean, there's a minimum standard, but a lot of times it's, you know, I've been making x amount and that's what I want want to make. You know, whether you have two or three years experience or you have 20 years experience, you know, I've seen candidates with 20 years experience and then someone with four years experience and they're making less than the person with four years.

And it really is just because of an opportunity that they got. And now that is the where they're interviewing at and only want to interview at that number. That's a tough one to read. Just like if you get lucky and you get like $180,000 role, but it's not actually where the market would ever place you again. Right.

B
And then you really have to go through that reckoning and be like, okay, I just spent one year interviewing. Nobody's willing to match me. Maybe my market value isn't actually at 180. Yeah. And sometimes, like you said, sometimes it does take time to realize that or the harsh reality of maybe I was overpaid and maybe you weren't.

A
Maybe it was just what your job description was and then now the rules that are available don't require all of that. Yeah, I wouldn't say it's necessarily overpaid because sometimes we could add value to one particular household and it's actually that valuable to them that they're willing to pay 180. And that could be because of a skill that's completely unrelated to me in the kitchen or maybe I'm really good at giving them the feeling of being safe and trustworthy and I can help them facilitate things and that gives them that additional benefit. But the next family actually just wants me to cook for them, you know, and they don't care for anything else that I was able to provide to the other principal and therefore they are looking at it more from, like, well, we can get another great chef at 140. That's true.

Yeah. Yeah. And a lot of times, too, it's combination rules. You know, where you were the chef, but then you also ended up doing house management, and then. And they had you doing more than just the chef work.

And then again, you were at one salary because of all that responsibility that came with it. And then, like you said, another family is like, I just want you to come three days a week, prepare their meals for the week, and then that's it. So, yeah, it really does depend on the families, the position, and the expectations. This is where I always make a point of, I want chefs to, before they leave a position, ideally build a cushion, because that allows them to actually gain clarity in the new process of finding another family, because it's not a fast process. Usually, it's like, the chances that the ideal family is available and looking when you're looking for a new job are very slim.

B
So sometimes that might really be a window that we need, and then we. We need to be flexible, and we need to have a little bit of reserves to go into that with. Yeah, definitely. I think applying for private service positions is such a process. You know, from meeting with agencies, you know, sometimes a handful or a dozen of them, to then, you know, doing your initial interview with the family, the family office, the assistant, the house manager, until the principal, then the trial, and then a lot of times, these background checks that our clients do are extensive and could take weeks for them to complete.

A
So it's definitely a lengthy process. And from the interview to getting hired. So this is something where I have to remind chefs that sometimes reach out to me, like, hey, I need a job. Like, actually, I needed it yesterday. I'm out of money.

B
I'm like, it's not how private service works. Like, you need to somehow be able to cover your cost, whether you keep working somewhere else or. But this is a lengthy process. Like, you can't just, like, quit your job and hope that you're going to be placed anywhere soon. Exactly.

A
Yeah, no, it's definitely a very lengthy process. A very frustrating process. And I think it's also a personality process, because you can check all the boxes of what a client is looking for, but there might be three other candidates that also have all those qualifications. And at the end, the only feedback they'll give us is, oh, it's a better personality match, you know? So that's something that you can't really coach people for, even give feedback for, because that's really the only feedback that.

B
Was given to us touching up on coaching. You've also started something called the agency league. Maybe you can tell us a little bit more about that. Yes, of course. So my colleagues, Alisa with innovative youth care, and Rosalie with legacy staffing, we've been working together for almost ten years.

A
And when I say working together, we've been helping each other with clients, candidates. We just work very well together, and we just kept seeing a need for the education part of what we do. And when I first started in the industry, there was, you know, DEMA and other organizations that were wonderful because it gave candidates a reason to all get together and feel like we had colleagues and partners in what we were doing, and they provided trainings. And so our thought was, you know, we meet so many candidates, which was a question you had asked me about how many resumes we get per job posting. And more than half of these candidates, we're not going to be able to place them because we don't have that many jobs.

So we wanted to create a network for education, for trainings, for events, even for a social aspect, because a lot of people, when you work in private service, you are very lonely, you are very alone. You might have one colleague in the family, but being able to talk to other people that do what you do. So our platform is going to be a member base. We are also going to offer free trainings. We just started it this year.

I think we're doing our 6th training June 9 in New York. They're in person trainings. We did everything from the interview, the resume writing, the trial, navigating everything from a trial to the actual hire and contracts. And then we're doing a wellness one as our last training. And then starting next month, we are going to do paid trainings where we're going to have executive housekeepers come in to train laundresses, butlers, newborn care specialist to talk about how to break into NCS.

We'll probably have chefs come and talk about breaking in from the corporate world into the private world. And again, it really is just going to be a platform where we're going to provide people templates like, let's say you interviewed for a job on your own that you found on LinkedIn, let's say, and you have no idea where to get started. What questions should I be asking the clients? What should be in my contract? What are the new laws in, let's say, New York on overtime or travel rates or overnight rates?

So that's called the agency league. We do have our website up we have our instagram. It's just the agency league. You can follow us on there. And our next training in person will be June 9 in New York.

And then, like I mentioned to you, in September, we're going to do all those free trainings that we did in New York, in Miami, and we'll be announcing that within the next couple of weeks. And it will be a training going through everything that we've done in New York and Florida. Nice. Yeah, basically, after the New York season, September, we're coming back to the southern season. Yes.

Yeah, nice. This is so cool. So that people actually have a touch point and like, hey, even if I'm not quite there yet to get into that position, this is how I can prepare myself, upskill myself, learn the lingo that actually eventually gets me that. And I think this really helps is being intentional. Like, even if it takes 48 months, which is a lot, four years of preparation, it's still worthwhile for many chefs.

B
Like, if I think about the average salary in a restaurant for a line cook or a sous chef, compared to what they could, potentially, given their skillset, earn in a private home and what that means for their family, I think it's very worthwhile to be intentional around that. Yeah, no, and I think, too, just, you know, again, touching on, like, the networking part of it. If you are a chef and you've never worked in a private home and you start networking with private chefs or with estate managers or even nannies, where they say, oh, my boss mentioned she's having a birthday party, and they don't. They're not going to go through an agency for a one day chef. They might, but typically they don't.

A
So it is a nice way to meet people who work in private service and start getting those one off positions to be able to add that to your resume. Yeah. And this just builds up, like, start having those one offs, then maybe out of those one offs, you get a summer in the hamptons. Now you can really point towards something. You actually have a reference that is based on a family and not on a commercial environment, and that slowly kind of builds the trust for a new family to potentially hire you full time.

Yeah. And a lot of it is word of mouth. Right? Again, I know agencies exist, and, you know, we're here a lot of times for, like, these big family offices that want us to go through all the vetting process. But a lot of times, it's normal families who just say, you know, I just need a chef for the summer.

My kids are going to be here. My grandkids are going to be here. And a lot of it is word of mouth. I mean, I would say most of the candidates that I meet, their past positions tend to be word of mouth referrals. And it doesn't matter if they're a nanny or a chef or a butler.

You know, I think a lot of people organically get these positions because of networking, because of these one offs, and that was sort of their foot in the door with one family, and then they were referred to another. Yeah, it's true. But you have to start putting yourself out there. Have to be networking, have to get to know people. Yeah.

And I think, again, our whole reason for starting this platform of the agency league is we meet so many people, and we understand how frustrating the process is. I meet so many wonderful people who might not have the years of experience, might not have the language requirements. Sometimes they ask for education requirements, but I know that they could work for a family and be an amazing candidate. So we want to be able to say, well, we might not be able to place you. Now.

Here are all the tools that we can provide you with to try and get these jobs on your own. I love that. And I think it's actually, it also shows how much you guys care towards the candidates, because there are a couple agencies in the early stage that I dealt with who I didn't feel take care of their candidates in that way. You know, that they were just, like, throwing candidates at the principals and, like, see who sticks. And then if they feel like you're the golden goose, they'll entertain you, and otherwise, you're just gone out of their spectrum.

B
And I feel like with something like the agency league, you're like, hey, we kind of have a feeling of why you're not yet ready. But here's a set of tools and different courses and events and networking possibilities where you can upscale yourself to get there. And I think that just shows that you guys care. Yeah. And I've worked in different agencies before I went off on my own, so I've seen a little bit of everything behind the scenes, from working in bigger agencies to the mentality of, like, let's see what sticks to the hand holding, you know?

A
And I came from a background. My first agency was amazing. I worked with wonderful people that I'm still friends with. We still work together. We still help each other.

Most of them have started their own agencies. And I think that's what I enjoyed about it. I didn't look at this as this is a sales job, which it is, in a sense, because recruitment is sales in a sense, but it's not about the sales. It really is about the placement. Like, we're really helping people find jobs and we're helping clients have the support that they need.

So it really does take the two. It's not all about the client. It's not all about the candidate. And unfortunately, I do think agencies get a bad reputation sometimes. It's not always their fault.

I think it is the extreme pressure of, I have 100 resumes, and if I don't reply to one person, that person is going to get upset with me and talk bad about the agency, or they interviewed with one of my clients and my client just didn't give me feedback. And now they're upset with us, or they've interviewed with us and gone through the whole process, and I still haven't been able to secure an interview with them. And that turns into anger. And I understand it because it's very frustrating to go through this process and not have any results. So again, I think that's why having the agency league is really important, because I want to help you.

I'm just one person, so I can't possibly help everyone I'm speaking to. So, yeah, I'm excited about it. And I think having a place for people to come who want to even just learn a little bit more about the industry. Yeah. Well, Carmen, this has been super lovely.

B
Thank you so much for making the time and introducing us to the agency league as well as Hudson stuffing. Where can people connects with you, whether it's Instagram or your website, what's the best channel to reach out to you? Yeah, definitely. I think to connect with us online, Instagram, it's Hudson staffing, and then through email, which is just carmenududsonstaff.com. and that will have all our information, our website, how to apply.

A
But I think connecting with us on Instagram is probably the easiest way. All our information is on there. All our jobs are posted on there, and then you can connect to everything else through there. We'll post all our events and upcoming trainings on there, too. Thank you for joining us at the private Chef podcast.

B
If you know any highly skilled chefs that want to take their life to the next level, make sure to share this podcast with them. And if you enjoyed this episode, click subscribe and check out our upcoming episodes. Thank you for listening.

Essential Standards and Expectations for Hiring Private Chefs

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1: Introduction to Hiring Standards

2: Deep Dive with Carmen Garcia

3: Adapting to Changes in the Industry

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