Would you pay for someone to batch cook meals in your home?

[Ppppoppy]

Hello, just floating a question as it's a very new thought I've had (not seriously considering this as an all in, quit my job, start a business kind of thing haha, more just thinking out loud and curious what people think)
Cooking is my lifelong hobby/interest and I'm pretty good at it if I do say so myself. I've got varied and pretty extensive knowledge of food styles, recipes and prep, and lots of experience cooking for friends (usually family style, big dishes to share). I've also cooked for large group dinners in a b&b/hostel setting (this was a volunteer position but I learnt a lot about catering for bigger numbers there). I don't have professional chef experience but I have worked in F&B for 5 years so I've been around professional kitchens a lot, know how they run, processes, dietary stuff etc.
Wanted to ask if the idea of someone coming into your home for a few hours to meal prep for your family would appeal to you at all.
There's obviously a fair bit I'd need to sort before this could actually be a real thing, but here's roughly the shape of it in my head:

• I'd sort out hygiene certificates, insurance, etc, whatever's actually required to do this properly and safely (this one feels non negotiable to me tbh, letting someone into your home with your kids around, you'd want to know they're checked out)
• An initial call or chat first, talk through what you're after, how many people, how many meals, preferences, any dietary stuff, and specifically allergies and individual preferences likes and dislikes too
• Also chat through how involved you'd want to be, some people might want to pick the dishes themselves, others might just want to hand it over and be surprised, or anwhere in between
• You'd provide/ pay for the groceries, this could include using stuff you've already got in (only what you're happy for me to use obviously, not going through your cupboards uninvited lol) and then I'd put together an order for anything else needed. I'd do the actual ordering bit but always from your usual shop and sticking to your preferences on brands and budget and okay before it’s ordered etc
• I'd come at a time we'd agree in advance, could be while you’re in or out lit depending on what you wanted . I bring my own basic kit /appliances (knives , maybe frying pan / pot ) and seasonings if you'd rather I not use yours, then prep, cook, portion it all up and clean up properly after myself before I go
• Would want to talk about whether you're picturing freezer stash type meals, ready to eat that week, or a mix of both, probably depends on the person
• First session would basically be a trial for both of us really, see if it works, see if you like my cooking, see if it's not weird having someone in your kitchen haha

I do get that having a stranger cooking in your kitchen isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea and that's completely fair enough, just wondering if this is something anyone would actually want or if I'm being a bit mad haha
(also would maybe suit certain people more, new parents, people who've just had surgery or are recovering from something, elderly relatives, just busy families in general, so if you fall into one of those categories especially curious what you think)
Again very much just an idea floating around my head right now, not a proper plan yet!

No, because I am a good cook and can do this for myself.
However, depending on where you live, it might be worth doing some research on whether this kind of service is required.

No, I wouldn’t. Most of the food I cook doesn’t freeze well (potatoes, pasta, rice all have weird consistency after cooking), and a lot of them (salad things) need to be eaten within a few days and wouldn’t freeze.
Plus I’d he finding scratches, chips etc on my dishes done by someone else.

I'm looking for someone who can do this as I'm chronically unwell and need to follow a very specific diet. But not as frequently as weekly - I want the freezer stocked with easy, healthy meals.
Where are you based?

I'd love it! But would prefer you to cook in your own kitchen and bring the food over. Probably easier with hygiene requirements too if it is all cooked in the same place?

You could look into cooking for hoyse parties e.g. curry/chilli/potato pies?

I don't think you could cook in someone's kitchen whether they wanted it or not as you couldn't guarantee the cleanliness standards of it.

And the shopping element is a nightmare too - leftover ingredients, faff of ordering from other places.

I would certainly be interested, but I would start on the basis of cooking inside your own home, perfect a few freezer-friendly recipes, and take advantage of bulk discounts for supplies (no faffing with different supermarkets!).

It might build up to a point where you can cook in someone's home but I certainly wouldn't be starting there!

I would love it… if I was rich.

There’s no way I could afford a service like that, sadly, especially not regularly. I might have pushed the boat out when I’d just given birth, but otherwise it’s just a fantasy of what I’d do if I won the lottery.

I think it’s a great idea OP. Many people want home cooked food but don’t have the time/skills to do it. It is fairly niche and would only appeal to those who have enough disposable income but I can think of many scenarios ie. New baby, illness, elderly, working where this kind of service would be used. My only concern would be do you live somewhere where people have the level of disposable income needed for such a service.

A woman near me offers this type of service. She cooks in her own kitchen though. She's always at the local craft fairs promoting it and has samples to taste. Which is a good approach.

You will not be able to get hygiene certificates for this - they relate to the premises not the person doing the cooking.

I would as I'm autistic and can barely cook. But I doubt I could afford you.

Fresh filled pasta, fresh pasta sauce, rocket, parmesan black pepper
5 minute prep

Basically, OP, the core idea is sound - people like home cooked meals, and you could get people to buy them.

But all the extra ideas are just "noise" - businesses stand or fall on how strong their operations are. For example, let's say you're doing ten meals for house A requiring 2kg of chicken and five meals for house B requiring 1kg of chicken, both at different supermarkets. Supermarket A is priced more expensively for organic chicken for every 600g box, whilst B has a deal on and sells in 1kg boxes.

You realise that it's best to go with a single supplier, so you withdraw the choose your own supplier thing. Then A gets pissed off and doesn't order again - even if they were happy to in the past!

Start with the logistics of the core idea. Sell a clear offering without fiddly bits. Include the line "I am happy to discuss bespoke menus and special occasions".

Oh I've actually looked into this and you can get them! There's a bit of a mix up here I think between two different things.
The food hygiene certificate itself (Level 2 Food Safety and Hygiene) is actually a personal qualification, not a premises thing.
What is tied to premises is registering as a food business with your local council, but that's registered against your home address as your base, it doesn't mean you can only cook there. Mobile caterers and personal/private chefs do exactly this all the time, they register their home as their base but then go and cook at other people's houses, events, wherever, completely normal and legal setup.
insurance for this specifically exists too,which I would be able to get ( personal chef/private chef insurance- does not require official qualifications ) so that's not a barrier either.

I'm in Herts! Let me know if you go ahead with this ☺️

No I would feel I'd have to deep clean the kitchen each time they came.!
I like cooking but if I didn't and need to buy in meals I'd buy good quality ready prepared ones

This.

I’d absolutely pay for fresh batch cooked meals to be delivered.

Im out of the house 4.30-7.30 nearly every day and batch cooked meals at weekends.

Id pay for a decent service to free up some time.

If I were to pay someone to meal prep for me, I want to outsource all the effort. I pick some meals from a list or request some I like and they turn up at my house ready to put in the fridge/freezer. I don’t understand why I’d want you to come to my house to cook the meals.

I also don’t think the “client buys the groceries” idea works. I don’t want to have to read and approve your grocery list. What happens for bigger items that don’t use up? Are you keeping an updated list to use next time? What is the point of doing that across multiple homes rather than you just having your own stash that you use?

No.

So I've actually looked into this a bit since posting and it is a genuine existing and readable / legally sound model .Private/personal chefs cooking in clients' homes is a real established thing, you register your business with your council based on your own address rather than needing each client's kitchen inspected, and you don't need to be a qualified chef either, just food hygiene certs which anyone can take.
On the cleanliness thing, that'd just be a condition going in tbh, I'd be upfront that the kitchen needs to be at a standard they'd be happy eating out of themselves, plus I'd do a quick once over before starting anyway. So it's not that I'm more or less liable depending on whose kitchen it is, more that it's agreed as fine before I even turn up, and insurance covers the rest (food poisoning claims etc are literally what personal chef insurance is designed for, it's not a gap in the plan).
Same logic with ingredients, use by dates and what's already in the fridge, all agreed with the client rather than left to chance.
And on the groceries side, that bit's meant to be flexible rather than fixed. So if someone wants me ordering from their usual shop, specific brands, organic, whatever, that's fine, I'd just run the order past them before buying. But if someone genuinely doesn't care and just wants it sorted, that's fine too. It was more about giving people the option to tailor it to their budget/preferences if they want to, not adding faff for the sake of it - wasn’t set on doing this it was just an idea but appreciate your POV !

Yes, definitely, but would prefere for you to order and bring ingredients so I don't need to do the shopping! Would pay more for this of course.

Yes it is real. If you look on taskapps like airtasker, there are plenty of people seeking someone to do this for them. And no, they don't give a shit about certificates or whatever. As I said, it see it advertised for about £25ph..

Yes thankyou , sorry I was supposed to have posted this to a reply to a comment asking whether you can cook in others homes . Thankyou for your your examples of having seen it :)

For me this would fall between two stools- I love cooking so want to do it myself. If I couldn't cook for some reason (eg illness) I'd appreciate a delivery of homemade ready meals but in that situation I wouldn't want to be involved in discussions or have someone in the house cooking- I'd rather just have a delivery.

I can see there is a market for this though and can imagine friends of mine being potential customers- high income, interested in food and healthy eating but not interested in cooking. Realistically I also think anyone working long hours might be looking for something simpler and not involving having someone in the house, so perhaps it's rich SAHMs who are into wellness but not cooking. Plenty of those where I live. In your shoes I would think about ways that you could lean into the personalisation (for example, special diets, low cal/high nutrition, meals nutritionally designed for different life stages eg post-partum or menopause).

Another possible customer group could be allergy sufferers, where the customer having control over where the meals are cooked and the ingredients used could be a strong positive. You would need to think hard about the risks and legal side.

I love the idea of home cooked batch meals but I wouldn’t want somebody doing it in my home it would feel intrusive.