How Much Does a Private Chef Cost on 30A?

Marrow Private Chefs
17 hours ago
5 min read

You're planning your 30A vacation and envisioning a private chef dinner in your rental home. No reservations, no driving, no waiting for tables — just restaurant-quality food served in the comfort of your own space. But what does it actually cost?

The answer depends on the experience you're after, the size of your group, and the level of service you want. Here's what you need to know.

Chef in a white uniform prepares salad plates in a bright kitchen with large windows and green garden outside. Plates have arugula.

Understanding Private Chef Pricing

Most private chef services, including Marrow, charge per person rather than by the hour or a flat rate. This model ensures that every guest receives the same level of quality and attention, regardless of group size.

At Marrow, we offer several tiers of service, each designed for different occasions and preferences. Our pricing is transparent and displayed upfront on our website — no hidden fees, no surprises. You'll know exactly what you're paying before you book.

Our service tiers include:

Delivery options for convenient, high-quality meals without full-service
Select experiences for elevated family-style dining
Signature packages for plated, multi-course occasions
Ultimate luxury tasting menus for the most refined celebrations

Each tier includes all-inclusive pricing with our service charge built in. Visit our menus page to see current pricing for each experience.

Minimum Spends

Because we source premium ingredients and prepare everything from scratch, each service tier has a minimum spend requirement. These minimums ensure we can deliver the quality you expect while making the economics work for our team.

Minimums vary by menu — delivery options have lower thresholds, while our Michelin-Style Tasting Menu has a higher minimum due to the level of craft involved. Your guest count doesn't have to hit a certain number, but your total spend does need to meet the minimum for your chosen menu.

What's Included in the Cost

When you hire Marrow, here's what you're paying for:

Full Service from Start to Finish

Chef arrives early to set up
All food prepared on-site in your rental kitchen
Courses plated and served at the right pace
Kitchen left spotless after service

Scratch-Made Quality

Every component prepared from scratch
No pre-made sauces or shortcuts
Fresh Gulf seafood sourced locally
Premium ingredients we'll never compromise on

Appropriate Staffing

Solo chef for smaller groups
Additional chefs or servers for larger gatherings
Staffing scaled to ensure seamless service

What's Not Included

Tableware (plates, silverware, glassware) — most rentals have these
Linens
Beverages — except wine pairings with our Tasting Menu
Gratuity — always appreciated, but absolutely never expected

Factors That Affect Your Final Cost

Guest Count

Your total cost is based on the number of guests. Larger groups cost more, but the per-person price stays consistent within each tier. As long as you meet the minimum spend, you can book for any size group (with the exception of our Tasting Menu, which is limited to 12 guests).

Menu Selection

The experience you choose drives the cost. A delivery meal requires less labor and preparation than a plated four-course dinner. A nine-course tasting menu with wine pairings involves more time, ingredients, and craft than a family-style Chophouse dinner.

Customization

Our Signature menus are customizable — swap a dish, adjust seasonings, modify cooking techniques. Our Select menus are prefixed; any substitutions may incur additional costs. Fully custom menus built from scratch around your vision are also available and require a consultation for pricing.

Dietary Accommodations

We accommodate allergies and dietary restrictions with rigid safety protocols. Complex accommodations may require additional sourcing or preparation, which can affect cost. We'll always communicate this upfront.

Optional Add-Ons

Wine pairings and bar service are available for most menus. These are priced separately and tailored to your preferences.

Why We Display Pricing Upfront

Most private chef services require you to inquire for pricing. We don't.

Our pricing is displayed on every menu page because we want you to know exactly what you're considering before you reach out. This transparency serves two purposes: it respects your time, and it helps you self-qualify.

We're not the most affordable option on 30A. We're expensive, because we believe we're the best. Our pricing reflects the quality of our ingredients, the craft of our preparation, and the experience of our team. If cost is your primary concern, we're probably not the right fit — and that's okay.

But if quality, reliability, and a seamless experience matter more than finding the lowest price, we're exactly what you're looking for.

Booking and Payment

Once you've chosen your menu, here's how payment works:

Deposit

A 25% deposit is required when you book. This secures your date.

Final Payment

For most private chef experiences, the remaining balance is charged the day after your meal. For larger catered events like weddings, we follow a structured payment schedule with amounts due at 90 days and 30 days before the event.

Flexibility

If you need to add guests, we can usually accommodate up to 12 hours before your event (as long as we have the ingredients and staff). Guest count reductions inside seven days aren't refundable — at that point, we've already ordered your food and scheduled our team.

How to Budget for Your Experience

Here's a simple way to think about it:

Small Group Dinner (6-10 guests)

Choose from our delivery or Select tier options for a more accessible experience, or elevate with our Signature packages for a plated, multi-course evening.

Special Occasion (10-15 guests)

Our Signature experiences shine here — four courses, plated and served, with the flexibility to customize dishes to your group's preferences.

Intimate Celebration (2-4 guests)

Even small groups can book Marrow as long as the minimum spend is met - the per-guest pricing will increase to meet that minimum spend, or we can include things like wine pairings or our Chilled Seafood Starter to meet that threshold as well.

Large Gathering (20+ guests)

We scale seamlessly. Staffing increases, logistics are handled, and quality never wavers. For groups over 30, we typically move to a customized proposal to ensure everything is tailored correctly.

For exact pricing on each menu, visit our website. You'll find per-person rates, minimum spends, and full menu details for every experience we offer.

Is It Worth It?

That depends on what you value.

If you're looking for the cheapest way to feed your group, a private chef probably isn't the answer. But if you want to spend your vacation with the people you care about — not waiting for a table, not cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, not cleaning up afterward — then the cost starts to make sense.

You're paying for more than food. You're paying for time, for ease, for the ability to stay fully present while someone else handles every detail. You're paying for Gulf shrimp caught within miles of your rental, for sauces that take hours to build, for plating that looks like it belongs in a Michelin-starred restaurant.

You're paying for 2,500 events worth of experience, 650+ five-star reviews, and a perfect food safety record. You're paying for a team that shows up on time, executes flawlessly, and leaves your kitchen cleaner than they found it.

And when the evening is over and your guests are still talking about the meal, you'll know exactly what you paid for.