Almost every family who contacts us already has a helper at home. Often she cooks, and often she cooks well. So the first question is usually some version of: "Why would we need a chef if our helper already makes dinner?"
It's a fair question. After 26 years in kitchens and six years placing chefs with families in Singapore, this is how I answer it.
Two very different jobs
A helper in Singapore runs the whole household. Cleaning, laundry, school runs, looking after the kids, sometimes caring for a grandparent. Cooking is one task among ten, squeezed in between everything else.
A private chef does one thing: food. Planning a weekly menu around your family's tastes and health goals, sourcing the best ingredients from markets and specialist suppliers, cooking, plating, and leaving the kitchen spotless. All of their energy goes into what ends up on your table.
Neither is better. They solve different problems.
When a helper who cooks is enough
- Simple home-style meals the family already loves
- Kids' meals and quick weekday lunches
- Families who rarely entertain and are happy with a rotation of favourites
- Households where budget comes first, since a helper costs a fraction of a chef
Many helpers are wonderful home cooks. If that covers what your family needs, you don't need us, and I'll tell you so. A structured weekly menu and a few new recipes can make a real difference on their own.
When families start to feel the gap
The calls we get usually come after one of these moments:
- Health goals. A doctor, nutritionist or coach hands over a plan: less sugar, more protein, more vegetables, fewer processed foods. Turning that into meals people actually want to eat every day takes training and creativity.
- Variety. The same ten dishes on repeat. The kids stop finishing their plates and the adults start ordering delivery again.
- Entertaining. Hosting clients or friends and wanting a dinner that feels like a good restaurant, without leaving home.
- Different diets under one roof. One person is plant-based, a child has strict requirements, a parent wants low-carb. Cooking three menus a night on top of the housework is too much to ask of anyone.
- A stretched helper. When cooking takes three hours a day, something else gives. Usually it's time with the children.
What each option costs
This is where the two are furthest apart, so let's be clear about the numbers.
A helper's monthly cost (salary, levy, food and lodging) is a small part of what a professional chef costs. At Le Petit Marché, a full-time private chef is SGD 10,500 to 12,000 a month, depending on the size of the household and the chef's background. Food cost is billed separately, week by week, so you only pay for what is actually bought.
If full-time is more than you need, a part-time private chef works well. Three days a week comes to around SGD 6,000 a month. Many families with a helper choose this: the chef cooks the main dinners, and the helper handles breakfasts, kids' lunches and the days in between.
The fee covers more than cooking. Our chefs are on our payroll, so you don't deal with work passes, CPF, leave or employment contracts. If your chef is sick or on leave, we send a replacement so your kitchen never stops. More on that in our guide to what happens when your chef is sick or on leave.
The setup that works best: both
The families who get the most out of a chef almost always keep their helper. It's not one or the other. The two roles fit together:
- The chef plans the week's menu and does the main cooking
- The helper keeps the household running and gets hours of her day back
- The helper picks up recipes and techniques from the chef, so weekends and days off get better too
In our experience, the helper is often the person who appreciates the change most. Cooking two meals a day for a full household, on top of everything else, is a lot of work.
How to tell which one you need
Ask yourself these questions:
- Is food a big part of how your family looks after its health?
- Are you still spending a lot on food delivery, even with a helper at home?
- Do you host at home more than once or twice a month?
- Is your helper spending more than two or three hours a day in the kitchen?
If you answered yes to any of these, a chef is worth a trial. If not, your helper is probably giving you exactly what you need.
Try it before you decide
Every placement starts with a trial, either one day or one week, so you can see how the chef works alongside your helper and how your family responds to the food. Nothing long-term is agreed until both sides are happy.
Tell us about your household and we'll suggest the right setup, even if that means telling you that you don't need a chef yet.
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Le Petit Marché is Singapore's private chef concierge agency, founded by Chef Nicolas Reynard and Kai. We match families, family offices, and private offices with chefs we've trained, vetted, and genuinely stand behind.
