Dara Lyubinsky: So You Want To Launch a Private Chef Business

So you want to launch a private chef business? 👩‍🍳 In this episode, we sit down with Dara Lyubinsky, founder of Nourish Culinary, to break down what it really takes to build a successful personal chef company; from cooking in New York’s high-pressure restaurant kitchens to serving private clients (including Eli Manning and Lorne Michaels) and scaling a 25-person private chef team. Dara shares her unconventional path from media (Time Magazine + TV food production for The View) into the culinary world, why she left restaurants after just a year, and how she turned a solo hustle into a thriving business of private chefs. We also get into: - The reality behind the “Instagram chef” lifestyle - What clients actually want (hint: it’s not fancy plated food) - How to hire the right chefs for in-home work - The business side no one talks about - And the wildest requests she’s ever gotten (yes… including gourmet baby food delivery) If you're thinking about becoming a private chef - or just want a behind-the-scenes look at this growing industry - this episode is packed with real talk, strategy, and insights. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:52 Meet Dara Lebinsky (Nourish Culinary) 01:28 From media career to culinary school 02:54 Getting laid off & entering restaurant kitchens 03:28 Why she left restaurants after 1 year 04:20 Discovering private chef work 05:15 Leveraging media + networking in NYC 06:10 Cooking for high-profile clients 07:20 Launching Nourish Culinary 08:17 Moving from solo chef → business owner 09:25 Scaling during COVID 10:15 Letting go & trusting a team 11:46 Growing to 25 chefs 12:18 Hiring, training & building a brand 13:19 “Hire slow, fire fast” 13:44 Misconceptions about private chef life 14:54 Social media vs reality 16:03 Business skills chefs don’t expect 16:28 Different types of clients 17:20 Dinner parties vs weekly meal prep 18:41 The reality of doing everything as a private chef 19:29 Respect for restaurant chefs 20:54 Food trends & what clients actually want 22:40 Why vegetables are the real focus 23:30 Meal kits vs private chefs 25:44 Wild client requests (baby food story!) 28:15 Cooking for athletes & private planes 29:48 Behind the scenes of food on TV 32:18 Building a healthy work culture 34:41 Breaking toxic industry cycles 36:26 Rapid fire questions (tools, mistakes, trends) 37:58 Outro Brought to you by Back of House Your most trusted resource for restaurant tech. Stop guessing and start making data-driven decisions for your business. Learn more at: https://backofhouse.io/ Proudly Sponsored by, RestauRent The no-fee booking platform helping restaurants and venues book private events.Try it risk-free (3 months free): https://bit.ly/soyouwanttorestaurent Connect with the Podcast Full Episodes: https://linktr.ee/soyouwanttorunarestaurant Follow Claudia: @claudia.saric Follow Spencer: @RestaurantSpenny