Private Cooks and Chefs...a few reminders from Sugarella Cooks...

Imagine booking an expensive hotel with no pictures of the rooms, recommendations or trip advisor scores....

Imagine visiting a restaurant where you are expected to spend a lot of money which has no reviews, no menus in advance for you to see, and no one has ever heard of it...

Imagine buying an item of clothing off the peg online without knowing what it looks or feels like....

So - you want to cook in a private home. That is great, and we look forward to working with you. There are just a few things we would like to remind you:- 

• We have numerous cooks on our books. And they all think they are as good as you. We are a young company and, for now, have less clients than cooks, so it helps to be nice to us, to stay in touch with us, and to let us know your whereabouts. That way it is likely you will be our first call when the next amazing job comes in.
• You should be able to provide us with at least two recent references from your most recent employers. These should be private client employers, regardless of how famous/busy they might be, we work with numerous chefs and clients and can always get references from someone, whether that be the clients PA, or the client themselves, it is possible. Unfortunately without references, we cannot use you. How will we know who you are and how you work in a private home?
• We advise all our chefs to have a DBS certificate. You are working in a private home, around young children, and invading someones private space. We want to know you are who you say you are, as much as the client does. Apply for one here.
• Photographs of your food. This is really important. If you are a chef in this day and age, we advise you have your own website with lots of photographs of your food. Or at the very least, an instagram page which shows pictures of your food ONLY. We don't want to see what you get up to on your days off - create a private personal page for this. You may even find you get jobs from clients direct through your own instagram page or website.
• Up to date CVs and references. When you finish a job, ask your client if they are happy to write a reference for you and if they are happy for you to pass their details to future employers. Update your CV, send it to us and let us know the amazing things you have been doing.
• Reply to our e mails and phone calls. As much as you like to get a response from us, we like to get a response from you. If we contact you in regards to something, even if it is not for you, please just acknowledge us and let us know where you are in the world. If you are no longer needing work, we then no longer need to bother you.
• Once a job is confirmed, contact the client at your earliest convenience to arrange menus, logistics and travel arrangements.
• Flexibility. Being a private cook is not easy. We never said it was, and we know how hard it is ourselves, having been there and done it, and still doing it! Please expect the long hours and days, and understand that some jobs will be harder than others....
• If you can do all of the above, get your chef whites ironed, your knives sharpened and....enjoy the experience.

To work for Sugarella Cooks or to book a cook, please contact us.

Finding the right people for the right job.

It is not a lie that we are really passionate about finding the right people for the right job. We care about our clients and our chefs, and we really mean it. We have received a lot of positive feedback from all the jobs we have placed so far, which is so wonderful to hear. It is why we set up our agency so that we can look after cooks and clients and make sure they are happy long term, rather than just a quick fix. If we do not think a cook will suit a certain role, we simply will not put them forward for the position. We do not want to waste time of the cook or the client.

Here is a recent testimonial from a happy client where we placed a domestic couple for a busy family in Yorkshire, we were thrilled to read this and wanted to share it with you:

“I contacted Ella in November to enlist her in my search for a Domestic Couple. We started off the New Year with a great couple in place. She was extremely efficient and always very easy to work with. She listened to my brief and immediately started sending me CVs of strong candidates - always well filtered. She always followed up any queries/references promptly and I would definitely use her again.”

— Client, Yorkshire

If you are looking for a cook, chef, extra pair of hands, domestic couple or any other form of household staff, please do contact us - we would be delighted to hear from you!