Great side hustle business ideas for chefs
In 2022, there is one rule that everyone knows by now in the restoration sector - you cannot thrive financially if you only have one source of income. It's like you put all your eggs in one basket, waiting for it to drop. Yes, your job can pay well, but if you have the initiative and ambition to become a reference in the culinary scene, food side hustles are meant for you.
These side hustles aren’t just the source of an extra income on top of your full-time job, they are opportunities to perfect the palette of flavor you want to serve, and ultimately increase your experience as an aspiring chef. In this article, we are going to focus on side hustle ideas for chefs.
How can a chef make extra money?
Extra money does not hurt anyone, especially when you are a chef in the food industry during a pandemic. Chefs can make extra money by becoming food-loving entrepreneurs that employ everything at their disposal to make a name for themselves. From food blogs to becoming a personal chef, there are lots of food side hustles.
What are the best side hustle ideas for chefs?
The best side hustle ideas for chefs are found online or by incorporating your passion into a hobby that provides an additional source of income:
- Cooking lessons
- Celebrity chef
- Food truck
- Food subscription service
- Youtube
- Cook book
- Nutrition
- Food photography
- Food podcast
- Personal chef
Cooking classes
Teaching is one of the most scalable business ideas for chefs with a pedagogical bent. Depending on your level of experience and the nature of your cooking class, you can set your price and provide your services to an eager and foodie audience.
This job is a phenomenal way to network while still getting an extra income. One night you might be teaching French cuisine to a couple, and down the line cater for their wedding, who knows? Platforms such as Miummium give you the online marketing you need to promote your cooking lessons. Your responsibility as a chef is to come up with an enticing culinary experience at a fair price.
Celebrity chef
Similar to a personal chef, celebrity chefs are people who work around the clock for actors and athletes to craft their desired meal. Now, you will have to do some courses regarding nutrition, so you know how to balance a diet. Once you have that knowledge, you can apply it in your own life and offer healthy food services.
On top of this, when you have a loyal clientele who trusts you, you can hire people and make them join your endeavor to scale your business. Rich people have everything on their hands except for time, so these side hustle opportunities can quickly become a full-time job with word of mouth.
Food truck
Food trucks are for food-loving entrepreneurs with a strategic mind and a certain business acumen. By placing a food truck at the right time and place, you can easily make the money a restaurant will make all day in a couple of hours. All you need is the right fragrance to attract the nose and taste buds of all!
You can start by working in an established food truck to gain experience on how things work. It’s imperative you learn this “know-how” since food trucks operate with limited resources. Once you’ve acquired experience related to preparation, locations, and how to contact potential clients, you can start elaborating your scrumptious menu.
Food subscription service
Food subscription services are a pretty ingenious idea that only a handful of chefs are capitalizing on. Similar to any modern-day subscription service, using online marketing, you can offer 5 ready-to-cook meals for $ 50 a week. These arrangements are perfect to monetize your spare time and could become a full-time job.
A food subscription service is something that has the potential to grow. Your clients will pay you monthly, and you will be responsible for their meals. You can personalize your approach by having your foodie community vote for the menu each week, or have special offers for holidays such as Saint-Valentine, Halloween, etc. You should also consider religious dietary restrictions in your menu!
YouTube
YouTube is the new trend for chefs, as it has been the jumping board for many of them. For instance, Chef Michel Dumas started his cooking channel as a hobby for his spare time, but now he sells his own kitchen items! All you need is a camera, expertise, and a sprinkle of charisma.
Cook book
Creating a cook book is not for everyone, since certain recipes must remain secret. But if you believe you have the experience and have an original twist on classic meals, why don’t you start writing your best seller?
Although people prefer to search for recipes online these days, if you share some of your recipes on your blog and gather a certain base for them, some of them will certainly want to encourage you in your project. Writing down your recipes also makes it possible for renowned chefs to stumble upon them and give you a shout-out!
Nutrition
People are becoming more conscientious about their daily diet and they often seek outside experts to teach them food preparation and elementary food nutrition concepts. However, you will have to do some certification to be able to nail the nutrition part. These cooking classes can take place on platforms such as Miummium.
If you reckon that your service is taking off and that your schedule is always booked, you can launch your line of products! People love to devour ginger shots and keto salads, so your nutritional knowledge will not fall on deaf ears. You just have to find the online market gap and fill it with your expertise. You could post flyers at gyms or in a healthy online community in your area.
However, growing on your own at the start might be hard. For that, you can partner with local stores so that they can stock your products, such as ready-to-cook meals. After that, it all boils down to marketing your product right. You can sell anything to people if you market it correctly. So, do your homework and then get ready for showtime!
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Food photography
Instagram is an amazing platform for food photography. People love to look at videos and photos of delicious food. You just have to document your dishes aesthetically so that people get roped in. Once you have a growing audience, you can plug in your products like online classes and cook books, and believe us, people will buy!
This business venture is great to create social capital. Just think of Salt Bae, it’s pretty surreal that a Turkish man dropping some salt on big pieces of meat has captured the world for an instant.
Food podcast
Food podcasts are in vogue and it’s never too late to jump on the bandwagon. If you consider starting a food podcast, we recommend you analyze the current content that is trending online and give it a local twist. Make sure to consider sending invitations to chefs of local restaurants to create relevant content.
You can talk about anything as long as people are ready to listen. Nevertheless, for this culinary side hustle, you must consider your audience! You can count on foodies, other chefs, and restaurant owners!
Personal chef
The ultimate food side hustle that you can do as a chef is to become a personal chef. Personal chefs are paid around $20 per hour, depending on the person they're working for, and the menu they present. Platforms such as Miummium are the bridge between personal chefs and individuals looking for a culinary experience at home.
MiumMium, the largest freelance personal chef marketplace on the web, allows consumers to explore menus, research chefs, and book unparalleled at-home culinary experiences. The process is simple: pick a date, choose or personalize a menu, and invite your friends and loved ones.