Booking
- How far in advance do I need to book?
- Each chef sets their own notice period, and you will see it before you request them. As a rule, give a week for a dinner and two to three weeks for a large event — the chef has to shop, and the best ones get booked up. Some chefs accept last-minute work; their profiles say so.
- Does the chef cook in my kitchen, or theirs?
- Both are available and the chef says which they offer. If they cook at their own registered kitchen, the food is delivered to you. If they cook at yours, they bring the ingredients and their knives and you provide a working hob, oven, water and bin space. Agree the details in the message thread before you pay.How booking works →
- Can I ask for a dish that is not on the menu?
- Yes. Message the chef and ask. Menus on Cook4Me are what a chef is confident cooking, not a fixed list they are restricted to, and most will happily quote for something specific — particularly if it is a dish they grew up with.
- Who cleans up afterwards?
- The chef leaves your kitchen as they found it — surfaces wiped, their own equipment packed away, and anything they used washed up. Clearing the table and dealing with the plates your guests ate from is yours unless you agree otherwise with the chef beforehand. If you want full service through to the end of the evening, say so when you are agreeing the booking so it can be priced in.
- How many people can one chef cook for?
- That depends on the chef and the dish, and every profile states a minimum order. For large events — naming ceremonies, weddings, parties of fifty or more — say the number in your request and we will put it in front of chefs set up for that volume.
Money
- What does Cook4Me charge?
- Customers pay the chef's price for the food, plus a 5% service fee, plus £5.00 for delivery if the chef is sending food to you. Collection is free. Chefs pay 10% commission on their food price, so they keep 90%. There is no subscription, no listing fee and no booking fee.Full fee breakdown →
- When is the chef actually paid?
- After you confirm the meal arrived. Your payment is held in escrow by Livora Limited from the moment you book — the chef can see the booking is funded but cannot draw the money. Confirming the order is what releases it.How escrow works →
- What if the food never arrives, or is not what I ordered?
- Do not confirm the order — raise it instead. That keeps the full payment with us while our support team looks at the message thread, the agreed menu and the payment. You are asking us not to pay money out, rather than chasing a refund from a stranger.
- Can I cancel, and do I get my money back?
- Yes. More than seven days before the booking you get everything back. Three to seven days, you get the food price and service fee back. Twenty-four to seventy-two hours, half the food price, because the chef has already shopped. Under twenty-four hours, no refund unless the chef agrees. If the chef cancels on you, you are refunded in full however late it happens.Refund & cancellation policy →
- Do I tip?
- Never expected, always welcome. If you want to, give it to the chef directly — Cook4Me takes no commission on a tip and does not handle it.
Chefs & safety
- What does “verified” actually mean?
- Before a chef can take a single booking, a person at Cook4Me has checked five documents: government-issued ID, proof of address, a Level 2 Food Hygiene certificate, allergen awareness training, and public liability insurance of £1m or more. Chefs preparing food in their own kitchen must also show their local council food business registration. We record expiry dates, and a chef whose certificate lapses stops receiving bookings until it is replaced.The full verification list →
- I have a serious allergy. Is Cook4Me safe for me?
- Every chef has completed allergen awareness training as a condition of being listed, but you must still tell them in writing in the message thread, every time, even with a chef you have booked before. Say what the allergen is and what the consequence is. A chef who cannot safely guarantee it in their kitchen is able to decline, and that is the right outcome.
- Does the chef get my home address?
- Only when they need it. Before you pay, a chef sees the outward half of your postcode — the district, enough to judge travel time and quote you, and nothing more. After you pay, a chef cooking at your home gets the full address because they are travelling to you. If the food is being delivered by a courier instead, the chef never sees your address at all.What chefs can and cannot see →
- Who are the chefs?
- Independent, self-employed cooks — not Cook4Me employees. Many are home cooks with decades of experience and no restaurant behind them, which is the whole reason the platform exists. They set their own prices, write their own menus and choose which bookings to accept.
- How do I become a Cook4Me chef?
- Create an account, complete a six-step profile covering your details, service area, experience, the cuisines and dishes you cook, photos and how you like to work, then upload your documents from your dashboard. A person reviews them and tells you if anything is missing. It is free to join and free to list, and you keep 90% of what you charge.Cook with us →
Practical
- Where in the UK does Cook4Me operate?
- We are new and growing chef by chef rather than announcing cities we cannot yet serve. The honest answer is to tell us your town — if nobody is cooking near you yet, we will email you when that changes, and your request tells us where to recruit next.
- Is there an app?
- Yes, for Android, on Google Play. You can track an order, message your chef and confirm delivery from it. Everything also works in a normal browser on any phone, so the app is a convenience rather than a requirement.
- How do I get in touch with a real person?
- Use the contact page, or email info@cook4me.io. A person reads it. For anything urgent, or anything involving illness or injury, contact us directly rather than waiting for a message in the app to be read.Contact us →
Still not sure?
Ask us the thing this page did not answer. A person reads every message, and the good questions end up on this page.