Chicago & North Shore
Michelin-trained private chefs for ultra-high-net-worth families. Shortlist in 10 days. Up to 6-month guarantee.
Splitting time between Chicago and Palm Beach? We coordinate your chef across all properties.
Montclair Chef is a private chef agency placing full-time private chefs for UHNW families across Chicago, the Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, and the North Shore. Founded by a Michelin-trained chef with 19 years serving UHNW families as a private chef, every placement carries an up to 6-month replacement guarantee. Meet our founder.
Chicago is a world-class culinary city, and the families who live here expect a private chef who can match that standard daily, from weeknight family meals and children's nutrition to formal entertaining and holiday hosting.
A confidential call to understand your household, dietary needs, properties, entertaining style, and the personality that fits.
Receive 3 to 5 hand-selected, fully vetted private chefs, matched specifically to your household.
Interview your favourites and arrange a paid trial day in your own kitchen, so you choose with confidence.
Finalise the placement with an up to 6-month guarantee, plus ongoing support as the chef settles into the household.
Background verification · Reference verification · Up to 6-month guarantee · Free replacement
Full-time estate chefs for Chicago's most distinguished households, from Gold Coast penthouses and Lincoln Park greystones to North Shore estates in Winnetka and Lake Forest.
Find your estate chef
For families moving between Chicago and Palm Beach, Aspen, New York, or international properties. Chefs who keep standards consistent across residences and travel with the household.
Discuss travel chefs
Chefs specialising in wellness and longevity nutrition, medically guided programmes, performance diets, and clean seasonal menus, experienced working alongside physicians and nutritionists.
Find your nutrition chef
A full-time estate chef in Chicago needs to do more than cook at a high level. They manage daily family meals, children's nutrition, weekend entertaining, and source from the city's specialist purveyors, from Green City Market and Dirk's Fish to Publican Quality Meats in Fulton Market. On North Shore estates, a live-in chef often manages the kitchen year-round, with accommodation provided on the property.
Many Chicago families need a chef who understands the pace of a household where the principal runs a business, the children have specific dietary needs, and entertaining shifts between intimate family dinners and larger gatherings. The chef works alongside estate managers, nannies, and household staff, and maintains the same standard whether serving four or forty.
Chicago families often keep a second home in Palm Beach or Miami for the winter and Aspen for the ski season. We coordinate the chef across all properties.
Gross salary in US dollars per year, for a full-time private chef position. Chicago is the third-largest UHNW market in the United States, and salaries reflect the depth of the talent pool and the expectations of the city's most prominent households. Figures exclude food budgets and benefits.
North Shore estate placements with live-in accommodation typically provide housing on top of salary. For families splitting time with Palm Beach, Miami, or Aspen, salary structures may reflect multi-residence coordination. For full ranges across markets, see our private chef salary guide.
Lakefront penthouses and historic residences along Astor Street, Lake Shore Drive, and the Gold Coast. Full-time placements across Lincoln Park, Old Town, Streeterville, and River North for Chicago's most established urban households.
Private estates and family compounds across Winnetka, Kenilworth, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Glencoe, Highland Park, Northfield, and Wilmette. Many North Shore placements are live-in, with the chef managing the estate kitchen year-round.
Placements across Hinsdale, Burr Ridge, Oak Brook, and Barrington Hills. For families splitting time between Chicago and Palm Beach, Miami, Aspen, or New York, we coordinate the chef across all properties. See our traveling private chef placements.
Montclair Chef is a boutique private chef placement agency for ultra-high-net-worth families. It was founded by a Michelin-trained chef with 19 years serving UHNW households as a private chef, and it focuses on one thing: placing full-time private chefs across Chicago and worldwide. You can read more about our founder.
A private chef works exclusively for one household, full-time, managing the kitchen as a dedicated member of staff. A personal chef typically serves multiple clients, preparing batch meals that are packaged and reheated. Montclair Chef places only private chefs, not personal chefs, event chefs, or meal prep services. Every placement is a long-term, full-time position with a chef who becomes part of your household team.
Every chef goes through full background verification, employment-history review, and direct reference verification with previous UHNW households. All candidates sign an NDA before any introduction. We place only chefs with a proven record of discretion and long-term private service, never event or short-term cooks. Most are Michelin-trained, and all have strong fine-dining backgrounds.
Every placement includes an up to 6-month replacement guarantee. If the chef does not meet expectations within that period, we provide a replacement at no additional placement fee.
Full-time private chefs in Chicago typically earn $120,000 to $250,000 or more per year, depending on experience, specialisation, and household complexity. Chicago is the third-largest UHNW market in the United States, and salaries reflect the expectations of the city's most prominent households. See our private chef salary guide for full ranges.
For most placements we deliver a shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted candidates within 10 days. The full process, including interviews and a paid trial day, usually runs a few weeks.
Yes, and it is one of the most common Chicago requests. Many families split time between a Gold Coast or North Shore home and a winter residence in Palm Beach, Miami, or Aspen. We place chefs who travel with the family and maintain consistent standards across all properties. See our traveling private chef placements.
Yes. We place full-time live-in private chefs across the North Shore, including Winnetka, Kenilworth, Lake Forest, Lake Bluff, Glencoe, Highland Park, and Wilmette. Live-in placements are common on larger estates with staff quarters, where the chef manages the kitchen year-round.
Yes. We place chefs experienced with wellness and longevity nutrition, performance diets, allergies, kosher, and plant-based programmes. Our chefs work alongside physicians, nutritionists, and wellness teams.
Yes. Our chefs are used to working alongside estate managers, house managers, nannies, and household staff, following established reporting lines and protocols. They integrate into an existing household team rather than disrupting it.
Discretion runs through every stage. Every chef signs an NDA and confidentiality agreement before any introduction. We share only what is strictly necessary about your household, and we have a proven record placing chefs with some of Chicago's most prominent and high-net-worth families.
Start with a confidential consultation. Tell us about your household and what you are looking for, and we will guide you through the shortlist, trial, and placement. Schedule a consultation.
Shortlist in 10 days. Background-verified chefs. Up to 6-month placement guarantee.
Contact us for a confidential consultation.
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