Legal
Chef Terms
These terms explain how chefs should use the platform when publishing profiles, responding to requests, accepting bookings, receiving payouts, and maintaining platform compliance.
Version 2026-04Applies to chef profiles, bookings, and payouts
Chef responsibilities
- ChefaChef operates as an online marketplace and technology platform connecting clients with independent chefs; ChefaChef does not employ chefs or act as their managing employer.
- Keep your profile, pricing, availability, menus, experiences, and service information accurate and up to date.
- Only offer services you are prepared to fulfill through the platform and respond to client requests in a professional manner.
- Profile photos must show the chef's face clearly and present the chef professionally, such as in a chef coat, apron, or chef cap where appropriate.
- Meet your food safety, event-service, and local operating responsibilities for the services you choose to offer.
Communication and payment on-platform
- All active booking discussions, proposals, scheduling, and payment arrangements must remain inside the platform.
- Chefs must not request direct payment, off-platform transfers, or personal contact exchanges intended to bypass the platform checkout flow.
- Soliciting off-platform payment or contact information for active bookings is a breach of these terms and may result in account suspension.
- All communication, booking coordination, proposals, and payment arrangements for active transactions must remain inside the platform. Sharing personal contact details, moving bookings off-platform, or attempting to bypass platform checkout is not allowed under the platform terms.
Off-platform bookings / platform circumvention
- ChefaChef prohibits chefs from soliciting or completing off-platform bookings for leads, requests, proposals, or bookings introduced through ChefaChef for the purpose of bypassing the platform booking system or the 15% platform commission.
- Bookings originating through ChefaChef must be completed through ChefaChef. Users must not solicit direct payment or off-platform arrangements to bypass the platform booking system, and attempts to circumvent the platform may lead to account enforcement.
- Payments made through ChefaChef remain within the platform payment process and benefit from the payment, booking and dispute protections available through ChefaChef. Payments made directly outside ChefaChef are outside those protections and ChefaChef may be unable to assist with recovery or disputes.
- Any Public Liability Insurance remains the Chef’s own responsibility and is subject to the terms of their policy and insurer. ChefaChef cannot provide platform assistance or protections for transactions arranged outside ChefaChef.
- Chefs must not use client details, request information, proposals, messages, or booking leads received through ChefaChef to arrange direct bookings outside the platform.
- Suspected platform circumvention may result in account review, booking restrictions, suspension, or permanent removal where supported by platform enforcement tools.
Bookings, no-shows, and profile accuracy
- Chefs are responsible for honouring accepted bookings unless the platform confirms a change, cancellation, or moderation action.
- Late cancellations, no-shows, or materially inaccurate listing information may result in account review, booking restrictions, or suspension.
- Where availability, pricing, or service scope changes, the chef should update the platform records promptly.
- No-shows without valid justification may result in full refund to the client and potential account suspension.
Cancellation and refund obligations
- Chefs may cancel bookings only with valid justification and must provide reasonable notice to the client and platform.
- When a chef cancels, the platform will process a full refund to the client including platform fees.
- Chefs who frequently cancel bookings may face account restrictions or suspension.
- Chefs must honour their stated cancellation policy as displayed on their profile.
Insurance, approval, and payouts
- Chefs are independent professionals and are responsible for ensuring that they hold and maintain all insurance, training, and qualifications required for the services they provide. Chefs must confirm their legal right to work in the UK, self-declare that they hold the relevant food hygiene qualification required for their services, and keep their legal acknowledgements current before offering services. ChefaChef does not provide Public Liability Insurance. Each chef is responsible for arranging, paying for, maintaining, and renewing their own appropriate Public Liability Insurance for the services they provide.
- Chef-owned Public Liability Insurance must satisfy the applicable country requirement: United Kingdom: £2 million per claim; United States: $2 million aggregate and $1 million per occurrence; Italy: €2 million per claim; France: €2 million per claim; Spain: €2 million per claim; Kenya: KES 5,000,000 per claim.
- Coverage must include food-borne or food-related illness; product liability; catering work at third-party premises and customer/client premises; the chef performing the work, not only a fixed or home/business insured address.
- The policy holder must be the chef's own name or the chef's business name.
- The policy must be in force on the date of every event the chef cooks for.
- Do not accept a booking while your required insurance cover has lapsed.
- Keep your Public Liability Insurance and food hygiene qualification certificates available. ChefaChef may request private evidence from an individual chef where reasonably required for a dispute, complaint, or investigation.
- Any Public Liability Insurance remains the Chef’s own responsibility and is subject to the terms of their policy and insurer. ChefaChef cannot provide platform assistance or protections for transactions arranged outside ChefaChef.
- Chefs are independent professionals/freelancers and remain responsible for ensuring that required insurance, training, and qualifications are in force for the services they provide.
- Platform use does not replace the chef's own insurance obligations, and chefs should review their cover before accepting bookings.
- Accepting or undertaking a booking represents the chef's responsibility to comply with those insurance, training, qualification, and local operating requirements.
- Chef access to public discovery and booking readiness may depend on profile approval and current legal acknowledgement. Payment onboarding is required before payout release.
- Background checks are not a routine prerequisite for Chef approval, booking acceptance, booking confirmation, or payment. ChefaChef may request or undertake a check for an individual dispute, complaint, relevant third-party concern, or investigation.
- The platform may hold, review, delay, or restrict payouts where moderation, booking status, compliance, or payment processing issues require review.
- Platform commission fees are deducted from payments before payouts are released to chefs.
- Payouts are processed according to the platform's payout schedule, typically within 3-7 business days after booking completion.
Suspension and platform controls
- The platform may suspend, restrict, hide, or remove chef accounts, listings, proposals, or messaging access where policy breaches, safety concerns, fraud indicators, or compliance issues are identified.
- Suspended chefs may be removed from public search, discovery, and booking flows until access is restored by the platform.
- Repeated violations of platform policies may result in permanent account termination.
- The platform reserves the right to investigate any reported violations and take appropriate action.
Acceptance of terms
By registering as a chef, publishing a profile, sending proposals, accepting bookings, connecting payout details, or continuing to use chef tools, you confirm that you have reviewed and accepted the current chef terms and related platform policies.