Career Explorer Food and hospitality
Human edge, growing
Cooks, private household
Prepare meals in private homes. Includes personal chefs.
More resilient than most: more resilient than 74% of the 831 careers we score. AI exposure is moderate (the Bureau of Labor Statistics rates it moderate), and US jobs are projected to change by +5.1% by 2035, faster than average. The work leans on creative vision.
AI struggles with much of this work, and US employers are expected to hire more people into it than average.
- Median pay (2025)
- $47,940
- Job growth to 2035
- +5.1%
- Openings a year
- 5,000
- People doing it (2025)
- 35,400
- Usual route in
- College certificate
Where people already use AI for this work
- Prepare foods or beverages
- Develop recipes or menus
- Purchase goods or services
From Microsoft Research, Working with AI (2025).
Work AI rarely helps with
- Stock supplies or products
- Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures
- Provide food or beverage services
What the work looks like
- Peel, wash, trim, and cook vegetables and meats, and bake breads and pastries.
- Cool, package, label, and freeze foods for later consumption and provide instructions for reheating.
- Plan menus according to employers' needs and diet restrictions.
- Shop for or order food and kitchen supplies and equipment.
- Prepare meals in private homes according to employers' recipes or tastes, handling all meals for the family and possibly for other household staff.
From O*NET 31.0, US Department of Labor.
Careers using similar strengths, with a stronger outlook
- Costume attendantsHuman edge, growing, Index 90, +5.9%
- Animal trainersHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +4.2%
- Exercise trainers and group fitness instructorsHuman edge, growing, Index 99, +7.3%
- Makeup artists, theatrical and performanceHuman edge, growing, Index 94, +6.1%
Also known as: Certified Personal Chef (CPC), Personal Chef, Personal Private Chef, Private Chef.
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Sources: US Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections 2025 to 2035; O*NET 31.0; Microsoft Research (2025); Anthropic Economic Index (2026); Eloundou and colleagues (Science, 2024); Felten, Raj and Seamans (2023). How we score. Updated 12 October 2026.