Home / Pricing
One flat rate, and one honest quote.
Cooking lessons have a single published price. Private chef evenings are quoted per menu, because a dinner for six and a room of forty are not the same job. Both start with a free consultation.
Private chef & catering
Quotedper menu
free consultation first
- A menu written for your evening
- Costed in writing before you commit
- All sourcing and shopping
- Cooked in your kitchen on the night
- Wine pairing suggestions on request
- Kitchen left clean
Tell us the date, roughly how many people, and the kind of evening you have in mind — you get a menu and a price back before anything is booked.
Private, hands-on class
$350for 1–4 learners
plus food & NYS sales tax
- Pre-lesson consultation — free
- Custom recipes, written for your menu
- All of the grocery shopping
- Lesson planning around what you chose
- Roughly three hands-on hours
- The meal you cooked, at your own table
Cooking lesson details
- Base rate, 1–4 learners $350.00
- Each additional learner after four $75.00
- Average lesson length ~3 hours
- Lessons longer than 3 hours May carry a fee
- Groceries At cost, billed separately
- New York State sales tax Added
- Payment In full, at the lesson
- Consultation At least 1 full week ahead
A rough cost of groceries can be worked out on the free consultation, or any time before the lesson — you will never be surprised by it on the day.
The consultation is also where the date and time get settled, which is why it needs to happen at least one full week ahead.
Private chef and catering work is quoted separately — see private chef & catering.
Questions about pricing? Email them to ChefMichael@716kitchenskills.com.
Before you book
Questions people ask first
Do you really come to my house?
Yes — that is the whole idea, for both services. Chef Michael cooks in your kitchen, or teaches you in it, on the equipment you already own.
Do you do private chef work as well as lessons?
Both, and these days more of the former. A private chef evening means the menu is built with you, shopped for, cooked in your kitchen and served to your guests while you sit down with them. A lesson means you cook it and we teach you how. Some people book one and come back for the other.
How does catering pricing work?
It is quoted per menu, because a four-course dinner for six and a standing room of forty are not the same job. You get a written menu and a price for it before you commit to anything, and the consultation that gets you there is free. Cooking lessons do have a flat rate — $350 for one to four learners.
What happens on the free consultation?
Before anything is booked you and the chef talk through what you want to learn, who is joining, and what you would like to eat. The menu, the date and the time all get settled there. The consultation is free and has to happen at least one full week before the class.
Who does the grocery shopping?
We do. Shopping is part of the lesson fee — the chef sources everything and arrives with it. Food itself is billed separately at cost, and we can work out a rough grocery estimate on the consultation or any time before the lesson.
How long does a lesson take?
About three hours on average. Longer lessons are absolutely fine and can be arranged on the consultation — they may carry an additional fee depending on what you want to cook.
How many people can join?
The 350-dollar rate covers one to four learners. Each additional person after the first four is $75. Couples, families, friends and small groups all work — some of our best nights have been six people around one island.
Do I need special equipment?
No. We teach restaurant-quality food using what is already in your kitchen. If a piece of kit would genuinely change what you can cook, the chef will tell you what to look for — he will not sell you anything.
What areas do you serve?
Buffalo and Western New York — the city, the Northtowns and the Southtowns. If you are outside the usual radius, ask; it is often still workable.
Can this be a gift?
It is one of the most common reasons people call: birthdays, anniversaries, a milestone, or a night in for someone who has everything. Gift cards are available on the gift card page, or mention it on the consultation and the chef will build the menu around the occasion.