Good cooks have many ways to make good money with side hustles. You can cater, make meals for take out, invite people in for a dining experience, or teach people how to cook. Cooks typically set their own rates of pay, using online platforms to market the availability of their menus, meals, and cooking classes.
Good money for good cooks
Realize, however, that some states and local jurisdictions have rules that restrict what home cooks can do. Be sure you know the rules in your own community before you start. That said, here are five online platforms that offer good money to good cooks.
Catering and classes
CozyMeal connects chefs and caterers with people wanting to arrange private and corporate dinner parties and cooking classes. (The site also books homes and other sites as venues for these events when neither the chef nor the client has the right space.) Chefs determine what to make, when, where, and how much to charge. CozyMeal adds a markup to the chef’s price to pay for the site’s services. The site operates in more than 80 cities in the U.S. and roughly three-dozen international markets. Learn more about CozyMeal here.
Tastemade is a media site focused on lifestyle and entertainment, including cooking. The site enlists “makers” — i.e. cooks and lifestyle influencers — to sign up to offer both fan subscriptions and events. These events can be done in person or via livestream. When a maker hosts an event, he or she sets the price, location, capacity, menu, date, rules and other terms. Tastemade simply books the events and adds a service fee to the client’s bill. Events can also be virtual — live streamed at a time set by the cook. Learn more about Tastemade here.
Qwick connects individuals and companies that are hosting events with cooks, waiters, bartenders and concession attendants capable of staffing these events. Operating in eight major markets, the site promises to provide potential workers with all the information they need to accept or reject a shift. This includes the location, start time, pay, staff contact, parking, and required dress code. You’ll also be told what type of event it is and how many people will be attending. Learn more about Qwick here.
Dine in
If you’ve ever considered opening your own restaurant, EatWith could be a good way to get started.
The site allows you to register as a host to cook meals and serve them in your own home. You set the dates, the menus, the number of guests you can accommodate, and the price. (Make sure your price includes your mark-up and any tip you hope to receive. The site expects the price to be all-inclusive.) EatWith will add a 20% service fee on top of that price when listing the meal on line. For their mark-up, you get marketing help from EatWith’s website and are covered by the site’s liability policy. Conveniently, this site operates around the world. Learn more about EatWith here.
Or you can sign up with Eatwith here.
Cook for takeout
Shef is a commercial home-cooking site that enlists both professional and amateur chefs to make meals for local clients. Cooks determine their own meals, prices and schedules. But they must pass a food safety certification course before uploading menus to the site. There is no cost to upload meals for sale on the Shef site. However, the site takes a 15% fee from the cook’s revenue when meals sell. That pays for Shef’s marketing, payment processing and customer support. Learn more about Shef here.
DishDivvy gives you the ability to market your home-cooked meals to friends and neighbors. Your customers pick up the meals and pay you through the site, which reimburses you through direct deposit. You set the price of your meal, figuring the cost of ingredients and what you want to earn for your time. The site takes 15% of the meal’s cost and charges customers a 99 cent fee for meal containers (which they provide to you before your scheduled meal). The main shortcoming of DishDivvy? It’s only available in some California communities. Learn more about DishDivvy here.
