Your home and kitchen

Since we cook in your home, we'll need to access your kitchen. You don't have to be home. You can leave entry notes (hidden key or key code) on your appointment page. For liability reasons, we don't recommend a chef keep your key for future appointments.

If your Elf can't get access to your home within 20 minutes of your scheduled start time, your appointment will be canceled. See our cancellation policy.

Early arrival

Sometimes traffic is light or grocery store lines are short, so Elves may be able to arrive before your scheduled start time (e.g. 2.30pm instead of 3pm). On your appointment page, indicate if early arrival is ok.

Basic kitchen tools

We ask our customers to own basic kitchen tools, like an oven, stove, microwave, big pots and pans, and baking sheets. Your Elf will bring all other cooking tools.

Kitchen prep

Your Elf doesn't expect an immaculate kitchen, but please provide

clean pots and pans,
an empty sink (no dirty dishes),
clean and clear countertops,
and an empty refrigerator shelf (height of a milk gallon)

for your appointment. In rare cases, you may be charged a $50/hr cleaning fee for extra prep time.

Dishwasher

Your dishwasher won't be used. Your chef will hand-wash, dry and put all away the tools they use.

Containers

Your Elf will bring 28 oz containers (about 12 for family-size dinners) which are both microwave and dishwasher safe. You'll be charged $.75/each for any new containers used. For future appointments, wash them and leave them out for reuse (saves you money).

TIP You can use your own containers (we recommend 28oz glass containers) to save Mother Earth and money. Let your Elf know with a note on your appointment page, in-person, or just leave them out on the counter.

Oven size

If you have a double oven, update these home notes on any appointment page to see more side options due to greater oven space.

Leftover groceries

Sometimes your Elf won't use all of the groceries they purchase (e.g. 4 eggs from a half dozen). On any appointment page, give your Elf instructions for these leftover groceries. By default, they'll leave the extras.

Cooking address

Update your cooking address on your proflie page. Elves set their cooking geography by zip code, so if you move they may not be able to keep cooking for you.

Home notes

Update your home notes on any appointment page. Common notes include entry instructions, pets, sensitive countertops, location of your garbage, etc.

Appointment notes

Update appointment notes on any appointment page. Common notes include appointment-specific entry instructions, menu changes, and more.

At 5pm the night prior, you'll be able to text your chef directly with any last-minute questions or requests.

Pets

Elves cook with pets in the home all the time. If you have an aggressive dog, we kindly ask you to leave them in another room. 😀

Chef role

Chefs will shop, cook, and clean up, but they cannot watch children, manage household contractors, or perform other household tasks. 😀

No microwave

If your kitchen doesn't have a microwave, we can still cook for you. You'll just need to be proactive in selecting dinners that don't use a microwave when cooking.

When previewing or updating your menu, select "sans microwave" from the filter.

From your likes page, you and also "dislike" all recipes that use the microwave so these recipes don't appear in your suggested menus.

Menu cards

When your chef leaves, you'll get a menu card with your list of dinners. If you don't get one, just let us know.