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Tired of long hours and constant stress while making money for someone else? Frustrated that you have no time for family, little room for creativity, and a career that doesn’t feel truly meaningful? Chefs For Seniors® offers a proven business model where you change lives — and your schedule is finally yours.
As a CHEFS FOR SENIORS Franchise Owner, you’ll create your own schedule, earn reliable recurring income, and use your talent to bring joy and nourishment to seniors in your community. Best of all, you won’t be doing it alone — our Home Office team and network of 95+ supportive franchise owners are always just a call away, ready to help you succeed.
WITH THE AGING POPULATION GROWING RAPIDLY, NOW IS THE TIME TO START A SENIOR SERVICES BUSINESS!
In just one 20-minute session, you’ll get a clear picture of how a Chefs For Seniors® franchise works and what it takes to succeed. We’ll cover:
Clients schedule weekly or bi-weekly visits with their personal chef during a free in-home or phone consultation.
You or your team of chefs bring fresh ingredients and cook delicious, homemade meals in the client’s kitchen.
Clients are left with meals for the week customized to their specific diet and food preferences!
We’ll guide you through our 30-Day “Open & Cook” Plan so you can start serving clients — and earning — quickly. Your dedicated success coach will walk you through every step, and our done-for-you digital marketing campaigns on Facebook and Google will help you hit the ground running.
You’ll get an exclusive territory in a high-income senior market, a professionally designed website, our RD reviewed Recipe Collection with 175+ entrees, software systems to run your scheduling, and access to our corporate call center that handles inbound leads for you. Everything you need is ready from day one.
95% of seniors want to remain in their homes as they age, and the service your franchise provides helps clients remain independent. Studies show loneliness can be as dangerous to seniors’ health as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day and over 30% of seniors who visited an ER last year were considered malnourished or at risk.
Run a subscription service business with over 90% of clients using your services on a recurring basis. Owners can build a six-figure impact business with room to scale beyond themselves by hiring chef employees. Some of our owners have more than 10 local chefs working underneath them.
Tired of the restaurant or corporate grind working long hours to make money for other people? Being a business owner allows you to make your own schedule and spend more time with those you care about. You can work from home if you choose (when you’re not cooking for clients) and create a business that fits your goals and lifestyle!
Chefs For Seniors is a first-of-its-kind service in the booming senior services industry. The market for senior meals in the US alone is $20 billion annually, and the 65+ population is expected to increase 33% from 2025 to 2035. Currently, there is no other service serving this growing market that uses a similar business model.
Chefs For Seniors was founded in 2013 by Barrett Allman, an executive chef and restaurant owner with over 25 years of experience in the food service industry. As is the case with many other professionals in the industry, he found it challenging to maintain a balance between work and time with family. He wanted to find a way to use his skillset as a professional chef to make a difference in his community, while giving him flexibility. In talking with senior customers in his restaurants, he was struck by how many told him they struggled to cook meals for themselves. He wanted to connect with the people he was cooking for and came up with the idea for a service that would enable seniors to age in place. A few months after the company was founded, Barrett’s son Nathan joined the Chefs For Seniors team.
For the first year, Nathan and Barrett prepared meals for clients themselves in Madison, WI (where the company is based), learning about seniors’ specific needs and fine-tuning the business model using lean startup concepts. As demand for Chefs For Seniors grew, they brought in other chefs in the Madison area, eventually expanding to other states. The company began offering franchise opportunities in 2018, and has seen rapid growth since then.
As a Chefs For Seniors Franchise Owner, you’re not just stepping into a business opportunity—you’re joining a family. With our comprehensive support system, you’ll never feel alone on your journey. Our dedicated team is always ready to guide and assist, ensuring you succeed in your community. You’re in business for yourself—but with the backing of an entire dedicated and passionate team!
Since its inception, Chefs For Seniors has prepared over 2 million meals for seniors and currently has franchises open throughout the United States. The company is currently the largest personal chef business in the country, with thousands of clients.
Founded by the Allman family in Madison, Wisconsin.
Feature story on National Public Radio in 2015.
Chefs For Seniors is the largest personal chef service in the US!
CHEFS FOR SENIORS is one of the lowest-cost food franchises available! Whether your franchise startup budget is under $20,000 or over $40,000, the CHEFS FOR SENIORS system provides an amazing opportunity. No matter which of our three investment options you choose, you’ll always receive our exceptional service and support. You and our Home Office team will decide which tier is the best fit for your goals.
* Veterans receive a 10% discount on the Franchise Fee. ** Additional working capital comprises estimated startup expenses for the first 3 months in business including insurance, software, travel for training, marketing, etc. Working capital will vary for each franchise location. *** These figures are taken from Chefs For Seniors Franchising, LLC’s FDD Item 7 issued 3-17-2025. See our latest FDD for important assumptions and qualifiers relating to these figures.
WHY WOULD I BUY A FRANCHISE? COULDN’T I JUST START THIS BUSINESS MYSELF?
We provide a comprehensive support system that is the culmination of over a decade of trial and error learning what works, and equally as important, what doesn’t work for growing an in-home meal prep/personal chef business. This allows you to focus on growing your business from day one, as opposed to spending time working out the kinks of the business model (pricing, menus, marketing, etc.). In addition, a significant part of our system is our marketing support to help you get clients easily, which includes digital advertising services through Google and Facebook. The 20-minute franchise webinar provides an overview of the top-notch support offered.
ARE THERE SPECIAL QUALIFICATIONS FOR BECOMING A FRANCHISEE? DO I NEED TO BE A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL CHEF?
We are looking for individuals that have good business acumen, a strong work ethic, and a willingness to follow our proven system. In addition, we want you to have a passion for food, nutrition, and working with seniors! We believe this is an important factor in engaging with and understanding the needs of your clients. Of course, previous experience in the foodservice industry is helpful but not a requirement. With every aspect of our concept fully developed, we are confident in our ability to train Franchise Owners to successfully duplicate our system.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE BASIC, EXTENDED, AND REGIONAL FRANCHISES?
The only differences between the three options are the initial franchise fee, estimated upfront investment, and exclusive territory size. Territory sizes range from 50,000 to 150,000 people age 62+.
CAN I HIRE EMPLOYEES TO DO THE COOKING?
Yes! Especially for the larger Extended and Regional territories, hiring employees is a great way to expand your client base while providing an amazing job opportunity.
HOW MUCH MONEY CAN I EARN FROM A CHEFS FOR SENIORS FRANCHISE?
The success you have within our system will be affected by a variety of factors including your location, skill-set, and tier selected. For that reason, we do not make specific earnings claims concerning potential income. Instead, we provide information to you as permitted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that allows you to prepare financial projections based on your specific franchise.
CAN I COOK THE MEALS IN MY HOME?
Many health departments prohibit personal chefs from preparing food in their homes for delivery. These regulations exist to ensure food safety and public health.
To comply with the law, in most states personal chefs must prepare meals in the client’s home, where they can ensure food is fresh and tailored to specific needs, or they work from licensed commercial kitchens. This approach upholds health department standards while offering personalized service. Understanding these regulations helps protect both clients and chefs, ensuring safe and high-quality meals for everyone.
This website and the franchise sales information on this site do not constitute an offer to sell a franchise. The offer of a franchise can only be made through the delivery of a franchise disclosure document. Certain states require that we register the franchise disclosure document in those states. The communications on this web site are not directed by us to the residents of any of those states. Moreover, we will not offer or sell franchises in those states until we have registered the franchise (or obtained an applicable exemption from registration) and delivered the franchise disclosure document to the prospective franchisee in compliance with applicable law.