A busy life and eating well. Too often, the two don’t find time to meet. When a typical dinner consists of a slice of day old pizza and a glass of wine, and when you realize you can’t remember when you last turned on that eight burner, double oven Viking stove, perhaps it’s time to consider professional help.

Enter the world of private and personal chefs, where meal planning, grocery shopping, and slicing and sautéing is off your plate and firmly in the hands of someone trained in the art of getting good food on the table. As enrollment at culinary schools jumps and interest in eating well rises, a strong industry has emerged for chefs serving the home market. Here’s how to find the right chef for your kitchen.

Personal chef vs. private chef

There is a significant difference between a personal chef and a private chef. A private chef is employed by a single family to cook most meals for the household, cater parties, and do all the grocery shopping. Like a nanny, or a driver, a private chef is a member of the household staff and often receives benefits and vacation pay, along with a yearly salary. A private chef typically travels with the family on vacations and could hold additional responsibilities such as managing the wine cellar.

A personal chef comes to a family’s home typically one a day per week to prepare and store several meals that can be warmed up any time. As a service provider, rather than a household employee, a personal chef also does the grocery shopping for that week’s worth of meals. Personal chefs usually run their own business and cook for many different families. There is typically a weekly charge for the service, and additional cooking requirements, such as party catering, are separate costs. Of course there are hybrids of personal and private chefs, as well. For instance a personal chef may come to a home two or three days a week to prepare meals, or a private chef may split their duties among a few families.

What’s on the menu? Food for your dog and baby, too

The world is your oyster, or your clam if you prefer, because when it comes to food cooked by a private chef, you can have whatever you want. One Silicon Valley exec eats a traditional Japanese breakfast every morning, according to his former private chef. Another private chef in Chicago cooks lunch and dinner five days a week for a couple with strict dietary needs. With the husband on a protein and fat-heavy Atkins diet and the wife on a limited 1,600-calorie meal plan, this private chef says, “I’ve become adept at calculating the calories of a plate of food.” Oh, and in addition to calorie counting, he’s made baby food and meals for the dog, and four times a year, cooks an eight-course fundraiser dinner for 18 people at the couple’s home.