A chef employed by a restaurant is covered by that restaurant. A self employed chef cooking in private houses, at pop ups, in supper clubs or on agency shifts is a business, and each of those settings asks a different insurance question.
Food, and the claim that arrives the next day
Products liability answers when the food makes somebody ill or triggers an allergic reaction, and for a private chef the claim comes from a household or a party rather than a restaurant's customer. Allergen handling is the sharp end: cooking for a family whose child has an allergy, in a kitchen whose cross contamination you do not control, is the scenario to have an answer for. Registration with a local authority applies to many of these arrangements and insurers ask about it.
Somebody else's kitchen
Cooking in a client's home means working with equipment you did not choose, on surfaces you cannot verify, near people who wander in. Public liability answers for a fire, damage to a kitchen, or an injury to a guest caused by your activity. Insurers ask whether work happens at private addresses, because it moves the exposure from fixed premises to a moving one, and a policy written for a restaurant kitchen may not follow.
Pop ups, supper clubs and events
A pop up or supper club makes the chef the operator rather than the supplier: premises liability, temporary equipment, gas cylinders, temporary electrics and members of the public in a space set up for the night. Venues and event organisers require a certificate at a stated limit, and the activity should be declared as event catering rather than private cooking, because the two are rated differently.
Agency shifts, knives and your own income
Agency work is usually covered by the agency's arrangements for that placement, and a chef on several agencies' books should ask each one in writing what its cover includes. Knives, heat and wet floors make personal injury a real prospect, and no employer's policy answers for a self employed chef who cannot work; that is a personal accident or income protection question, bought separately from the business covers.
Questions people ask about chef insurance
Does a restaurant's insurance cover a self employed chef?
Only for work done for that restaurant as an employee. Private bookings, pop ups and supper clubs are your own business and need your own cover.
What covers food poisoning from a private dinner?
Products liability, which answers for harm caused by the food supplied. Allergen handling in a kitchen you do not control is the exposure to plan for.
Are agency shifts covered?
Usually by the agency's own arrangements for that placement, and they vary, so ask each agency in writing what its cover includes.