Weekly meal prep visits as a private chef

Give each meal prep client a fixed weekly slot, booked ahead from your calendar for the coming weeks, and agree the menu a few days before each visit. Let new clients start with a trial visit they book online, so you both see how the kitchen, the portions and the menus work before committing. A regular slot fills your week predictably; the menu routine and the grocery plan are what make each visit run smoothly.

Cooking a week's meals in someone else's kitchen needs a first test. A trial visit lets you discover the equipment, the storage and the family's tastes, and lets the client judge portions and dishes. On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service with its own start and end.

Lengths and prices are examples: set your own, and say whether the price includes groceries or not. Say in the trial description what you need: containers, labels, space in the fridge and freezer.

The public booking form asks for first name, last name, email and phone, plus an optional note. You get it in your new-booking email.

After the trial, agree a weekday and time, for example every Monday morning, so meals are ready for the week. Create that slot and repeat it on that weekday until an end date, then book the client into each week from your calendar. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; with the email, the client gets a confirmation and a calendar file for each visit. A booked slot with one place is full and doesn't show on your public page.

With several regular clients, you can cook for one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Leave travel time between them, and group clients by area.

Agree each week's menu a few days before the visit, by message or email, so you can shop in time. Decide who buys the groceries: you, with a separate invoice or receipts, or the client, from your list. Write your rule in the service description. Keep the weekly menus in your own records; the booking note is set when you create the booking and isn't the place for weekly menu changes.

Families go on holiday, have guests, or skip a week. They can't cancel online: they tell you, and you cancel that week's visit from your bookings list. The freed slot shows on your public page for a one-off client. When you're away, cancel or move your regulars' visits and tell them yourself: Book doesn't email clients about changes.

Book doesn't take payments, so explain how you're paid, for example monthly. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.