Mychef
MyChef (マイシェフ) is a Tokyo-based online marketplace founded in 2012 that connects individual consumers in the Greater Tokyo area with vetted freelance chefs who cook four-course meals on-site at customers' homes, priced at ¥5,000-7,000 per person all-inclusive.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Mychef does
MyChef (マイシェフ株式会社, MyChef Inc.) is a Tokyo-based online marketplace founded on April 23, 2012, by President Masahiro Shimizu (清水昌浩). The company operates as a self-service platform connecting individual consumers in the Greater Tokyo area with freelance professional chefs for at-home dining experiences. Customers browse chef profiles on mychef.jp by cuisine type, price (¥5,000-7,000 per person all-inclusive), and real-time availability, then book through the website using Facebook or Yahoo! ID authentication. The vetted chef pool includes professionals with Italy/France training, hotel restaurant backgrounds, cooking school instructor experience, and active restaurant chefs. Service covers four Kanto prefectures: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba.
The platform's core product delivers an end-to-end experience: the chef purchases ingredients, travels to the customer's home, cooks a four-course meal on-site, serves the guests, and performs full kitchen cleanup. MyChef Quick (launched October 2019, ¥4,000-5,000 per person) is a faster-format sub-product targeting family gatherings, parties, and apartment party spaces, with the chef arriving 30 minutes before service. The company also offers consumer and corporate gift certificates (マイシェフギフト券 / 法人向けギフト) and, since March 2018, has run a cross-category bundle with fotowa (pixiv Inc., TSE: 3416) combining shrine photography with at-home restaurant service for new-parent baby blessing ceremonies (お宮参り).
Revenue mechanics are entirely transactional: per-booking, pay-as-you-go, no subscription. Distribution is exclusively direct-to-consumer via the owned website with no third-party resellers or app listings. Customer acquisition relies on organic content marketing (MYCHEF LIFE blog, Facebook, Instagram), word-of-mouth referrals, and substantial earned media coverage from premier Japanese outlets (NHK, Nikkei, Sankei, Yomiuri, TV Asahi, TBS) between 2013-2014. No paid advertising is deployed. The company is privately held and bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding rounds, headcount of 1-10 employees, and headquarters at Ginza 1-3-3 G1 Building 7F, Chuo-ku, Tokyo.
Mychef firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Mychef
- Legal name
- マイシェフ株式会社 (MyChef Inc.)
- Website
- https://mychef.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- MyChef (マイシェフ) is a Tokyo-based online marketplace founded in 2012 that connects individual consumers in the Greater Tokyo area with vetted freelance chefs who cook four-course meals on-site at customers' homes, priced at ¥5,000-7,000 per person all-inclusive.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Mychef industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Personal Chef Services
- NAICS
- Caterers (722320)
- SIC
- Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Chef & In-Home Dining Services (HSACAGAE)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Private Culinary Experiences (Chef’s Table, Home Dining, Market-to-Meal) (THAJALAH)
Keywords
Where Mychef is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Mychef business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- At-home chef service bookings: Revenue is generated on a per-booking basis. Customers pay a per-person fee (ranging from 5,000 to 7,000 yen depending on the chef) which includes ingredient purchase proxy, cooking service, travel expenses, transportation costs, and consumption tax. The total booking value is per-person price multiplied by number of guests.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard at-home chef service — 1 person, 4-course meal |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels5 records
Mychef product offering
Product offeringCore offering
MyChef is an at-home personal chef service platform that connects individual customers with vetted freelance chefs who travel to the customer's home, purchase and bring ingredients, cook a 4-course meal on-site, serve the guests, and clean the kitchen afterward. Pricing is all-inclusive at 5,000-7,000 yen per person, covering ingredients, chef labor, travel, and tax. The service covers Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, and is positioned as an affordable alternative to catering and restaurant dining for family celebrations, social gatherings, and special occasions.
Product overview
MyChef operates as a personal chef service platform with two main products: the core MyChef service (5,000-7,000 yen per person) where chefs visit homes to cook 4-course meals, and MyChef Quick (4,000-5,000 yen per person) which provides faster service arriving 30 minutes before meal time. Both services include ingredient purchasing, on-site cooking, and cleanup. The company also offers gift certificates and partnered gift sets combining their cooking service with photography (fotowa partnership) for special occasions like baby blessings.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- マイシェフクイック (MyChef Quick): 家族親族の集まり・マンションパーティースペース向けの迅速な出張レストランサービス。スタッフが出張先キッチンで調理し、到着後30分で料理を提供。
- マイシェフギフト券
Products and services
- MyChef (マイシェフ) — Standard At-Home Chef Service Core at-home personal chef service where vetted professional chefs visit a customer's home, purchase and bring ingredients, cook a 4-course meal on-site, serve the guests, and clean the kitchen afterward. Pricing is 5,000-7,000 yen per person all-inclusive (ingredients, chef labor, travel, tax). Dessert not included. Targeted at families, couples, and social gatherings in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba.
- MyChef Quick (マイシェフクイック) Quicker-format at-home restaurant service where MyChef staff arrives at the customer's kitchen 30 minutes before meal time to prepare, then serves course dishes. Targeted at family/relative gatherings, mansion party spaces, and weekend/party bookings. Priced at 4,000-5,000 yen per person.
- MyChef Gift Certificates (マイシェフギフト券) Gift certificates for the MyChef at-home chef service. Available for individuals (birthdays, baby showers, wedding anniversaries, housewarmings, Mother's Day, family day off) and corporate gifts (法人向けギフト program for businesses purchasing for employees or clients).
- Omamori Gift Set (お宮参りギフトセット) Bundled gift set combining MyChef Quick's at-home restaurant service with fotowa's on-site shrine photography for the お宮参り (baby's first shrine visit) tradition. Designed to minimize outing time for one-month-old babies. Available in two plans: 4-person plan at 45,704 yen and 6-person plan at 55,704 yen.
Quantifiable outcome
- Service covers Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba prefectures
Companies that use Mychef
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Mychef technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Mychef partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- fotowa (ピクスタ株式会社)notableMyChef partnered with fotowa (operated by pixiv Inc., Tokyo Stock Exchange: 3416) to offer a combined '神社で出張撮影＆自宅で出張レストラン' (shrine photography + at-home restaurant) gift set targeting parents of newborns celebrating the お宮参り (baby's shrine visit) tradition. MyChef Quick provides the restaurant-quality meal component while fotowa provides on-site photography at the shrine. This partnership targets new parents who want to minimize travel time for their one-month-old baby while still having professional photos and a proper celebration meal. The set is sold as a bundled gift package at 45,704 yen (4-person) and 55,704 yen (6-person).
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Mychef competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Cookly: Marketplace for culinary experiences including in-home chef dinners and cooking classes. Comparable in offering chef experiences booked online with chef profile selection.
- EatWith: Global platform connecting hosts and travelers to local chefs for in-home dining experiences. Comparable marketplace structure with chef profiles, online booking, and per-person pricing.
- Cozymeal: US-based platform offering private chef experiences, cooking classes, and food tours. Highly comparable marketplace model focused on at-home chef bookings for special occasions and dinner parties.
- Take a Chef: Global online marketplace connecting customers with private chefs who cook in-home. Closest direct competitor in business model, target customer (occasion-driven hosts), and per-booking chef marketplace mechanics.
- Kitchensurfing: Former private chef marketplace (acquired by Grubhub in 2016) that pioneered the at-home chef booking model in the US. Historically the most direct structural competitor to MyChef's marketplace approach.
Broad incumbents
- Tabelog: Japan's dominant restaurant review and booking platform operated by Kakaku.com. Adjacent incumbent with overlapping Japanese food-discovery audience; potential future competitive threat if it expands into in-home dining.
- Cookpad: Japan's largest recipe and home-cooking platform with deep household reach. Adjacent incumbent that already owns the home-cooking audience MyChef targets when customers opt for DIY instead of outsourcing.
Others
- fotowa: Japan's leading on-location photography marketplace (pixiv subsidiary) and MyChef's existing bundling partner. Strategic ally today, but its large life-event audience makes it a potential adjacent competitor in curated home experiences.
Emerging players
- Cordon Chef: Private chef service with online chef selection and booking for at-home dining events. Comparable offering structure and customer use cases to MyChef's core product.
- Kitchin: Japanese at-home private chef service operating in the Tokyo market with a comparable in-home chef booking model. Direct niche competitor within the same geography.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Mychef social profiles
Digital presenceMychef financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Mychef leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Mychef funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Mychef M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Mychef
What does Mychef do?
MyChef is an at-home personal chef service platform that connects individual customers with vetted freelance chefs who travel to the customer's home, purchase and bring ingredients, cook a 4-course meal on-site, serve the guests, and clean the kitchen afterward. Pricing is all-inclusive at 5,000-7,000 yen per person, covering ingredients, chef labor, travel, and tax. The service covers Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, and is positioned as an affordable alternative to catering and restaurant dining for family celebrations, social gatherings, and special occasions.
Is Mychef a public or private company?
Mychef is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Mychef founded?
Mychef was founded in 2012. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Mychef based?
Mychef is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Mychef make money?
One revenue line is on record: at-home chef service bookings.
Who are Mychef's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Cookly, EatWith, Cozymeal, Take a Chef and Kitchensurfing. Broad incumbents are Tabelog and Cookpad. fotowa is listed as an others. Emerging players are Cordon Chef and Kitchin.
Does Mychef have an API?
No public API is recorded for Mychef.
What industry is Mychef in?
Mychef's product category is Personal Chef Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAGAE, Private Chef & In-Home Dining Services, with a secondary code of THAJALAH, Private Culinary Experiences (Chef’s Table, Home Dining, Market-to-Meal). Its NAICS code is 722320 and its SIC code is 5810.