What is a guest chef agreement?
A guest chef night is a great way to fill a quiet Tuesday or launch a chef's new concept, but there's a lot to agree: when the guest chef can get into the kitchen, who orders the produce, whose staff work the pass, and how the takings are split. Food safety and allergen information matter even more when someone new is cooking in your kitchen.
This template covers the format and dates, expected covers, the menu and prices with a sign-off date for final recipes and an ingredient list, and what the guest chef brings and what the restaurant provides. It sets out kitchen access, who leads the kitchen and who stays in charge of the premises, food safety under the restaurant's system with allergen information for every dish, who buys ingredients with an optional budget, and payment by a revenue share, a fixed fee or both, with a choice of how food revenue is defined. It also covers travel, joint promotion, the guest chef's ownership of their recipes, and cancellation.
- Best for
- Restaurants, bars and supper clubs hosting a visiting chef
- Signed by
- The restaurant and the guest chef
- Payment
- Revenue share, fixed fee, or both
- Length
- About 3 pages, initialled on every page
When to use a guest chef agreement
- A one-night pop-up dinner with a chef from another city
- A weekend series of tasting menus with a rising local chef
- A two-week summer residency in a restaurant's quiet season
- A charity collaboration dinner with a well-known guest chef
- A chef testing a new concept before opening their own place
What you fill in
23 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: restaurant, guest chef.
1 The parties
- Date of agreement*
- Restaurant (business name)*
- Restaurant address*
- Guest chef (name, and business if any)*
2 The event
- Event name*
- Format* a pop-up night · a series of pop-up nights · a short residency
- Dates and service times*
- Expected covers per service
- Menu and price*
- Final menu agreed by*
3 Kitchen and staff
- Kitchen access for prep*
- The guest chef brings
- The Restaurant provides*
4 Money
- Who buys the ingredients* the Restaurant, through its suppliers, from the guest chef's order list · the guest chef, reimbursed by the Restaurant against receipts · the guest chef, at their own cost
- Currency*
- Ingredient budget (optional)
- How the guest chef is paid* a share of food revenue · a fixed fee · a fixed fee plus a share of food revenue
- Guest chef's share of food revenue (%)
- Fixed fee (if any)
- Food revenue means* food sales after sales tax, discounts and card fees, and after ingredient costs · food sales after sales tax, discounts and card fees, before ingredient costs
- Payment within (days after the last event)*
- Travel and accommodation (optional)
- Governing law*
5 Who signs
- Restaurant signature and date, job title, initials on every page · The restaurant hosting the event.
- Guest chef signature and date, job title, initials on every page · The visiting chef, or the business they work through.
What the guest chef agreement covers
- Dates and format
- Menu
- Kitchen and staff
- Food safety and allergens
- Ingredients and costs
- Payment
- Promotion
- Cancellation
- General
Using the guest chef agreement, step by step
1 Set the event
Name the event, choose the format, enter the dates and seatings, expected covers, the menu and prices, and the date for final menu sign-off.
2 Plan the kitchen and staff
Edit the kitchen access times and equipment, list what the guest chef brings, and say which staff the restaurant provides.
3 Agree the money
Choose who buys ingredients and add a budget, then choose a revenue share, fixed fee or both, define food revenue and set the payment deadline.
4 Add travel and send
Note any travel and accommodation, add the governing law and send to the guest chef.
Tips before you send it
- Get recipes and allergen information early. The restaurant needs them to label dishes and brief front-of-house.
- Define food revenue precisely. Before or after ingredient costs makes a big difference to a revenue share.
- Walk the guest chef through the kitchen, the walk-in and the cleaning schedule before the first prep day.
- Agree the announcement wording together. Both names on the post sells more tickets.
Sign it online in minutes
- Fill in the blanks. Names, dates and amounts go straight into the agreement — the preview shows exactly where.
- Name who signs. Tick “This is me” for your own part. FileIt builds the PDF with every signature, date and initials box on the right line, and you can check or move anything before sending.
- Send it. Each signer gets a secure link and signs from any device — no account needed. The signed PDF, with an audit trail and a Certificate of Completion, is filed in your vault and emailed to everyone.
Guest chef agreement: frequently asked questions
Whose food safety rules apply?
The restaurant's. Food is prepared under its food safety management system and licence or registration. The guest chef's team must hold any hygiene training the law requires and follow the restaurant's procedures, and either side can stop a dish it reasonably believes is unsafe.
Who keeps the drinks sales and tips?
Drink sales and any service charge belong to the restaurant. Tips are handled under the restaurant's tipping policy and the law, including the guest chef's team who work the services where the law allows.
Can the restaurant keep a guest chef's dish on its menu?
Not without the guest chef's agreement. The recipes and dishes remain the guest chef's.
What happens if the event is cancelled?
If it's cancelled for reasons outside both sides' control, no fee is owed but the restaurant pays for ingredients already ordered and agreed travel already incurred. If one side cancels for another reason, it reimburses the other's reasonable non-refundable costs.
Is the guest chef an employee?
No. The agreement treats the guest chef as an independent contractor responsible for their own taxes and for paying and insuring their own team.