Before moving to New York City in 2013, Cynthia Diaz had no professional cooking experience on her resume. At home in the Dominican Republic, she cooked for her family, but was new to the restaurant industry.
In New York, that quickly changed. Over the years, Diaz has held a variety of roles at restaurants, from server and bartender to maître d’ and host.
“I wanted to learn more about all the roles in the industry,” she tells CNBC Make It.
Now, the 33-year-old has two more roles under her belt. She is currently a private chef and culinary educator.
Our resident chef, Cintia Diaz, lives in New York City and offers meal preparation and private dinner service.
Valentina Duarte | CNBC Make It
Her total income in 2025 was approximately $66,220.
“My business is in a very good place at the moment and I’m happy with the direction it’s going,” she says.
From fine dining to home kitchens
After working in a series of restaurants during his first few years in New York, Diaz pivoted to fine dining around 2017 before pursuing a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management.
At the time, her goal was to one day find a leadership position running a restaurant. However, after working in the restaurant industry for several years, she wanted a healthier work-life balance and felt that being a private chef could provide that. To qualify, she went back to school to earn an associate’s degree in culinary arts and received on-the-job training in the kitchen.
“Being a chef allows you to explore what a balanced diet is, how to eat healthier, and how to share that knowledge with others,” Diaz says. “I’m always very interested in how the body responds to different diets and how we nourish the body. Food is medicine.”
Cynthia Diaz quit the restaurant industry to become a private chef, which she says has given her a better work-life balance.
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Diaz started working as a private chef in 2021. She offers private dinners as well as meal preparation services. Now, on average, she prepares meals for four to five people a week and hosts two to three private dinners a month, she says. She gets her clients from referral and booking platforms like Solette and Take a Chef.
In addition to being a private chef, Diaz teaches cooking classes to children at local schools through a culinary education organization. Both of her parents are teachers, so she says it comes naturally to her.
“I love working with kids and I love teaching,” she says. “I grew up in that environment and I really enjoy it.”
In addition to being a private chef, Cynthia Diaz also teaches cooking classes for children.
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“I really enjoy the freedom.”
For clients who meal prep, Diaz typically cooks four to five days worth of meals at a time. She works with each client to create a menu and determine the number and meals of the day’s meals.
“My focus is based on what the client needs, their requirements, preferences, culture and lifestyle,” she says. “Each client has different preferences and needs for their family.”
Diaz orders groceries online before visiting a customer’s home or goes to the supermarket before cooking. After preparing, labeling, and storing meals, she cleans the kitchen and communicates between services.
Cynthia Diaz either goes grocery shopping before service at a client’s home or orders grocery delivery before a visit.
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One of the benefits of being a private chef, Diaz says, is that “you have more direct communication with the person who’s cooking your food.” The other thing is flexibility. While working at a restaurant, she held two to three jobs while attending college. At the time, she estimates that between school and work, it took her 50 to 60 hours a week. Now, Diaz says she works 20 to 25 hours a week.
“I really enjoy the freedom of being able to create my own lifestyle and schedule and being creative at work,” she says. “Sometimes I think I’ll try to have an easier schedule for a few weeks or months. Other times I’ll try to work a little bit more.”
However, there can be a “lack of consistency” with being a private chef.
“Some weeks you might get a full week, and the next week you might be a little slower,” Diaz said.
“I earn the same income as working at a restaurant.”
Diaz’s meal prep prices range from $250 to $450 per service, excluding groceries, depending on the amount of food and number of people she prepares, and the labor of the menu. For private dinners, she charges $110 to $300. Diaz earns between $90 and $275 per cooking class.
Because she primarily uses customers’ kitchen supplies, her main business expenses are a $56 monthly phone bill and a $34 weekly public transportation card.
“I think the money I make as a private chef would allow me to live comfortably in New York City,” she says.
Cynthia Diaz said she earns “the same income” as working in a restaurant, working far fewer hours, about 20 to 25 hours a week.
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Diaz lives with her boyfriend and says she can make more money by splitting living expenses.
“I don’t think working as a restaurant chef is in my plans,” she says. “You have a flexible schedule and the freedom to work as much or as little as you want, with the same income as working in a restaurant.”
Diaz still cooks and prepares meals for her boyfriend and herself on weekends in her home kitchen, usually cooking Dominican dishes. Cooking for work hasn’t diminished her love of cooking.
“It’s like my little science project, where I can tweak something or create something, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll try again until it does,” she says. “It’s so beautiful to create something with your own hands, and you can really enjoy the result.”
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