Book a cook for your weekly meal prep.
Meal Prep Direct connects busy households with vetted cooks and chefs who come to your home, prep meals for the week, and leave you with food that is ready when you are.
Groceries and labor are billed separately. You approve the menu and the grocery budget before your chef shops.
A standing weekly prep block, in your kitchen.
Tell us your week
Household size, preferences, kitchen, and the day you want a chef in your home. Allergen disclosure is required before booking.
Approve menu and grocery estimate
Your chef proposes a menu and a grocery estimate. You approve both before anything is bought or cooked.
Chef preps in your kitchen
Your chef shops, cooks a week of meals in your home, portions everything into your containers, and cleans the kitchen.
Eat all week
Meals are labeled and ready. Adjust next week's menu, change cadence, or pause anytime.
A weekly reset for the people who feed everyone else.
Designed for households where someone is otherwise stuck cooking five nights a week — working parents, caregivers, dual-shift homes, post-partum families, and anyone who'd rather spend the evening at the table than at the stove.
- You skip three to five weeknight cooking decisions.
- No subscription boxes, no per-meal markup, no driver handoff.
- You keep leftovers, portion sizes, and ingredients you actually like.
- You pay for the chef's time and for groceries — nothing hidden in between.
- You set your hourly rate.
- You set your minimum booked hours per session.
- You provide the grocery estimate; the client funds it separately.
- Recurring weekly clients, not one-off gigs.
- Identity verification, payouts, and 1099s handled by Hearth Dispatch.
Most clients land in one of three weekly shapes.
Examples only. Your chef will scope hours, portions, and grocery estimate to your household before you confirm.
3 hour minimum
Roughly 8–12 portions. One protein, two sides, a sauce.
4–5 hours
Roughly 15–20 portions. Two proteins, two to three sides, breakfast option.
6+ hours
20+ portions for larger families. Multiple proteins, snacks, kid-friendly options.
Two line items. Your chef's time, and the groceries.
Grocery deposit
Your chef sends a grocery estimate based on your approved menu. You fund the estimate as a grocery deposit before shopping day. Receipts are reconciled after the prep — anything unused is credited back, and overages within an agreed buffer are itemized.
Labor / hourly rate
Groceries and labor are separate. Chefs set their own hourly rate based on experience, market, and travel. You're billed for actual time worked in your home, plus any agreed shopping and travel time. No per-meal markup.
Chef minimum hours
Each chef sets a minimum number of booked hours per session so the trip is worth their time. You'll see the minimum before you book. Most weekly preps run between 3 and 6 hours.
Tips and bonuses
Optional. Tipping is never expected and never gated. If you want to recognize a great session, you can add a tip or bonus in your account after the prep.
A short check before your first session.
We share a full kitchen readiness checklist with you before your first prep so your chef can walk in and start cooking. Here's the short version:
- ✓A working stove and oven
- ✓At least 4 feet of clear counter space
- ✓Sharp knife and basic cookware (we'll confirm with your chef)
- ✓Containers for storing portions, or order a starter set
- ✓A clear fridge shelf for finished meals on prep day
Built on shared infrastructure from Hearth Dispatch.
Vetted chefs
Identity verification, background check, and a cooking interview before any chef can take bookings.
Allergen disclosure
You disclose household allergens and dietary restrictions before booking. Your chef sees them on every menu they propose.
Payments via Hearth Dispatch
All payments, grocery deposits, and payouts run through Hearth Dispatch. Charges appear on your statement as HEARTH*MEALPREP.
Support that answers
Issue with a session, a charge, or a chef? Hearth Dispatch support is the same team for every booking.