Personal Chef in Durham, NC

Durham works long hours. Duke, the hospitals, the labs and startups downtown, Research Triangle Park down the road. A lot of the people who live here cook for everyone else all day, in one way or another, and have nothing left for their own kitchen.

Our chefs come to homes across Durham, from downtown and Trinity Park to Hope Valley and Southpoint, shop, cook a week of meals to your plan, label everything and clean up.

The Travelling Cafe is a collective of personal and private chefs based in Chapel Hill and cooking across the Triangle and beyond.

Life in Durham

Durham is the Bull City. It grew up on tobacco and became the City of Medicine, home to Duke and its hospital, with the Durham Bulls playing downtown and a food scene much bigger than the city’s size.

We know the American Tobacco Campus well, because we have taught cooking classes there. A lot of Durham households work long hours in health care and research, and a chef in your kitchen means dinner is handled when the shift ends.

What we cook in Durham

Durham is also where a lot of our public cooking classes happen, at The Kitchen Specialist on University Drive. If you have met us at a class, weekly meal prep and dinner parties at home are the next step.

Weekly meal prep. When work at Duke or downtown runs late, a chef comes to your kitchen once a week, shops, cooks a week of meals to your plan, labels everything and cleans up. One all-in price. Groceries are included.

Dinner parties. Durham eats well, and your table can too. We plan the menu with you, then cook, serve and clean up in your home.

Private cooking classes. Hands-on lessons in your own kitchen, from a weeknight skill to a cuisine from our travels.

Special diets. We cook to the plan your clinician or dietitian set, for GLP-1, AIP, low-FODMAP, diabetic, paleo, keto, athletes and more. Every dietary need, same price. See all the special diets we cook.

Meet some of our chefs

Chefs Kim and Maggie are based right here in Durham. Leslie, who founded the collective in Chapel Hill, and Chef Crene from Raleigh cook here too. Every chef in the collective cooks all over the Triangle and beyond, so the chefs on this page are a few of the many who can cook for you. We match you with the one who fits your household.

Chef Kim Calaway
Based in Durham

Nine years spent in Germany sparked Kim’s culinary curiosity as she traveled throughout Europe.

Chef Maggie Radzwiller
Based in Durham

One of Maggie’s restaurants in Durham was voted one of the best new restaurants in America.

Leslie Chartier
Founder, based in Chapel Hill

Leslie founded The Travelling Cafe. Her gift is translating global cuisines into limiting diets, so anyone with food allergies or health conditions can still enjoy the food of the world.

Chef Crene Manishimwe
Based in Raleigh

Born in Tanzania to Burundian parents, Crene’s passion for food began in a small kitchen alongside both parents.

How it works

1. Tell us how you eat. Fill out our food questionnaire: your plan, any restrictions, and what you love.
2. Meet your chef. We match you with a chef from the collective.
3. Open the fridge. Your chef shops, cooks in your kitchen, labels everything and cleans up.

Start with the food questionnaire

Frequently asked questions

Do you cook in Durham?

Yes. Durham is part of our regular service area.

Where are your public cooking classes in Durham?

At The Kitchen Specialist, 3407 University Drive. Dates are on our public cooking classes page.

Can you cook to a doctor’s or dietitian’s plan?

Yes. We cook the plan their care team set. We don’t give medical advice.

How much does it cost?

Weekly meal prep is one all-in price with groceries included, and every dietary need is the same price. Fill out our food questionnaire and we will send the plan that fits your household.

We also cook in Raleigh, Apex, Wake Forest, Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina, Pittsboro, Cary, plus Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough.

Questions? Get in touch.

With you at the table.