Terms of service

These terms are an agreement between you (the person making the booking) and Chef Jean-Baptiste Simonne, a private chef serving Orlando, Florida and the surrounding area ("we", "us", "the chef"). By submitting a booking enquiry, paying a deposit or booking fee, or confirming a reservation, you accept these terms.

You must be 18 or older to book. If you are booking for a group, you make this agreement on behalf of everyone attending and confirm you have their agreement.

A booking starts with an enquiry through our booking form or a booking-fee payment. Your date is not held until you receive a written confirmation from the chef and the required deposit has been paid. Once both are in place, your reservation is confirmed and the date is closed to other clients.

We ask for at least 48 hours' notice for a standard dinner so the market run can be planned properly. Larger events, multi-course menus and weekly meal-prep plans usually need more notice — tell us your date early and we will tell you straight away whether it is available.

A deposit of $100 may be required to secure your booking, and a separate $100 booking fee can be paid on its own to reserve a date while the details are still being settled. Both are charged through Stripe over an encrypted connection, and we tell you the exact amount before you pay.

A deposit paid against a confirmed dinner is deducted from your final invoice. A booking fee paid on its own is a fee for holding the date and planning your menu. Because ingredients are purchased and other bookings are turned down for your date, these amounts may be retained if a booking is cancelled — see "Changes and cancellations" below.

Prices for each experience are shown on the website and confirmed in your booking message before you pay. A travel fee may apply based on distance from the chef's base in the Orlando area; where it applies, it is quoted to you in advance so there is no surprise at the end of the evening.

Menu changes, extra guests, premium ingredients (for example lobster, caviar or a vintage wine pairing) and service beyond what was agreed can change the final total. Anything that would change the price is discussed and agreed with you before the event, never after.

The balance is due on the agreed date — normally on the day of the event — unless your confirmation says otherwise. All payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number.

Every menu is built with you. Tell us about dietary requirements, allergies and foods you would rather avoid when you book, and the menu is adapted around them. Please tell us about anything serious as soon as you book rather than on the day.

We take allergies seriously and keep separate utensils, boards and prep areas, but the kitchen used for your event may not be a dedicated allergen-free environment and cross-contact cannot always be ruled out. For a life-threatening allergy, tell us clearly: we will explain exactly what we can and cannot guarantee, and you decide whether to go ahead.

Alcohol is served only to guests of legal drinking age in Florida (21+). The chef may decline to serve alcohol to a guest who is visibly intoxicated.

Food is prepared in line with standard U.S. food-safety practice: ingredients kept chilled, hot food served hot, cold food served cold, and nothing held at unsafe temperatures. Seafood and meat may be served rare or medium when that is how the dish is intended to be cooked, which carries a small inherent risk that you accept by ordering it.

Ingredients are sourced from local Orlando-area producers and trusted suppliers whenever possible. If a specific item is unavailable on the day, the chef will substitute something of equal or better quality that fits your menu and your dietary needs.

For the evening to run smoothly, we ask for:

• A kitchen you are happy for us to cook in, with a working oven, refrigerator and enough counter space for the menu agreed
• Access at the agreed set-up time, and a way in if you are not home when we arrive
• Someone reachable by phone on the day in case of traffic or weather delays
• Tables and chairs laid out for the number of guests confirmed, plus plates, glasses and cutlery unless your package includes them
• A clean, safe working area; the chef is not responsible for equipment that is broken or unsafe to use

If the kitchen or access makes the service impossible on the day, we will tell you honestly and look for the fairest solution — a shortened menu, a reschedule, or a partial refund of what has not been spent on ingredients.

Life happens. If your date or plans change, tell us as early as you can — the earlier you ask, the more we can usually do. Where the date can be moved and the chef is free, we will reschedule at no charge.

Because your deposit pays for market shopping, planning and a date taken from other clients, cancellations close to the event may mean the deposit or booking fee is retained, and any ingredients already bought for you are not recoverable. We always explain in writing, before you pay, what applies to your booking, and we never charge anything you were not told about.

If the chef has to cancel your event — illness, emergency or circumstances beyond our control — you get a full refund of everything paid, and we will do our best to offer another date or recommend a colleague.

The chef and any assisting staff work in your home, so mutual respect matters. We ask for a safe environment to work in, guests who behave courteously toward staff, and supervision of children around hot surfaces, knives and open flames.

For your own safety and ours, please do not let guests handle knives, open flames or hot dishes without help, and tell us about anything in the kitchen we should know about (a gas hob we have not used before, a smoke alarm position, pets that need to be kept out of the way).

If behaviour toward the chef or staff becomes threatening or unsafe, the service may be stopped early with no refund.

You are welcome to photograph and film your dinner and to share it. We ask only that you credit the chef when you post, and that you do not publish photos of the chef's staff without asking first.

The chef may photograph finished dishes for the portfolio, the website and social channels. If you would rather your home or your event was not photographed at all, say so when you book and nothing will be published. We never publish your address, your contact details or the names of your guests.

A dinner booked through a third party (a hotel, a vacation-rental host, an event planner or a corporate account) is subject to that party's own terms for payment and cancellation, in addition to these terms for the service itself. The chef is not responsible for money paid to a third party.

We take reasonable care in everything we do. If something goes wrong because of our negligence, our responsibility for your booking is limited to the amount you paid for it, or a reschedule where one is possible. We are not liable for indirect losses such as a missed occasion, and we do not accept liability for illness arising from an allergen you did not tell us about.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under Florida law.

The information you give us when you book is handled as described in our privacy policy. In short: your details are used only to run your event, payment data stays with Stripe, and we never sell your information.

If we update these terms, the new version applies to bookings made from the "Last updated" date above. Bookings already confirmed keep the terms that applied when you paid, so nothing changes underneath you.

Questions about these terms, a booking or a payment:
Email: book@frenchchefbj.com
Phone: (321) 527 0696

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida. If a court finds one clause unenforceable, the rest of the agreement stays in place.