Terms of Service

These terms govern your use of Book Your Chef, a directory that helps people find and book independent private chefs in and around Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The site is operated by [business legal name]("we", "us"). By using the site, sending a request, making a booking, or listing as a chef, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy.

1. What we do, and what we don't

We run a directory and booking platform. The chefs listed here are independent businesses. They are not our employees, agents, or partners. We do not prepare, cook, serve, or deliver food, and we do not control how a chef performs their services. When you book a chef, the agreement for the chef's services is between you and the chef.

We review chef profiles before publishing them, but profile details are provided by the chefs. We do not independently verify every detail, such as licenses, permits, insurance, or certifications, and we do not guarantee any chef's availability, quality, or results.

2. Who can use the site

You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract. Please give accurate information, including your contact details and the details of your event.

3. Booking a chef

• A request is not a booking. Sending a request is free, and nothing is charged. The chef may accept with a price or decline.
• Prices.The chef sets the price for your event. Before you pay, you will see the chef's price, a service fee of 4%of the chef's price, and the total. Prices are in US dollars.
• Deposit and confirmation. To book, you pay a deposit of at least 50% of the total (a chef may require more, shown before you pay). Your booking is confirmed only when the deposit payment is complete; until then the date is not held. If another guest books the same chef and date first, your offer expires and you are not charged. If a payment is ever completed for a date that was already booked, we refund it in full automatically.
• Talking with a chef before you book.Use the messages on your booking page. Contact details, such as email addresses, phone numbers, links, and social handles, are hidden in messages until the booking is paid, and then both sides receive each other's contact details automatically.
• Balance. The rest of the total is charged automatically to the card you paid the deposit with, 7 days before your event. You can pay it sooner from your booking page. If you book within 7 days of the event, you pay the full total at booking. If the automatic charge fails, we will ask you to pay it by link, and your booking may be cancelled if the balance is not paid before the event.
• Deposits if you cancel. Your deposit is non-refundable, because it holds the chef's date and covers work and purchases made for your event. Any balance you have paid is refunded under the cancellation policy below.
• Client delays. Significant delays on the client's side are billed at $150 for every 30 minutes. The chef reports a delay after the event; we review it before any charge, and we charge the card you paid with. If that charge fails, you pay it from your booking page.
• What the price covers. Menus, arrival times, kitchen access, groceries, staffing, travel, and gratuity are arranged directly with the chef. Please confirm with the chef what their price includes.
• Allergies and dietary needs. Tell the chef about allergies and dietary needs directly and in detail. We pass along what you enter in the booking form, but we do not verify that a chef can safely accommodate any allergy or condition. The chef is responsible for how food is prepared.
• Your responsibilities. Provide safe access to a working kitchen and any permission needed to host the event at the property, including any rental or HOA rules.

4. Cancellations and refunds

[Cancellation policy not decided. It needs to cover: guest cancellations and any deadlines or non-refundable portion; what happens if a chef cancels; weather, illness, and emergencies; whether the service fee is refunded; and how to request a refund.]

5. Payments

Payments are processed by Stripe. Your card details go directly to Stripe and are never stored by us. By paying the deposit, you authorize the deposit charge, the automatic balance charge, and any client-delay fee described above, to the same card. If you think a charge is wrong, please contact us at [contact email] before disputing it with your card issuer, so we can try to fix it quickly.

6. Terms for chefs

• Agreement. Chefs accept these terms in their dashboard before taking paid bookings, and again when they change in a way that affects chefs.
• Listings. Chefs join by invitation or by applying on the site. Every listing is reviewed and approved before it goes live, and we may decline, hide, or remove any listing at our discretion.
• Independent business. You are responsible for your own licenses, permits, insurance, food safety, staff, taxes, and compliance with the laws that apply to your services.
• Accurate profile and availability. Keep your profile, pricing, and calendar up to date. Guests can request only dates that are open on your calendar, so block dates you cannot work, either by hand or through a connected calendar.
• Accepted bookings. When you accept a request and the guest pays, you agree to provide the service on that date at the agreed price.
• Commission. A booking commission of 4% of your price is deducted automatically from each paid booking. You receive your price minus the commission. The guest service fee is separate and is paid by the guest. We pay the card processing fees.
• Payouts through Stripe.To accept paid bookings you must complete Stripe's onboarding. Payment processing services for chefs are provided by Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service. You agree to give Stripe accurate information. Payout timing is set by Stripe.
• Refunds and disputes.If a paid booking is refunded under our cancellation policy, or a guest's payment is reversed through a card dispute, the matching part of your payout may be reversed or recovered from your Stripe balance.
• Your content. You keep ownership of your profile text and photos. You give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display them on the site and to use them to promote the directory. You confirm you have the right to share every photo you upload.

7. Keeping bookings on the site

The directory is free to browse and request because it earns its fees on bookings made here. So, for [12 months, recommended, not confirmed] after a guest and chef are introduced through the site (by a request, a quote, a message, or a booking), both agree to arrange and pay for every booking with each other through the site.

• Before a booking is paid, do not share contact details, ask for them, or suggest paying or meeting outside the site.
• Do not offer or accept a discount, cash, or any other payment method to avoid the site's fees.
• A chef who takes a booking outside the site with a guest they were introduced to here owes us [the booking commission and guest service fee that would have applied had the booking been made through the site, recommended, not confirmed], and we may remove the chef's listing.
• This does not apply to guests a chef can show they had already worked with before the introduction.

Messages are checked automatically for contact details and outside payment requests, and we may review flagged messages to enforce this section.

8. Reviews

• Only a guest who booked and paid through the site can review that chef, once per booking, after the event date. Reviews show the guest's first name and last initial.
• Reviews must be honest and about your own experience. Contact details in reviews are hidden.
• We do not remove reviews for being negative. We remove a review only for a stated reason: it contains personal or contact information; it is abusive, hateful, or harassing; it is not about this chef or booking; it was written by the chef or someone connected to them; or the reviewer asks us to.
• Chefs may post one public response to each review.
• Chefs must not write reviews of themselves, or offer guests anything in exchange for a review or for a positive one.
• If a chef connects a Google Business Profile, we show a selection of that chef's Google reviews as provided by Google. Those reviews are not written on or checked by this site.

9. Acceptable use

Do not submit false or misleading information, impersonate anyone, harass chefs or guests, copy or scrape the site in bulk, interfere with how the site works, or use another person's booking link or account.

10. Our content

The site's design, text, and features, other than content provided by chefs, belong to us. You may not copy or reuse them without our permission.

11. Disclaimers

The site is provided "as is" and "as available." To the fullest extent the law allows, we make no warranties of any kind about the site or about any chef's services, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or for any loss arising from a chef's services, food, or conduct. Our total liability for any claim relating to the site is limited to the greater of the fees we received from you for the booking in question or $100.

13. Indemnity

You agree to cover any claims, losses, and costs, including reasonable legal fees, that arise from your breach of these terms or, if you are a chef, from the services you provide.

14. Disagreements between guests and chefs

If something goes wrong with a booking, message the chef first. You can also reach us from the help form on your booking page, our Contact page, or [contact email], and we will try to help, but we are not obligated to resolve disputes between guests and chefs.

15. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of [Wyoming, to be confirmed]. Any legal action about these terms or the site will be brought in the state or federal courts located in [Teton County, Wyoming, to be confirmed].

16. Changes and termination

We may update these terms by posting a new version here with a new effective date. Using the site after that means you accept the updated terms. We may suspend or end access to the site for anyone who breaks these terms.

17. Contact

[business legal name]
[mailing address]
[contact email]