Hiring a cook in Islamabad is one of the most common requests we get, and one of the most common questions that comes with it is simple: what does it actually cost?
The honest answer is that it depends on what you need. A home cook who handles daily family meals is priced very differently from a professional chef who plans multi-course menus for guests. Here is a clear breakdown for 2026.
Home Cook: Starting at PKR 35,000/month
A home cook handles the normal, everyday cooking a household needs, daily Pakistani, continental and family meals, grocery planning and basic kitchen upkeep. This is not a professional chef role, and it should not be priced like one.
At this level you can expect:
- 8 to 10 hour working days, six days a week
- Daily Pakistani and continental menu rotation
- Basic dietary accommodation (low-salt, diabetic-friendly)
- Grocery list planning, not necessarily grocery shopping
Salaries in this category typically start around PKR 35,000 per month and rise with experience, working hours and whether the role is live-in or live-out.
Professional Chef: Starting at PKR 50,000/month
A chef is a genuinely different tier of skill from a home cook. If you entertain regularly, host dinner parties, or want restaurant-quality food at home, this is the category to look at, not a home cook stretched beyond their normal scope.
Chef-level pricing reflects:
- Formal training or verified professional kitchen experience
- Multi-course menu planning for events and entertaining
- Comfort with a wider range of continental and specialised cuisine
- Higher expectations around presentation and consistency
Chef salaries typically start around PKR 50,000 per month and scale up from there based on experience and the complexity of what you need cooked.
What Actually Changes the Price
A few factors consistently move the number up or down:
- Live-in vs live-out. Live-in arrangements sometimes come with a slightly lower cash salary since board and lodging are provided.
- Household size. Cooking for two people is a different job from cooking for a joint family of ten.
- Hours expected. A cook doing breakfast, lunch and dinner every day is a different commitment from someone covering one or two meals.
- Experience. Someone with over a decade of experience with a single family commands more than someone starting out.
Our Recommendation
If you are trying to decide between a cook and a chef, ask yourself one question: do you need daily family meals, or do you need to impress guests? If it is the former, a cook at PKR 35,000/month is the right fit. If it is the latter, budget for a chef starting at PKR 50,000/month.
Every candidate we place is CNIC-verified against NADRA records, has a police character certificate, and we call their previous employers directly before you ever meet them. Request a cook or chef today and we will match you with a verified candidate, usually within 24 to 48 hours.