Privacy & terms

Privacy notice

What we collect and why

• Chefs: the listing details you give us (name, location, bio, photos, links and anything else on the form) so we can publish your listing. Your private email is used only to send you update links, review notifications and job alerts (you can opt out of job alerts at any time). It is never shown on the site.
• Referees: chefs joining for the first time give us two references (name, email, and organisation and job date if they have them). The chef confirms their referees have agreed to this. We use these details only to email the referee a short reference request about the chef (with one reminder if needed) before approving the listing, and we keep their answers with the application. None of this is ever shown on the site.
• Reviewers: your review and the name you choose to show are published. Your email is kept private and used only if we need to check a review.
• Hosts messaging a chef: your name, contact details and message are emailed to that chef so they can reply to you directly. We keep a copy to prevent misuse and delete it after 12 months.
• Retreat hosts posting jobs: your job details and contact details are emailed to listed chefs who receive job alerts, so they can contact you. Jobs are not published on the site.
• New chefs paying the sign-up fee, and supporters: Stripe processes the payment and sends your receipt. We see your name, email and the amount, and use them only for our records and, for contributions, to send a thank-you.
• Visitors: we don't track you, run analytics or ask you to log in.

Our lawful basis

We publish listings and reviews, and handle job posts, because you asked us to and it is in our legitimate interest to run the directory. Job alerts are part of the listing service and are sent to listed chefs unless they opt out, either on the listing form or by contacting us.

Who else handles your data

We use a few trusted services to run the site: Tally (forms), Google (spreadsheet and email), Cloudflare (website hosting and email forwarding), Brevo (occasional emails to listed chefs), Stripe (sign-up fees and voluntary contributions) and wsrv.nl (an image service that removes hidden location data from uploaded photos before they're shown). Our forms use Google reCAPTCHA to block spam and bots; it checks that a real person is filling in the form and may set its own cookies, under Google's privacy policy. Some may process data outside the UK; where they do, they use safeguards approved under UK law. We never sell your data or share it for marketing.

How long we keep it

• Once a year we email each chef to check their listing is still current. Listings that aren't confirmed or updated within 30 days are hidden from the site, and we delete hidden listings within 12 months unless the chef comes back.
• Reviews stay with the chef's listing for as long as it is live. A reviewer's email address is kept with their review and deleted with it.
• Referees' details and their answers are deleted 3 months after the chef's listing is approved or declined, or 6 months after the application if no decision has been made.
• Job posts are deleted 6 months after they are posted.
• Messages sent to chefs through the site are deleted after 12 months.

Your rights

You can ask to see, correct or delete your data, or object to how we use it, using our contact form. If you're unhappy with how we've handled your data, you can complain to the ICO at ico.org.uk.

Terms of use

• Sign-up fee: chefs joining for the first time pay a one-off £65 sign-up fee when they submit their listing. It covers checking your references and processing your listing. After that, staying listed is free, with no renewal fees, and there is no fee for updates or for chefs returning to the directory. The fee is refunded in full if your listing isn't approved, or if you ask us to cancel before it goes live. Paying the fee doesn't guarantee approval, bookings or a featured spot. Once your listing is live, the fee has been used for the checks and setup it covers, so it isn't refundable, including if we later remove your listing because it breaches these terms or after serious or repeated complaints.
• New services: we may introduce optional paid services in future, such as adverts for venues. We'll give at least 30 days' notice before any new charge, and you'll never have to pay to keep your existing listing.
• Your listing. Chefs are responsible for making sure their listing is accurate, that they own or have permission to use their photos, and that they hold any insurance, food hygiene certificates and permissions their work needs.
• References: chefs joining for the first time must give two references. We reserve the right to contact referees before approving a listing, and to decline a listing if references can't be confirmed.
• We check submissions, but don't verify them. Listings and job posts are supplied by chefs and hosts and are subject to approval before publishing or sending. To verify details, please carry out your own due diligence by checking references, insurance and food hygiene certificates directly before booking.
• We're a directory, not an agency. Any booking is an agreement directly between the host and the chef. We aren't a party to it and don't take a commission.
• We reserve the right to remove any listing, review or job post at any time and at our discretion, including content that is inaccurate, out of date, misleading, offensive or unrelated to retreat catering. We may also edit content to fix formatting or remove personal details.
• Job posts must be for genuine work and must not discriminate on grounds such as age, sex, race, religion or disability.
• Liability: we take care to run the site well but can't guarantee it will always be available or error-free, and we aren't responsible for arrangements made between hosts and chefs. Nothing here limits liability that can't be limited by law.
• These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

Reviews policy

• Reviews must be from people who have genuinely worked with or eaten food cooked by the chef. Chefs may not review themselves, and reviews must not be paid for or given in exchange for a reward.
• We check new reviews before they appear, to keep out fake, abusive or off-topic ones. We publish all genuine reviews, positive or negative, newest first.
• Reviews from our previous site have been carried over as they were left.
• If you think a review isn't genuine, let us know via the contact form and we'll look into it, removing it while we check where appropriate.

Supporting the directory

• RetreatChef.co.uk is free for hosts, and chefs stay listed free after a one-off sign-up fee (see Terms of use). If you'd like to help cover its running costs, you can make a voluntary contribution of any amount through our "Support the directory" link.
• Contributions are entirely optional. They don't buy any extra visibility, and they never affect listings, reviews, review counts or the order chefs appear in.
• Featured chefs: one or two listed chefs are featured at the top of the directory each month, taking turns. Being featured is free and can't be paid for or requested in return for a contribution.
• RetreatChef.co.uk is run by Kirsten Huesch, trading as EatNourishGo. It is not a registered charity, so contributions aren't charitable donations and can't be claimed under Gift Aid.
• Payments are taken securely by Stripe; we never see or store your card details. If you pay by mistake, contact us within 14 days and we'll refund you.
• The "Founding member" badge marks chefs who were listed on the original site, before the directory moved to its new site in October 2026. It is a thank-you, not a paid feature or a quality rating, and doesn't affect order or reviews.

Cookies

This site doesn't set cookies or use tracking. Our fonts are loaded from Google Fonts, and chefs' photos from Google Drive and wsrv.nl, which means your browser connects to those services to fetch them. They don't receive anything from us about you. Our forms (run by Tally) use Google reCAPTCHA to block spam, which may set cookies needed for that check.

Contact

For questions, updates or removal requests, please use our contact form. We aim to reply within a few working days.