How to Hire a Cook at Home in Delhi NCR: A Practical Guide

Finding a good cook in Delhi, Noida or Gurugram usually starts with asking around: the society WhatsApp group, a neighbour's cook who "knows someone", the security guard at the gate. Sometimes that works. Often it means a week of no-shows, a cook who leaves just before Diwali, or someone you know nothing about standing in your kitchen.

This guide walks through the two ways to hire a cook at home, what to check before anyone starts, what it costs, and how to make the first few visits go well.

First decide: a monthly cook or a cook per visit?

Most homes in Delhi NCR use one of two setups.

A regular monthly cook

The same person comes every day at a fixed time and you pay a fixed monthly amount. It suits you if you need two or three meals every day, your routine rarely changes and you've found someone you trust. The catch is what happens when they take leave, change jobs or simply stop coming: you're back to asking around.

A cook booked by the visit

You book a cook for a time slot when you need one and pay only for that visit. It suits you if you need help on some days rather than all of them, your regular cook is on leave, you've just moved to the city, or guests are coming and you need a bigger meal than usual. This is how BMC Daily works.

Plenty of families use both: a monthly cook for the routine, and a booked cook for leave days and weekends with guests. If you're weighing up the cost, our guide to home cook costs in Delhi NCR works through the numbers.

What to check before a cook enters your kitchen

A cook works inside your home, often while you're at work or with elderly parents and children around. Whichever way you hire, these are the checks that matter.

• Identity. A real name, a phone number that works and a government ID you've actually seen. "Bhaiya from the next building" isn't enough.
• Who's accountable. If something goes wrong, who do you call? With a cook found informally, the answer is usually nobody.
• What they cook. North Indian, South Indian, Jain, satvik, non-veg, less oil: ask before the first visit, not after the first meal.
• Reliability. Will they turn up on time, and what happens if they don't?
• Hygiene. Clean hands, clean slab, no cutting corners with your groceries.

How Book My Cook handles these checks

• Every cook completes identity and document verification and is approved by our team before they can take a booking.
• When the cook starts and finishes your job, they take a live selfie and a photo of the kitchen in the app, which our team compares with their registration photo. So the person who cooks is the person who was verified.
• You see the cook's name before they arrive and can follow them on the way. The cook can only mark "reached" when they're actually near your address.
• You can call or chat with your cook inside the app, and neither of you sees the other's phone number.
• Every booking ends with your rating, which stays on the cook's profile.

What it costs

A monthly cook's pay depends on your area, the number of meals and people, and whether other housework is included, so it varies a lot across Delhi NCR. BMC Daily is priced by time instead, with each plan sized for a number of people and dishes. Plans start at ₹449 for 1 hour (1–2 people, 1–2 dishes) and go up to 6 hours for larger families and small gatherings. The price you see when booking is the price you pay, including taxes. See the current plans on the BMC Daily page.

The cook uses your groceries, utensils and gas, so you control the quality of atta, oil and masalas. Add your usual grocery spend when you compare options.

How to book a cook with BMC Daily

1. Pick your plan. Choose by the dishes you want, not only the number of people. Dal, two sabzis and rotis for two takes longer than one dish for four.
2. Pick a time. Schedule at least 3 hours ahead, or choose Now and a nearby cook usually reaches in about 10 minutes (a small extra fee applies; if nobody can come within 20 minutes, you get a full refund).
3. Add notes. Tell the cook what you'd like: dishes, spice level, allergies, no onion or garlic, softer rotis for a parent.
4. Pay and relax. A verified cook is assigned and you get their name and arrival time. If we can't assign one, the full amount is refunded automatically.

Cooks are available in Delhi, Noida and Gurugram.

Making the first visit go well

• Keep groceries and utensils out before the cook arrives, so their time goes into cooking, not searching for the jeera tin.
• Show them your kitchen: the gas, the pressure cooker you prefer, where the tawa lives.
• Be specific about taste. "Less oil, medium spicy, rotis without ghee" gets you closer to home food on day one.
• Need longer? You can add 30 more minutes from your booking while the cook is still there.
• Rate the visit. It helps the next family, and it helps good cooks get more work.

If plans change

You can cancel free of charge until a cook is assigned. After that, a part of the amount is charged, depending on how close it is to the cooking time. The cancellation policy has the details. If your cook cancels on their side, we look for another cook, and if none is found you're refunded in full.

The short version

Decide whether you need a cook every day or only some days, check identity and accountability before anyone enters your kitchen, and be clear about what your family likes to eat. If you'd rather skip the asking-around, book a verified cook for your next meal and see how it goes.