The Pampered Chef is an mlm company that is headquartered in Addison, IL. Its goal is to preserve the tradition of shared family meals for even the busiest families through time-saving tips, tools and recipes. In addition, the company strives to provide a great opportunity for consultants to earn money for their families while using their unique talents and enjoying greater freedom and flexibility.



The company was founded in 1980 by Doris Christopher, an educator, a home economist and a mother. She saw the need for regular cooks in everyday kitchens to have professional-quality tools. Putting to use her expertise in the kitchen and her aptitude for teaching, she began distributing kitchen tools and tips through the mlm sales model.

The Pampered Chef has grown from Doris Christopher's basement to include 60,000 independent sales representatives worldwide. The company has grossed over $700 million in sales and has served 12 million customers.

The Pampered Chef is a proud member of the DSA (Direct Selling Association). DSA membership is a promise to uphold the highest standards of business practices and to be honest and forthright in all dealings with consumers and consultants. The Pampered Chef is also accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

The Pampered Chef has a long standing tradition of generosity. Today, the Pampered Chef sponsors many charities, including "Round-up from the Heart" in which customers are encouraged to round up their product orders to the nearest dollar or more. Proceeds go to America's Second Harvest--the nation's foodbank network.

The product line offers many as 300 items at a time, with 80-90% of those being totally exclusive to The Pampered Chef. The products have become synonymous with high quality and innovation.

The Pampered Chef Kitchens employs home economists, chefs, product developers, dieticians and food scientists who work to continually develop new products, tips and recipes. They strive to make products that are not only time-saving, but multifunctional, so that kitchens are not cluttered with tools that are rarely.

The primary method of distribution is home demonstrations, or "Cooking Shows". One million of these shows are held every year in the U.S. Customers can also purchase products through an online catalogue on The Pampered Chef website, or through catalogue parties.

At the Cooking Shows, the consultant prepares a recipe selected by the host in order to demonstrate both the tools and the recipe before the guests. Then, as guests are nibbling away at the food, the consultant answers questions, takes orders and books parties. If you're going to distribute Pampered Chef, you had better like toting your wares around, cooking and chatting!

Hosts receive free, discounted and half-price products, a 10% discount for a year, and free shipping. There are also monthly host specials, like 60% off of selected items.

It costs $155 to become a Pampered Chef Consultant, slightly higher than startup costs for similar network marketing opportunities. The fee covers a demonstration kit of 25 of the most popular products, a tote bag to carry them in, and business and training materials to help new consultants get started.

Consultants can earn product commissions, dream vacations, jewelry and free products. There are eight consultant career levels progressing from Pampered Chef Consultant to National Executive Director, so the set up of Pampered Chef is relatively simple compared with other mlm companies.

Unlike most network marketing opportunities, with Pampered Chef you actually make less on the sales of your team as you advance within the company. The best way to earn money with Pampered Chef is to sell a lot of product!

Pampered Chef could be a great opportunity for those who love sales, talking, meeting new people and cooking. However, this type of direct sales opportunity may not suit someone looking to build a business beneath them and make residual income from their downline or from leveraging the internet.