Since Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives first aired in 2024, cast member Whitney Leavitt has gone from strength to strength: growing her already formidable social media presence, making it to the semifinals of Dancing With the Stars, signing on to the holiday rom-com All for Love, and, now, preparing for her Broadway debut as fame-chaser Roxie Hart in Chicago next month. Now that Midas touch is extending to someone in her orbit: her private chef, Keegan McManus.
Billed as the Happy Chef on his social media accounts, McManus—who tells SELF he earned the nickname at culinary school on account of his constant “big smile”—rose to new heights of digital fame earlier this month when he announced he was working with Leavitt. Recounting his ascent in a mid-January Zoom call with SELF, he comes across as grateful but grounded. “I’m really so glad that it’s getting as big as it is,” he says of his online presence (which now numbers close to 200,000 followers on Instagram alone). “I love keeping people company, even if just through social media.” Then he breaks into a huge grin—a gesture that instantly suggests the source of his moniker.
With Leavitt busy readying herself for opening night on February 2, she can’t possibly have much time left over to sleep, let alone feed herself (or her family, which includes her husband, Conner, and their three kids). That’s where McManus comes in: Slicing, dicing, chopping, mincing, and julienning with the speed and precision of a trained expert, he churns out healthy, nutritious meals at a breakneck pace: vodka pasta, Asian braised short ribs, you name it.
Cooking for a celeb might sound like it’s all glitz and glamour, sure—but it certainly isn’t easy. Below, McManus walks through an average 24 hours in his life as a private chef to the stars.
SELF: To start, I wanted to ask you a little bit about yourself and your trajectory thus far. How did you get here?
Keegan McManus: Well, I've been cooking since I could walk and talk. It's always been my favorite passion—cooking with my family, my grandmother, my siblings. With my siblings, I always wanted to watch Barefoot Contessa at TV time. When I hear Ina Garten’s voice, I’m like, I wish that could be on my Hatch. She is just perfect and so soothing and someone that makes everyone feel confident in the kitchen, which is something that I’m so inspired by.
I went to Wake Forest University, studied communications and computer science, graduated with a corporate job in consulting and advertising, and then really decided that I needed to go for this. So in the summer of 2024, I applied to the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. At the same time, I was working on ramping up my social media account, KDM Kitchen, sharing recipes and private-chef-for-my-family types of experiences.
Once I was in culinary school, in the fall of 2024 to the spring of 2025, things really picked up. I started getting requests to do private cheffing gigs in New York City and in the areas of New Jersey that I’m from. I have a big family and lots of family friends who were eager to hire me and support KDM Kitchen, but that very quickly turned into everyone wanting to try it.
I finished up culinary school in May and did an externship at Locanda Verde in Tribeca, a really fabulous restaurant, through July, and then just hit the ground running, private cheffing as much as possible on the weekends. I was able to leave my corporate job at the end of 2025, so now I’m very proudly doing KDM Kitchen full-time.
I live in New York City, so I mainly work here and in New Jersey. I do a lot of private cheffing on the Jersey Shore, my happy place. I’m working SO much. Everything’s happened pretty rapidly. It’s been so epic, so exciting, but it also feels like it’s just the start.
So what exactly does a private chef do?
A private chef wears so many hats. In a traditional restaurant kitchen, you have a team. There is someone doing each individual task. On the other hand, a private chef does all of the tasks. We are the head chef, sous chef, dishwasher, server, sometimes the bartender, and the hostess, of course. There’s the backend of menu planning, grocery shopping, prepping all different types of foods and dishes, discussing meals with clients—what their favorite types of cuisines are, what cuisines they don’t like.
Of course, my favorite part is the cooking. The majority of my time is spent cooking the food and serving it to my clients. Taking on all of those different dynamics and managing all of the to-dos is so exciting. And I find it most special because I am a people person. I love getting to interact with my clients, whereas when you’re a chef in a restaurant, you hardly even get to meet the guests.
Your schedule as a private chef is really varied. I’m currently working with a full-time client [Leavitt] during the week, but then during the weekends, I still chef dinner parties, celebrations, brunches, weddings, showers, and events as much as I can.
What types of people typically hire you? Do you have any examples of clients (without necessarily naming names)?
I have been fortunate to work with some absolutely iconic folks. I was able to cook for Martha Stewart, which I think any chef would be so proud of and excited about. That was a huge milestone. She even took a photo of the brunch board that I had prepared—I made egg salad using eggs from Martha's own farm—and that was a dream come true. I mean, that is about as cool as it gets.
I’ve also worked with actors and performers in the entertainment business who, of course, have to feel so energized and prepared and on their game. A huge part of that is how we fuel ourselves, so I really feel fortunate to be in the position of taking ownership of that.
With clients, I always discuss my content ahead of time, and that I like to film myself and the food. Discretion and privacy is always a priority.
Speaking of celebs, let’s talk a little bit about Whitney. How did you land the job, and how is it going so far?
It’s super new, but it’s been incredible. The Leavitts are amazing. With every client, my priority is to allow them to relax and allow this important part of their day—how we nourish ourselves and how we fuel—to become my responsibility in a way that lets everyone do exactly what they need to focus on. Whitney’s preparing to be on Broadway, so she’s extremely busy and she is in high demand.
I was able to get the connection through my social media team since they were friends with Whitney’s. They set up the meeting, and I think they’d looked at many private chef profiles, but they told me that when they saw my cooking style and my social media posts, it was clear that I loved what I do. I was really happy that resonated with them, and we kind of just hit the ground running. I said yes and started working as soon as I could.
Walk me through a timestamped day in your life, from when you wake up to when you go to bed.
I wake up around six in the morning. I always start with a hot shower, get ready for the day, and then I head out to Whole Foods. Normally, I decide on my recipes the day before, so I’ll have my recipes approved by clients and already planned out. I also love shopping at Citarella, Eataly, and the Union Square farmer’s market. I like to be at Whole Foods by 7 a.m. if I can, and the farmer's market opens at 8 a.m.
Once I’ve collected all of my ingredients, groceries, and supplies in my big Hulken bags—because as glamorous as private cheffing can be on social media, it involves a lot of physical labor, a lot of schlepping things around—I arrive back at my client’s house around nine. I immediately unpack, get all of my groceries organized, and then I start cooking. I cook in the order of breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Normally, I finish breakfast prep at around 10:30 a.m. and then move on to lunch prep. I will cook multiple meals in a single day that aren’t going to be eaten immediately, so it’s something that my client can have on hand to enjoy at any point. I try to wrap up lunch prep by 1:30 p.m. Then, I get going on dinner, which is normally the most adventurous recipe. I will marinate my proteins, prep any starches and sauces, and I will continue cooking until around 4:30 p.m. I take the last half an hour to an hour deep-cleaning the kitchen, getting everything labeled and organized in the fridge, and meeting with my clients and discussing exactly what I did that day. That’s why I love to take the followers with me through the whole experience, to see that it’s a lot more than just showing up at someone’s house and cooking for them.
What happens after that?
I normally head home around 5:30 p.m. When I get back, I’ll sit down for probably the first time since 8:30 in the morning. Then, I like to cook myself a little something and go to the gym. I have an Equinox close by, and I find working out so helpful at keeping me physically and mentally very happy, very level. After the gym, I will do editing and emails for KDM Kitchen from around 8 to 10:30 p.m. I edit videos that I’ll be posting the next day, schedule my posts, get some content out. And then I go to bed hopefully before midnight.
All in all, my day normally consists of a 16-hour shift, even though the 9-to-5 is spent at clients’ homes. It’s a ton of work. It’s a lot of physical labor, a lot of time on my feet, but I seriously would not change a thing. So many people will comment how exhausting it might appear, but I truly find it energizing, as crazy as that sounds. And I don’t drink coffee, but I love a Diet Coke or an iced tea. Those are my claims to fame for that endless energy.
What meals do you have on rotation for Whitney at the moment?
I don’t just cycle through the same exact meals again and again; I want to keep it interesting and fresh. But I always like to set my clients up with some sort of high-protein soup that can be taken on the go—so nice and comforting when it’s freezing in New York City. Chicken noodle and turkey chili are a couple of my go-tos.
All of my food is made with whole, delicious ingredients, and I always like to incorporate a protein, a starch, and a vegetable. I love a citrus salmon with purple sweet potatoes and maybe a citrus vinegar or champagne vinegar broccolini—that is a really lovely dish that checks all the boxes of a meal. And I’ve found it can really help kids to want to eat vegetables when you make them pretty colors.
What’s one tip you have for anyone who's trying to step up their meal-prep game?
Start with things you love. If there’s a specific type of food that you really enjoy, master one, two, maybe three types of recipes. You don’t need to throw a dinner party for 20 people the first time you’re going to try to cook. Just cook for yourself or cook for one other person.
And as far as meal prep goes, try to make something that will keep a really lovely consistency. I love a quinoa salad or a pasta salad because that only gets better in the fridge during the week. You add vegetables, proteins—you can do steak or chicken—and come up with a punchy red wine vinegar, olive oil, or lemon juice dressing. Plus, it can be served cold. You don’t even have to worry about heating it up.
And if you’re cooking chicken or steak for your dinner meal prep, make a couple extra pieces and chop them up for your pasta salad. Trying to combine certain aspects of your prep and use those ingredients in other meals just saves you time, gives you consistency, and makes the experience a lot less overwhelming. Cooking should hopefully be relaxing.
What is something about being a private chef that most people don’t know or wouldn’t necessarily guess?
I think how much time it takes or how much physical labor is involved. Also, what a private chef likes to make for themselves. When I have a really busy day of cooking elaborate meals, super complex and fancy and high-end cheffing experiences, I crave cereal more than anything else to eat. Mental energy aside, a bowl of cereal or that English muffin with peanut butter is delicious. I’m like, Oh, this is so good. I really do enjoy it. So it’s not a hardship. I find it oddly relaxing or satisfying.
And on the topic of cereal, what is your favorite?
That’s a really good question. I think I’m going to have to go with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. No health benefits, just satisfaction.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
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