Copywriting case study

Delicious, seasonal website copy for a private Michelin- trained chef

For The Season Kitchen

Spring 2023

Words by Bonnie

The project

Paul is a super- talented Michelin- trained chef who completely pivoted his business in the pandemic. He went from cooking in a restaurant to launching an innovative private chef venture, cooking for people in their homes.

His clients are a mix of experienced foodies who are familiar with gourmet cooking and have worked with a private chef before, and those who are looking for a special event and they need to understand the quality food.

"I really needed some fresh website copy which sums up all the aspects of my new business and makes it easy for people to book with me"

The brief

He wanted his website copy to represent his skills; his sustainable, seasonable values; the extremely high- quality food he cooks; and he needed some SEO results fast.

SEO is a marathon, not a sprint, but getting some great SEO copy is a chuffing good foundation.

My to-do list

Website home page

About page

Contact page

Service page: dinner parties

Service page: luxury holiday catering

Service page: private event catering

Full FAQs

A bonus 404- page

The approach

I had such a detailed questionnaire from Paul, it hugely helped me write his copy. I dived into the branding information to inform the tone of voice and copy.

The next step was spending a little time sketching out a couple of audience personas and dedicating some time to competitor research. Found that there was no one who was quite like Paul for his dedication to seasonal ingredients and high- end food. This gave me some very strong inspiration to draw from.

I then created word banks full of natural, seasonal vocabulary, such as ‘quality, fresh, local, seasonal, organic’. I used SEO keyword platforms to gather SEO keywords related to private chef, hiring a Michelin chef, personal chef, and Cotswolds chef. It was vital to include location keywords because Paul has strong working relationships with local suppliers which underpin his menus.

As I was writing the pages, a bonus 404- page idea popped into my head. Once I was happy with each section, I sent it off to Paul and waited for the feedback.

The results

The feedback from Paul about the first draft was clear, direct, and straightforward, so it was super easy to act on. In version two, I super clarified the business process of how to book Paul’s services, so it was easy for everyone to understand before enquiring. I also tightened up the accuracy of the messaging for each stage, including designing the menu, sourcing ingredients, prep, cooking, service, clean down.

I also prompted Paul to tell me more about his incredibly impressive professional experience, so I included the Michelin restaurants he trained and worked, as well as his qualifications.

Project highlights

Nerdy language technique

"Flavour first; seasonal always"

This tagline is short, has alliteration at the start, and sibilance at the end. These are techniques which make the content memorable. Keeping it to just four words means the tagline is impactful, while still conveying the business mission of always using seasonal produce.

Nerdy language technique

"We create dishes with produce when it’s at its most ripe, most fresh, and most flavourful. "

Repetition is so memorable, and keeps the sentence balanced. This line really speaks of the abundance of flavour and seasonality. Quick shout out to the accurate apostrophe too!

On brand vocabulary

"The rolling green hills of the Cotswold countryside don’t just look pretty. They’re responsible for naturally fed animals, reared by expert farmers. They’re responsible for seasonal, fresh vegetables and orchards full of organic fruit."

These sentences are packed full of natural/ nature language, underpinning the vales of the brand.

"From the first version I knew straight away I loved the copy! We instantly loved the tagline. Since launching our website with your copy, we’ve stopped using Google ads because we get so many organic enquiries."