This study seeks to explore the psychological and behavioral drivers shaping Indian consumers’ adoption of private chef services by expanding the theory of planned behavior (TPB) with two critical yet underexplored dimensions—past culinary experiences and perceived risk. Using a judgmental sampling approach, data from 478 respondents were analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM) in SPSS 26 to examine the relationships between observed and latent constructs within the proposed framework. The results validate the expanded TPB framework, revealing that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, past culinary experiences, and risk perception collectively drive Indian consumers’ intent to book private chefs. Notably, behavioral attitude mediates the relationship between risk perception and booking intention. In contrast, perceived behavioral control does not exhibit a mediating effect between risk perception and booking intention. The findings provide actionable insights to accelerate market penetration and consumer adoption of private chef services across India’s metropolitan centres, where demand for premium dining experiences is rising.
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