One of the things that the IRS looks at is who makes the decisions. If your boss decides what you work on, how you do the work, when you do the work, and where

One of the things that the IRS looks at is who makes the decisions. If your boss decides what you work on, how you do the work, when you do the work, and where you do the work, then you are probably an employee (but there are other factors to consider as well). However, the more of those that you choose for yourself then the more likely it is that you are actually a contractor. So there are some factors in favor of the chef being a contractor. However, you are right; it is very rare for a chef to actually be a contractor. That’s because these factors are usually outweighed by others. In particular, the chef works in a kitchen owned by their employer, and they can really only be the chef of one restaurant at a time. But this is the point of the example: both the chef and the ride–share driver make similar decisions for themselves. They both decide for themselves how to accomplish the goal given to them by their employer. But unlike the chef, the ride–share driver also provides their own car. That’s a huge financial commitment that the driver makes and brings to the arrangement. Plus, they can easily work for more than one service at a time. Sure, they can only have one passenger at a time, but they can sign in to multiple services at the same time and pick and choose between jobs offered by all of them. So while a chef is rarely going to be a contractor, a ride–share driver probably is. They have many more factors in favor of them being a contractor than the chef has.