diff --git a/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef.rb b/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef.rb
index f554fd98a..e3be29492 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef.rb
@@ -75,6 +75,14 @@ module Vagrant
         raise Actions::ActionException.new(:chef_base_invalid_provisioner)
       end
 
+      def verify_binary(binary)
+        vm.ssh.execute do |ssh|
+          # Checks for the existence of chef binary and error if it
+          # doesn't exist.
+          ssh.exec!("which #{binary}", :error_key => :chef_not_detected, :error_data => {:binary => binary})
+        end
+      end
+
       def chown_provisioning_folder
         logger.info "Setting permissions on chef provisioning folder..."
         vm.ssh.execute do |ssh|
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server.rb b/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server.rb
index 6371f8825..2eba7e3d6 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server.rb
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ module Vagrant
       end
 
       def provision!
+        verify_binary("chef-client")
         chown_provisioning_folder
         create_client_key_folder
         upload_validation_key
diff --git a/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo.rb b/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo.rb
index 424c13222..825e327de 100644
--- a/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo.rb
+++ b/lib/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo.rb
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ module Vagrant
       end
 
       def provision!
+        verify_binary("chef-solo")
         chown_provisioning_folder
         setup_json
         setup_solo_config
diff --git a/templates/strings.yml b/templates/strings.yml
index ac931a9dd..b35629278 100644
--- a/templates/strings.yml
+++ b/templates/strings.yml
@@ -78,6 +78,11 @@
   The validation key set for `config.chef.validation_key_path` does not exist! This
   file needs to exist so it can be uploaded to the virtual machine. It is
   currently set to "<%= Vagrant.config.chef.validation_key_path %>"
+:chef_not_detected: |-
+  The `<%= binary %>` binary appears to not be in the PATH of the guest. This
+  could be because the PATH is not properly setup or perhaps chef is not
+  installed on this guest. Chef provisioning can not continue without
+  chef properly installed.
 :command_box_invalid: |-
   Please specify a valid action to take on the boxes, either
   `add` or `remove`. Examples:
diff --git a/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server_test.rb b/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server_test.rb
index 91132f4e8..026979c28 100644
--- a/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server_test.rb
+++ b/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_server_test.rb
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ class ChefServerProvisionerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "provisioning" do
     should "run the proper sequence of methods in order" do
       prov_seq = sequence("prov_seq")
+      @action.expects(:verify_binary).with("chef-client").once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
       @action.expects(:chown_provisioning_folder).once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
       @action.expects(:create_client_key_folder).once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
       @action.expects(:upload_validation_key).once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
diff --git a/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo_test.rb b/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo_test.rb
index c2e1dfb52..ce33a3f09 100644
--- a/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo_test.rb
+++ b/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_solo_test.rb
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ class ChefSoloProvisionerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
   context "provisioning" do
     should "run the proper sequence of methods in order" do
       prov_seq = sequence("prov_seq")
+      @action.expects(:verify_binary).with("chef-solo").once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
       @action.expects(:chown_provisioning_folder).once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
       @action.expects(:setup_json).once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
       @action.expects(:setup_solo_config).once.in_sequence(prov_seq)
@@ -29,7 +30,6 @@ class ChefSoloProvisionerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
       @action.provision!
     end
   end
-
   context "sharing cookbook folders" do
     setup do
       @host_cookbook_paths = ["foo", "bar"]
diff --git a/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_test.rb b/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_test.rb
index d21fcd486..2b6d9af28 100644
--- a/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_test.rb
+++ b/test/vagrant/provisioners/chef_test.rb
@@ -62,6 +62,18 @@ class ChefProvisionerTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
     end
   end
 
+  context "verifying binary" do
+    setup do
+      @ssh = mock("ssh")
+      @vm.ssh.stubs(:execute).yields(@ssh)
+    end
+
+    should "verify binary exists" do
+      binary = "foo"
+      @ssh.expects(:exec!).with("which #{binary}", :error_key => :chef_not_detected, :error_data => { :binary => binary }).once
+      @action.verify_binary(binary)
+    end
+  end
   context "permissions on provisioning folder" do
     should "create and chown the folder to the ssh user" do
       ssh_seq = sequence("ssh_seq")