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A Personal Chef is NOT a Guilty Pleasure!
By Lisa Henning
As a personal chef, I spend my days shopping and cooking for busy people who want to feed themselves and their families well but just don’t have the time to do it on their own. I plan the menu, I grocery shop, take all the food and equipment to my client’s home and prepare it in the span of a few hours. Each meal is packed away in servings of 2 or 3, labeled with directions for re-heating and stored in the freezer. I prepare five different meals and make four servings of each one. Included in the service are 2 to 3 side dishes as well. This service saves my clients hours per week, and they see the benefit.
However, in several cases, some still have what I call “Personal Chef Guilt.” I have heard it put many different ways. Some clients will say to me, “Oh, I should be doing this myself,” or “I can’t tell my friends I have someone cook for me, what will they think?” My response is always the same, “Hiring a personal chef shows you know the value of your time!” The time spent shopping, cooking and cleaning up can now be spent doing things that may be more important, like helping the kids with homework, growing your own business, or going to the gym. Or taking a well-deserved nap! After all, many of us don’t mow our own lawns and some have a regular cleaning service. It’s all about time, and certainly, no one has enough of that.
What is a personal chef?
A personal chef is someone who comes to a private home and does the cooking. A personal chef creates a large menu and cooks several meals at once, storing them away in the client’s freezer and refrigerator, to be reheated and eaten at the client’s leisure. My clients just pull out a few dishes the night before, let them defrost, and pop them into the oven or microwave. Because there is a variety, everyone can have something they like, so there are no complaints and no waste.
Where do you do the cooking for your clients?
All of the cooking takes place in my client’s home. It is my job to plan the menu, do the food shopping and cook on premises, using the homeowner’s cook top, sink, counter space and oven. I bring my own cooking equipment and utensils and if I need the heavy artillery like a mixer or food processor, they come along, too. I essentially move into the kitchen for a few hours, get every burner going and create meals for my customers.
Will you prepare meals according to special diet needs?
Many of my clients are on special diets for one thing or another. Some of them want to lose weight, some actually want to gain a few pounds, and several are on cardiac health diets because they just got out of the hospital. I cook for families who have a family member dealing with cancer; I can feed both the patient and the family. One of my clients is on dialysis so I am very strict with sodium and potassium in her menu. I take care of the dietary restrictions so my clients know they can eat the food I leave them without worrying about the ingredients. I also have several yeast-free and gluten-free clients.
Lisa Henning
Lisa Henning is a personal chef in southeastern Massachusetts. She launched her business in 2003, after graduating from a certificate program at the Culinary Business Academy. She offers in-home cooking and cooking instruction for individuals or groups. In addition, she is executive chef for a local meal-assembly kitchen. She has been featured in the Boston press including the Boston Globe, the Plymouth Bulletin, the Middleboro Gazette, and the Brockton Enterprise. She was recently interviewed on the Cranberry Country Journal on WBVT and look for her soon on PACTV.
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Comment #1
(Posted by Alex)
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Great article! And Chef Lisa is adorable!
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