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Personal Chef Industry

Hello! I'm looking into PC-ing and have been on the net, at the library. I'm saving up for the package/tutorial from APCA, but until then doing my best to get as much info as I can.

One question I have, which nags at me!, is about shopping. When you shop for the client, and the recipe calls for, say, dried oregano, do you buy it on shopping day, or assume they will have it? If you buy this stuff for them, what do you do with the left-overs - say you have leftover fresh basil from a recipe???

Thank you for your help and good luck to everyone out there. This is such a great job - well, not from experience, but so far as I can see now!!!

Julia

Hi, Julia! Usually we have a supply of staples, like dried herbs, we keep stored separately from our personal stash. This is an overhead expense, and the cost of those goes to a general accounting expense. Stuff like flour and sugar we take from our personal stash, since we rarely use those ingredients for clients. We don't charge anything for that - too much trouble. You can ask your clients if you can use their spice rack, but you'd have to get an inventory, and there's never a guaranty they'll have what you need.

Anything fresh we buy (fresh herbs, for example) we'd enter under the cost of groceries for that particular service. We don't charge separately for groceries, so we don't have an issue with leftovers, and the clients don't really want them, either; they come home with us; we're not doing the client's grocery shopping, we're only agreeing to making so-many meals.

Hey - wait a minute! Auburn NY? I grew up there! Do you know any Chaykas? 'Cuz I'm one of 'em.

There are a couple of ways of doing it.

Remember that there are two ways of pricing -- one is all-inclusive where the client pays a flat fee, you use that money to buy the groceries and whatever is left over is your income for that job. The other is fee-plus, where the client gives you a deposit for groceries ahead of time, as well as a fee for your service and you leave them the change left from the deposit -- there are other ways of handling the grocery money/deposit, but that's the simplified version.

Either way, that morning, you're headed off to the grocery store to buy stuff for them. Now, dried oregano. You may have a "mini-pantry" in your kit that contains dried herbs, spices, staples such as flour, sugar, oil, vinegar. You may carry all of these items all the time, or you may have a larger pantry that you pull from for each job. Or, you may store a mini-pantry at each client's house -- a box that holds these items. I try to keep a store of frequently used items at each of my client's homes. (They're told that they can use them, but only if they tell me so that I can replace as needed.) The rest are carried in my kit. Staples that are used infrequently -- sherry vinegar, for example -- are kept in a master pantry in my office and added to the kit when needed.

Since I'm all-inclusive, mostly, all of the items -- pantry, client's pantry, groceries bought the day of -- fall into my food cost. Fee-plus folks operate on a similar basis -- using the above options, although they may choose to charge a "pantry fee" on top of the groceries, an average charge for staples such as salt, pepper, oil -- or they may buy the staples, leave them on the client's grocery bill and leave them at the client's home.

Perishables cannot be used in one client's home and then taken to another client's -- too many food safety issues. So, fresh basil -- you buy what you need for a client and the remainder can be left for the client to use (although with most, you'd just wind up throwing it out for them the next time you came, so this option isn't used a whole lot!), thrown out or taken home for you to use. I have the most wonderful compost heap in the world!

Thank you for your answers! Sounds easy and simple enough!

Margaret, I'm from Auburn, but I went to school in Skaneateles, so I don't know that many families here. After college (IC), I went to live abroad, and have since moved back. I just love it here! Well, I'd love it a bit more if it were Spring!

I live in Minnesota now, but the snow isn't the same - kinda miss those big, winding snow drifts of Auburn! Our house was in Throop, which is a couple miles away - Auburn was the "big place", if you can imagine that!

I've still got family on Cayuga Street, and in the Polish section - might have a brother go back there, too, to get his family out of NYC!

I buy fresh herbs every day and at the end of the week what is left over (that I have brought home from the clients) helps decide what is for dinner on Saturday or Sunday if we don't go out. A good chef can NEVER have too many fresh herbs in his/her fridge!

Hi Rory!

I went to Ithaca College, too! (I'm assuming that's what you meant by IC). I graduated in '95 in music - how about you?

KVC

Margaret and everyone -

Ooops didn't mean to post that 1st one yet -

I know Throop! The big metropolis of Auburn! I wouldn't trade it tho - lived in the big city for too long and now I love seeing GREEN! However not much green here - it's April 8 and it's 30F and about 3" of snow on the ground. Ice storm over the weekend...Dying for some warmth.

Another question for anyone....Does you get nervous going into a strangers home? IE. who knows if it's safe or if they might be ax murderers!

Thanks!

The only things that make me nervous are dentists and souffles. I just don't make the latter and take Valium for the former. So, maybe I'm not the best person to address your concerns, but...

As far as being alone in their house on a daily basis -- lock the door behind you so that no one can get in and don't open the door for any reason. (I tell clients that if they want me to let someone in, I need to know exactly who, when and why, otherwise I do not respond to the doorbell.) If you still feel uneasy, carry a cell phone.

As far as meeting at the client's home -- going to a stranger's home -- if that makes you nervous, here are some things you can do. Scout out the location ahead of time, so that you know it at least looks legit. Have a friend drive you there and wait in the car for you. Carry a cell phone -- call when you arrive and let a friend/Spouse know you've arrived and that you expect to be about an hour, hour and a half.

Bring your friend with you to the assessment -- pretend he/she is a new chef learning the ropes and is shadowing you -- or find another pc who is willing to give up an evening to go with you.

Schedule assessments during the day, on weekends.

Do not have a glass of wine or food while you are there at the house.

If someone creeps you out at the assessment, there is nothing that says you have to work for him/her. Call back, say that you've looked at your schedule and you just can't cook for them at this time.

Some folks suggest meeting the potential client offsite in a public place, first -- I dunno, half the point of an assessment is to look over their house, kitchen, etc., find a place to store containers, etc. -- so I would feel wierder coming to a place I'd never been before on the first cookdate.

Have faith in statistics -- the number of ax murderers who need personal chefs is very, very small. You are far more likely to walk out your front door and be struck by dead by a piece of falling debris than by someone who's set up an assessment. Far safer to go on a hundred assessments with strangers than to get in your car and drive on any given day. You face more dangers from the tools you carry than the potential clients you meet with.

Take the precautions that make you feel most comfortable -- and also take comfort in the fact that 99.9% of the people we meet with are not at all dangerous -- which doesn't mean you have to be as carefree and blithe as I am -- but does mean that if you take reasonable precautions you will be very safe.

That was a great post and certain to put anyone's mind at ease. I agree with everything especially that not many axe murderers need personal chefs! LOL Use common sense and do scout out the property before you head in for the meeting. If it's a run down shack with chickens and other wildlife in the yard and laundry hanging in the trees, or you expect to see Herman Munster or Morticia Addams greet you at the door, I say just leave and go cancel your appt. Better yet...don't make the appt. until you have seen the residence. Yeah...that's better.

Well, you shouldn't have to worry about that stuff in Auburn! And, my current clients are all upstanding members of society in nice homes, plus my sister and I chef together!

I'd certainly be talking to myself a lot more if that weren't the case - maybe folks'd be worried about me rather than the reverse (voices, sharp knives...)

hate to be a wet blanket...but the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover comes to mind"...just b/c someone lives in a nice area..or a beautiful home does not make them nice people...

nor does it make them "wealthy". I've known people with very nice mercedes, homes, boats etc, that are straining to keep their head above water...remember all those nice things come with a price tag.

It's better to ask probing questions when speaking with them by phone before going to their house. Go with your gut..if it's telling you to be on guard..follow it. There is no shame in having someone go with you. I always let one of my family members (or my "honey") know the potential clients address, directions (if needed) and the appt time & length of time it will take. I have them call me on my cell if I don't call back by a certain time....if I do not answer...they know to come looking for me...& calling the police if needed. So far, I can honestly say I've only had one scare...which is why I started doing the above.

It's easy to be trusting...but look at the flip-side...your potentials are probably just as leary of you...they don't know you either.

Thank you for all of your advice! I guess I'll take my cell and my man to first meetings, at least in the beginning... I'm sure I'll feel more confident that way, and eventually figure it all out!

Who went to IC? CUEV? Do you work there now? I graduated in 89 in TV Production.

Anyway thank you all so much for your help! I need to get this package and get started now! It's very hard transitioning from one job to another... I'm sure you've all been there, done that tho!

Happy Spring!

Yes, that's me - I went to IC. I graduated in '95 in music. Ithaca is still one of my favorite places on this earth - I have many wonderful memories there!