Discussion Forums
for the
Personal Chef Industry

Okay,okay, so all you helpful people out there have finally won me over! Less than 20 minutes after posting my last message of my decision to become a private chef, I received a call from a local PC that invited me over to basically look at the business a bit closer and answer questions. I knew that I had made the wrong decision because I had a burning desire to own my own business. Chef Laura of It's Delicious helped me to see that there is a ton of help through this association and Candy to help me through the entire process. I am calling today to order the materials and hopefully be up and running for the start of the busy season! See you on the members forum for more of the excellent help you've already given!

WELCOME LORI - We look forward to a lot of interesting conversations in the Members Forum with you. You made the right decision! ! ! ! !

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Jim Davis
The Really Good Food Co.
A Personal Chef Service

Lori, Jim, and others:

Doing some preliminary research into the PC business and was intrigued about the "busy season" comment. What qualifies as the "busy season"? Does demand for a PC fluctuate depending on the time of year? What kind of planning do you do to make it through the "not so busy" times?

We have found that the only difference in the season so far is that some of our clients are on vacation this month. So for the first time in 3 months Bryan as 1 day off each week for the entire month, and 2 days during one week.

September is already booked 100% for every cooking day and 2 clients on every other Wed.

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Jim Davis
The Really Good Food Co.
A Personal Chef Service

Lori- You are making a good decesion.Welcome to the APCA! It doesn't necessarily start out in high gear but with some time and some help from your new friends here you'll do just fine and YOUR THE BOSS!!Excellant!

Jim- When you say cook days,do you and Bryan usually cook Mon-Fri or is 100% booked 7 days a week? Glad you are both doing so well.Take care.

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John McGrath
Chef de Cuisine
Boston

100% is 5 days a week. The reason Bryan got out of the restaurant business is because of the weekend and night demands.

Of course, these hours are better but still kind of long.

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Jim Davis
The Really Good Food Co.
A Personal Chef Service

Oh,good.I was hoping 100% booked wasn't 7 days.It's great to have a couple of extra days off when you work so hard.It has taken me an awfully long time to get out of the rigors of the restaurant world.Finally,to be able to maintain the passion for food and still be a professional chef,is what I've always wanted,just wish I had done it about 10 years ago!!
I look forward to meeting you both if you come to Boston and enjoy the extra time off!!

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John McGrath
Chef de Cuisine
Boston

As someone who is considering entering this business, you scared me briefly. Glad to hear to cook 5 days and not 7!

Bonnie

I,too am getting out of the restaurant business because of the long hours,week
ends,and the few nights. I just signed
up today and am very much looking forward to everything this has to offer.You all sound like an excellent group of chef's.
It will be a pleasure to be apart of you.

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To Your Maine Chef:

Hi:

We have been doing this for about a year, and there are times where it does slow down.

June this year was very slow for us as many of our clients were heading off to Europe, the Cape, etc....
July seamed to snap back, and we found ourselves busy with other types of things...people wanting chefs for parties, BBQ,s, planning with national service oriented companies, a national newspaper that featured us in an article. I also picked up shifts with two high profile catering companies in the Boston area to keep busy. We did not lose clients...but some of them had a more relaxed schedule during the summer. We freaked out a little during the June slowdown...but now realize that we have to switch gears faster, and keep ourselves busy...It is no different than in the restaurant, or resort business, when you react slowly to changes until you have some type of pattern to work with.

I have been a chef for over twenty years, and in some great restaurants....

and even with some of the up's and down's...
I am much happier being a personal chef.

Hope this helps,

Dennis Nosko
A Fresh Endeavor
Personal Chef Service
Boston

I was hoping for only 3 or 4 days....so I can still do all the fun paperwork & other time consuming things (testing/tasting, menu planning, more paperwork etc) Meredith talked about, am I being unrealistic here? As so many of us newbies...I hope to have clients by September as well.

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Jackie..Cooking For You

Hey, Jackie!

It all boils down to "how much money do I want/need to make to be happy."

Jim and Bryan are obviously making a lot more money cooking 5 days a week than those of us who tend to cook 3 days a week.

And that's the beauty of the whole PC thing! First, you decide how much you need to make to be happy/survive -- add a cushion to cover emergencies, illness, vacation, slow times, and that sort of gives you your work schedule.

I'm fortunate enough to have a husband to sponge off, er, contribute to our financial health. We made a deal way back when I was working three jobs (marketing director for a psychiatric hospital, bartender, Williams-Sonoma retail clerk) to finance his Masters and PhD -- once his career got going, I was going to get a break to start my own business. It's been a while, but I never forgot that promise!

It's also important to me to schedule volunteer work -- something I haven't really been able to do, chained to the corporate millstone.

So, having more free time is more important to me than having money -- to a certain extent, that is!

Only you can decide what the perfect balance for YOU is -- of course, remember that you will probably never achieve the perfect balance , so err on the side of caution, make hay while the sun shines, and glory in your freedom to choose to between working to afford that vacation in Paris and spending a day rooting around in the garden.

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Meredith
Whisk For Hire
Kensington, MD