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Personal Chef Industry

Hi everyone - I'm new to this board and considering becoming a PC. I have cooked for friends parties, even for pay, and always get rave reviews. I entertain often too, and people have been telling me for years to do this. But i've never cooked in a restaurant, and I have some questions. In reading this board, there is such a wealth of knowledge I don't know -

the whole discussion about stabilizers in mashed potatoes, for instance. I totally don't know anything about that.

Is this something I could learn in a cooking class, and if so, what should I look for?

Where did you all learn about tricks for freezing and reheating foods, what works and what doesn't, and what to have the client mix in later?

What do you use for packaging?

Are there any of you that are vegetarian-only chefs? I don't eat meat, and would rather not cook it. (I do eat fish, and seafood with certain exceptions). If so, do you have any trouble finding clients?

Thanks for all your input!

Wow! You do have some questions! Hopefully, I don't leave any unanswered!

Yes..there are some tricks to the trade. As far as stabilizers in mashed potatoes.....uh, no, not necessary. When heating them, fluff with a fork, & it will be just fine. No taste is lost, & they are not runny etc etc.

For other freezing tips etc, go to our home page & click on food links, then click on the "other food links" (again) or simply click here and it will take you right to them. There are sites listed about foods that freeze well, some that typically don't (unless using a stabilizer such as sweet rice flour, or signature secrets). And there are sites like...busy cooks, which has recipes for dishes to be frozen. There are tons that can be frozen...just look at the frozen food section in your grocers. Darn near everything freezes fien.

Also, there are several cookbooks that you can refer to for meals to be cooked now but served later. I want to say one is Prevention Freezer cookbook...gosh, been so long, I really don't recall if that is the exact name or not. Anyway, just type in freezer prevention cookbook at google....I just did, & loads came up.

Packaging...vacuume sealers, disposables, heavy duty plastic (such as rubbermaid), pyrex/corningware/anchor hocking. You will either decide what packaging you want to offer, or let your clients choose. I offer all of the above, & container fees vary b/c of it.

I personally, do not recommend anyone to "specialize" in any one particular area...like strictly vegetarian. We do have some vegetarian & vegan chefs, that only offer vegetarian service, & then some that just got past the "smells, feels" etc of cooking meat & offer regular service. The reason why I don't recommend it, is b/c it could limit your clientele. There are a lot of folks out there, that are on Atkins, SBD, etc. On the other hand, if you feel that it would be very welcomed in your area..go for it.

If you are seriously considering being a personal chef, I would also recommend getting some training from one of the personal chef organizations available. There are written materials, then a package of written materials along with videos, & another package that features videos, written materials & seminar...& yet another package featuring the actual school (ours is in Colorado).

Now is the time to become a personal chef...APCA just signed a 5 year partnership with the ACF (American Culinary Federation). They have recognized personal chefs as being a culinary profession, and one can now even be certified by the ACF, though there are certain requirements (naturally) first.

You may want to also go thru the visitor forum archives....loads of info here, or just post your question...we're here to help.

If you have any questions about becoming a member, feel free to contact us either by phone or email.

Chef Jackie Alejo
President of the Tx Chapter of the
American Personal Chef Association

Well, my mashed potatoes do get a little gnarly looking after they've been in the freezer for a while -- most of my clients are monthly or bi-weekly, so sometimes the food stays in the freezer for a while.

Although, I still don't use a stablizer (which sounds bad, but remember, we're talking about things like eggs, cheese, rice flour, wheat flour) but tell clients not to panic if, when thawed, their mashed potatoes look like a white sponge surrounded by a liquid. Heat them, stir, keep heating and stirring and suddenly they whip back into shape, all white and fluffy! (It's almost worth freezing mashed potatoes for a month just to see it happen. But then, I'm easily amused....)

Of course, if you're using mashed potatoes as a topping, or doing something like Duchesse where you want the potatoes to maintain a particular shape or can't afford to have the sponge & liquid combo, it can't hurt to have a little insurance in the form of eggs, cheese or some other stabilizer beaten into the potatoes.

THe downside to specializing is that you do automatically limit yourself -- if you've got 200 potential clients in your area and only 8% of the population is fishy-vegetarian, then you've limited yourself to 16 potential clients. (Note: those numbers are completely fabricated) On the other hand, if you're the only vegetarian specializing chef, you've got a lock on those clients.

While many chefs are very comfortable cooking vegetarian meals, many vegetarians prefer to hire someone who lives the lifestyle. You're just going to have to work harder and smarter to find those people, especially if you need to have a full schedule sooner rather than later.

Jazmine,

I considered specializing in a vegetarian-only personal chef business. I'm glad I didn't for the following reasons:

--I live in one of the pork barbeque capitals of the U.S.--only one true vegetarian client in two years, however, her boys were carnivores. I do have one client now who prefers to eat vegetarian when her husband is out of town or working late so I do cook vegetarian here and there. Another client just asked if I had any vegetarian recipes because she wants to replace a meat meal with a vegetarian meal.

--Extremely labor-intensive. As a new PC, time spent on a cookdate can be very frustrating.

--Vegetables are NOT cheap! A head of cauliflower is more than a pound of ground beef here!! Unless you intend to charge fee plus groceries, I wouldn't do it. Many vegetarians/vegans are also into organics. Whether you charge fee plus groceries VS. all-inclusive pricing will also depend upon your market.

--I just enjoy my career too much to limit myself; I enjoy being able to cook a variety of things.

I am no longer a strict vegetarian as I wasn't feeling that great. I've incorporated more chicken and fish into my diet (beef and pork every so often) and just feel more balanced and better overall with more protein in my diet. (Sorry, tofu s--ks.)

On my website I indicate that my "specialties include vegetarian cooking" as vegetarians can be a bit fearful of having someone cook for them because they don't feel "understood." As a vegetarian for about ten years until a few years ago, I can relate.

It was pretty nerve-wracking in the beginning to handle and cook meat (chicken and fish included as I was a true vegetarian . . . nothing with a mother.) Chicken was the worst as I felt like I was handling toxic waste. Regular supermarket chicken still creeps me out; I will make an extra stop to get the hormone and antibiotic-free chicken. (It reheats better for the client anyway.)

I recall a frantic e-mail I sent to one of our more experienced members the first time I had to do a roast. I simply followed his instructions and ended up "Wowing" the dinner party guests. Since then roasts have become one of my specialties and one of my clients has requested the same beef roast four out of the last five times I've cooked for them. . . . and lately I've had a penchant for doing pork tenderloins.

Pretty soon it all becomes just another ingredient.

Good luck!!