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| OFF THE BEATEN CAREER PATH Chop to It: Personal Chefs Whip Up Meals in Your Home The Washington Post Sunday, November 25, 2007; Page K01 Colleen Patton raided her kitchen to start her personal chef business in 2002. A self-taught cook who reads "everything
Washingtonian Magazine's Great Kitchens October 2003 “What’ll We Eat Tonight?” If You Hire a Personal Chef, That Question Is Easier to Answer. BY SHERRI DALPHONSE Sherri Dalphonse (sdalphonse@washingtonian.com) is a senior editor. Lisa May and her husband, Glenn Jackson, get home from work around 6 o’clock. In the past, by the time they figured out, fixed, and ate dinner—or gave up and went to a restaurant with their two boys—it would be almost 8, bedtime for six-year-old Ian. “His thing was ‘I never get to do anything but go to bed,’ ” May says. “It wasn’t true, but that was his perception.” So May decided to hire a personal chef, Colleen Patton, who comes every two weeks to stock the refrigerator and freezer with ready-to-heat meals. “Now we save that 45 minutes” on meal preparation, May says. “I don’t have to put my children to bed right after dinner. We can eat, then go play catch or hang out.” Twice a month, Patton presents May with a menu she can approve or change, buys the groceries, and—while Lisa and Glenn are at work—goes to the family’s home and cooks, laying in meals. In a city starved for time, “personal cheffing” is feeding a need. Entrepreneur magazine identified the business as one of the 12 fastest-growing in the country. “Up until 1997 there were probably three personal chefs in the DC area,” says David MacKay, founder of the United States Personal Chef Association. “In the year 2000, we had 40 members in the Washington chapter. Today we have 100.” A personal chef can provide a helping hand to a mother with a newborn, to a diabetic prescribed a special diet, or to those who simply lack the time or ability to cook. “The largest part of our service is to two-income professionals working long hours and driving crushing commutes,” says Candy Wallace of the American Personal Chef Association. No one sees the need for personal chefs more than chefs themselves. After cooking all day for a client, chef Lynn McKee says, “there are a lot of nights, there’s not a chance in the world I’m making dinner for me and my husband. I feel very guilty about that.” Iinvited three dozen personal chefs in the area—there are about 150—to prepare two of their best dishes for a tasting.Most chefs ask new clients to fill out a questionnaire about likes and dislikes, then select from hundreds of recipes. If a chef has access to a commercial kitchen, she can cook there and drop off meals. Food not cooked in a licensed kitchen can’t be transported if it’s being sold, so most chefs use the client’s kitchen—although they bring their own pots and pans, utensils, knives, and spices. Chefs clean up, but it’s hard not to notice they’ve been there when you open the door: The aroma gives them away. Some chefs leave behind wine or homemade cookies, or even set the table. The price can be hard to swallow. Entrées work out to $15 to $20 a person—as much as you might pay in a casual restaurant, and certainly more than carryout or Lean Cuisine. What you pay for is personalized meals—whether you’re on the Atkins diet, are allergic to mushrooms, or keep kosher. The food can be healthier, especially if you’ve been ordering pizza twice a week or eating a bowl of cereal over the sink. Chefs can supply details on a meal’s fat, calorie, carbohydrate, cholesterol, protein, and sodium content. What chefs really sell is time. “Let’s say you make $30 an hour. If you come home and you have the supplies, maybe it takes you half an hour“ to make dinner, the USPCA’s MacKay says. “If you have to run to the grocery store, then you add that time. The question is: What’s an hour or half an hour of your time worth?” You’re also paying for variety. While most of us have a repertoire of recipes we fall back on, a personal chef won’t repeat the same thing within six months unless you ask. While I was sampling the chefs’ food, I spent blissfully little time thinking about what was for dinner. I never stood in a grocery store trying to recall if I had eggs. Nothing went bad in my refrigerator. Clean-up was easy. I went to the grocery store so rarely, I ran out of things like orange juice and paper towels. Some chefs will pick up other groceries for a client; some charge extra for that service. OTHER THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT PERSONAL CHEFS • Although they charge similar prices, what you get varies. Most chefs I tried included side dishes with each entrée, but at least two provided an entrée and, although charging the same, expected me to make sides. Some define a serving of protein as four ounces, others as six or eight. Some meals were so generous, I saved the rest for lunch. It’s worth asking about portions and sides. • Many personal chefs have no formal culinary training. Some are former restaurant chefs, but the majority are career-switchers who are self-taught cooks. Among those I met: a former car saleswoman, an MCI WorldCom casualty, a law-firm refugee, a former day-spa manager, a onetime graphic designer, and a retired teacher. I had assumed the trained chefs would stand out. But having been a restaurant chef doesn’t seem to be an advantage in planning balanced menus that store and reheat. These chefs often tried foods that were too fancy—though presentation was superior. As Tom DeBlois, a personal chef who’s been a professional chef for 24 years, says, “I’ve met chefs who are lousy cooks, and I’ve been to people’s homes for dinner who are great cooks.” • If you like leftovers, you’ll love a personal chef—because many nights, it tastes like you’re eating leftovers. Don’t get me wrong—much of the food I tried was good. But unless it’s prepared and packaged just right, food loses something when it’s cooked, frozen, and reheated, usually in a microwave. “I hate microwaves,” says Wallace, who lives in San Diego, where the APCA is based. “I tell my clients that if you heat this beautiful food in a microwave, you’re not going to get anything better than Lean Cuisine.” Washington chefs say that pressed-for-time clients don’t care. “Ninety-nine percent of my clients heat stuff in the microwave,” Patton says. “If you have to heat up the oven and wait 30 minutes, you can pick up the phone and order carryout.” The best dishes I had were “fresh-serves,” like uncooked salmon with soy-honey sauce, ready for the oven. While most personal chefs leave a fresh-serve for the first night, more chefs are beginning to offer weekly service—as opposed to every two or four weeks—where they make less food (so there’s no need to freeze) and leave most of it oven- or grill-ready (so there’s less microwaving). Getting all fresh-serve meals is more expensive, but if you care about taste, it’s worth considering. • It’s not always a chef’s fault if something doesn’t taste right—clients may overnuke food until it’s bone dry. Then again, while chefs leave reheating instructions, some directions are maddening: “Cook until just heated through. Be careful not to overcook.” The vagueness is because microwaves vary. Ask a chef to be more specific once he knows your appliances. • This isn’t gourmet fare. I would describe only a few of the meals I had as fine dining; most were simple and homey. But do you want gourmet on a Tuesday? Candy Wallace calls this “Monday-through-Friday support.” Besides, chef Patton says, “a lot of fancy stuff won’t hold up well to reheating.” HIRING A CHEF Most chefs join one of three organizations: the United States Personal Chef Association (www.hireachef.com), the American Personal Chef Association (www.personalchef.com), or Personal Chefs Network (www.pcnchef.com). Their Web sites, which list chefs, are good starting points. These groups don’t teach a person to cook—that’s assumed—but tutor on marketing and menu planning, share recipes, and offer group rates on insurance. (A good personal chef has liability insurance; check to be sure.) Because a chef will be in your home, it’s a good idea to check references. And ask if he or she has a ServSafe certificate from the National Restaurant Association or has taken a similar course on safe cooking temperatures and other basics. “Technically, you don’t need it,” MacKay says. But then “there’s no guarantee that that person knows how to handle food properly. If a chef who’s been in business eight months is working toward certification, it’s not as important. I’d be scared of the chef who says, ‘I’ve been doing this five years, and I don’t need ServSafe certification.’ ” If a chef has a Web site, scan sample menus. Do a number of meals appeal to you? Although chefs will cook anything, some gravitate toward casseroles, others to lighter fare. Some routinely exclude vegetables or starch in meals, or they pair entrées with odd or boring sides, such as a corn-stuffed pork chop with a side of corn (one of the meals made for me). Few chefs require contracts, so you can try one before committing. Some will even replace meals you don’t like at no charge. You decide how often you want a chef—that could mean twice a month or twice a year. In the following list I quote prices for standard service, which is “five-by-four”: Select five entrées, and the chef prepares four portions of each. For a family of four, that’s dinner for five nights; for a couple, ten nights. Chefs offer variations, such as five-by-two for singles or for couples who want all fresh-serve—even ten-by-six. (You’ll need a lot of freezer space for that.) Some chefs charge a reduced fee for children; some parents opt to share off their plates or cook for kids themselves. If you ask for lots of red meat or make special requests such as all-organic, the price goes up. Vegetarians sometimes pay less. While most chefs shop everywhere from Giant to Whole Foods, if you have a preference about where meat or seafood comes from, you can specify that. Many chefs include the cost of containers in their rate; others charge a separate fee, which varies depending on whether you want disposables, such as Gladware, or reusables, such as Tupperware or Pyrex. Most chefs I tried were decent cooks who offered personable service, but the ones listed here impressed me with their cooking, references, and menus. These chefs aren’t necessarily the best in the area, just good options among those I tested. Admittedly, trying just two entrées isn’t a complete test—a chef may have to cook for clients a few times to understand their likes and dislikes—but I noticed that if one choice was good, generally so was the other; if one was mediocre, usually the second was, too. MY TEN FAVORITES Chef Kevin, 703-868-6464; www.chefkevin.com. Love French food? Kevin McGuire, who has taken classes at New York City’s French Culinary Institute, whips up an excellent steak au poivre. He may leave behind homemade croissants or chocolates. Rate for five-by-four: $275. Chef on Call, 703-222-9088. Darryl Rousseau, who’s been cooking his whole life, was one of the area’s first personal chefs. Large portions of creations such as lemon-pepper tilapia layered with roasted peppers and grilled mango will please the most finicky gourmands. He also offers less-expensive family fare. Rate for five-by-four: $250 or $285; $5 container fee for each five-by-four. Cucina Fresca, 301-907-9689; www.cucinafresca.com. Alexis Beall cooks healthy fare like lemon Moroccan chicken with Israeli vegetable couscous and salmon with soy-honey sauce. Rates start at $360 for five-by-four; one-time $50 fee for reusable containers. If you like to cook but don’t have time to plan, for $20 to $30 a week, she can create menus based on your tastes and provide you with recipes and a shopping list. Dinner Thyme, 301-299-8141; dinnerthyme@comcast.net. Meredith Bornstein, a veteran by personal-chef standards—she’s been in business five years—serves large portions of delicious food. I loved her balsamic chicken with peppers and almonds over rice pilaf, and angel-hair pasta with shrimp, asparagus, and tomatoes. Rate for five-by-four: $350; $60 annually for containers. Gourmet Your Way, 301-924-6656; www.mygourmetyourway.com. Of all the lasagnas I tasted, I preferred Barbara Bolvin’s spinach-stuffed lasagna ruffles. She’s kid-friendly too. Rate for five-by-six: $385. HollyBee, 703-969-2951; www.hollybee.com. Holly Bates keeps it simple, like her chicken “scampi“ over pasta. Rate for five-by-four: $300. Leen’s Cuisine, 703-338-4151; www.leenscuisine.com. Colleen Patton is skilled at shrimp and fish, such as swordfish with black-bean-and-citrus salsa. Rate for five-by-four: $350; $30 one-time fee for containers. Lynn’s Meals in Minutes, 240-476-1669; www.lynnsmealsinminutes.com. Lynn McKee specializes in homestyle meals. Her bourbon-and-brown-sugar flank steak with garlic-chive mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables is a winner. Rate for five-by-four: $300; $10-to-$15 one-time fee for reusable containers. The Really Good Food Company, 301-424-5429; www.reallygoodfoodonline.com. Bryan Davis, who cooked at Old Ebbitt Grill and Red Sage, will cook in either a home or a commercial kitchen for clients in Montgomery County and DC. Rate for five-by-four: $375; $50 one-time fee for reusable containers, or $20 each cook date for disposables. Work for a law firm? Davis also cooks for Working Dinners (www.workingdinners.com), a company that delivers meals to nine area firms. Saving Thyme, 202-415-2392; www.saving-thyme.com. Tori Paide’s offerings, such as flank-steak fajitas brimming with vegetables, are deliciously healthy. She’ll even show you how to cook what she does. “I couldn’t afford this service myself,” she says, “so I teach people to do this.” Rates start at $325 for five-by-four; disposables $10 extra; classes $45 an hour. NEXT-BEST FIVE EAT INChef, 703-585-2893. Tom DeBlois, who has worked at J. Paul’s, Old Glory, and McCormick & Schmick’s, can make the kind of items you might order in a restaurant, like jambalaya and chicken Parmesan. Rate for five-by-four: $350. From Scratch, 703-242-4581; www.fromscratchpcs.com; sandi@fromscratchpcs.com. Sandi Rothman’s favorites include basil shrimp with feta. Five-by-four service starts at $350, including disposable-container fee. The Serving Spoon, 301-706-8863; www.theservingspoon.com. Although new to the business, Kerry Nieh makes a good chicken strudel. Rate for five-by-four: $360; $10 per visit for disposable containers; $70 annually for reusables. Tony’s Kitchen, 703-351-0083; www.tonyskitchen.com. An option if you need a chef on the spur of the moment: Tony Trombly posts that week’s menu each Monday on his Web site; order by 4 PM for delivery that day, primarily in Arlington. I can vouch for the seared halibut with hazelnut butter. Trombly cooks in a commercial kitchen, not yours. Entrées $7 or $8; $1 to $3 delivery. Thyme Savor, 571-220-5869; www.uspca.net/va/thymesavor. Lisa Freire is a good bet for vegetarians. I liked her mushroom-herb quiche and cranberry couscous. Rate for five-by-four: $350; $50 one-time fee for containers. From the October 2003 issue. More from Great Kitchens |
food," she had been working as a caterer for a year. Once she decided to cook for others in their homes, she quit her technology-consulting job. ![[end of article]](file:///C:/DOCUME%7E1/CLFINN%7E1/LOCALS%7E1/Temp/msohtml1/01/clip_image001.gif)