Personal cheffing

[fryguy]

I am currently a restaurant line cook with aspirations of chefdom (I'll be going to school this fall). In order to keep some sort of regular schedule, I was thinking about personal cheffing after I graduate, rather than going back to the line. I really have no clue how this industry works, and I've seen posts by people who are currently personal chefs. I was just wondering how all this works.

Thanks in advance for your time.

[Pickles]

I really have no clue how this industry works

Do you like to cook? Good...so do all prospective PC's...BUT HERE COME THE REALITIES:

1) Can you cook according to the whims of people you barely know? People who may change their minds 18 times before you get to their door with the groceries? Doesn't happen often...but anything CAN happen when you cook for people who are basic strangers.

2) Can you write well? Create advertising copy and brochures? Devise appetizing menus? Write enticing and informative client letters? Very important.

3) How do you sound on the phone? Like one of the mice in Disney's "Cinderella?" Nuh-uh..... You have to sell yourself mainly on the phone. Get some good diction and a nice telephone manner going for you.

4) Can you lift 50-60 pounds of equipment per day? Groceries, and your pots and pans?? This job ain't for pussies! Lift some weights, or don't complain.

5) Can you negotiate? Placate? Re-locate?? The latter meaning if your client's power goes off, can you, (without a sigh, bitch, moan or complaint)...pack up the prepped and partially cooked foods into storage bins and "emergency cook them" at your own house? Yes...it's happened. I have gas, they have electric...I move!

6) Can you avoid being hooked into the "Personal Chefs Training Systems" for sale out there??? Please say yes to this one....please!! PM me for details.

7) Can you do basic accounting, and keep EXCELLENT records? Keep your books straight?? You must.

If you answered "yes" to ALL these questions, you're on your way. Ask me anything else you like...I am happy to help all aspiring PC's and talk about what I do, and how I do it.

Edited June 14, 2004 by Pickles (log)

[andiesenji]

Perhaps this site will help you. http://www.personalchefsnetwork.com/

I would have given my favorite knife to have had this kind of resource when I was in the business.

Much of my work involved work with people in the entertainment industry in the L.A. area and there were some monumental egos to stroke. Often they wished to serve a meal and pretend they prepared it themselves so I needed to actually train them on the finish and presentation.

I shopped with them for the meal and had to explain why one ingredient was preferable over another so they could answer these questions if their guests asked. I had to be totally discrete. No one has ever heard from me the name of any of my clients.

I never had to advertise, it was all word of mouth.

When I began I took all my equipment with me and had a complete array of herbs and spices, condiments and staples in my battery. As I did repeat work for clients they learned to stock their kitchens to expedite my work.

There were times that I had to be very diplomatic and explain to a client that they would have to ratchet back their plans for a particular meal because it would have been unlikely that they would have been able to prepare a particular item without help.

I enjoyed the work, however I did have a steady day job 4 days a week to cover my basic needs.

In some ways I taught my way out of a job because with my training some of my clients became excellent cooks in their own right, took cooking classes and no longer needed me.

It was fun while it lasted and I don't regret a moment of it.

[Pickles]

Perhaps this site will help you.   http://www.personalchefsnetwork.com/

I would have given my favorite knife to have had this kind of resource when I was in the business. 

Much of my work involved work with people in the entertainment industry in the L.A. area and there were some monumental egos to stroke.  Often they wished to serve a meal and pretend they prepared it themselves so I needed to actually train them on the finish and presentation. 

I think from what you've written, you were more a "Private Chef" than a "Personal Chef." And yep....there's a difference. Personal Chefs don't train clients how to cook. "Private Chefs" deal more with one specific client at a time (rock stars...etc.) rather than mutiple "everyday" families. They'd invite their star clients into the kitchen for the show. As Personal Chefs, we prepare the food, uninterupted, and we leave.

Edited June 14, 2004 by Pickles (log)

[Abra]

I'm a personal chef, and my experience is somewhat different from Pickles'.

Yes, the schlepping is hard, and you do need to work out for that. I'm 53, and I think a younger person would have an easier time with this aspect of the job, but I try to make up for it in other ways. Harder is cooking in a different kitchen every day, but I've gotten amazingly good at that. There are, after all, only so many ways a kitchen can be laid out. Several of my clients have very well-equipped kitchens, and I don't have to carry a lot of equipment when I cook for them. And I'd NEVER take food home to cook it, even in an emergency, because the Health Dept. would shut me down in a heartbeat.

But I have been cooking for some of my clients since I started my business over two years ago, and I know their tastes in food as well as I know my own family's. They're only strangers once. Sometimes they do change their minds, or want food that I think is weird. So what? They're paying me to make them happy, and even I don't always know what I want to eat when planning a menu several days in advance.

I let my vehicle signs, Yellow Pages ad, and web site (www.rollingbaygourmet.com) do most of my marketing. Sure, I talk to people on the phone, and talk about my business when I'm out in public, but mostly, my cooking sells itself, and as andiesenji says, most clients come to me through word of mouth. You do have to be able to explain what you do, and people have to feel comfortable having you in their home, whether they're there or not.

I didn't have to shell out the big bucks to learn, because I belong to Personal Chefs Network (the link andiesenji provided above.) The support and training I got from PCN when I was starting out was invaluable, and I still use it as a daily resource. Yes, you have to pay to join, but it's a minimal amount considering what you get for your money.

And I do give my clients tips on cooking. Sometimes I prepare all of the food for a big party, or even for Thanksgiving dinner, in advance of the event, and leave the client very detailed instructions about how to finish each thing and pull the meal together. Sure, a few have pretended they cooked the food, but at least two that I know of got caught out and were embarrassed enough to tell me about it. More often they 'fess up, and their friends become a new source of clients.

You do end up working alone almost all of the time, but you work at your own pace. You can earn more than you would cooking on the line, with a fraction of the stress and adrenaline. You can cook 9 different dishes a day ad infinitum, as long as you can keep coming up with new recipes - a huge bonus for me, since I want to cook new food every single day. And your clients will tell you a lot about how you are changing their lives, and eating habits. My clients eat more leafy greens than they ever imagined, and love it. All in all, it's very rewarding.

[KateW]

I've entertained the thought of personal cheffing for a long time as well and this thread has just reinspired me. Thanks!

[Pickles]

I've entertained the thought of personal cheffing for a long time as well and this thread has just reinspired me.  Thanks!

Great, Kate! It's a marvelous job. Once you get your feet wet, and know the ropes it's clear sailing. You work when you want, and as much as you want. I recommend a basic knife skills class, and of course food safety training is a big plus. Every PC operates differently. For example, I wouldn't use any client equipement. I feel it's my responsibility to provide everything to do the job. I also don't want to break their stuff and have to pay for it! I speak for myself when I say we (PC's) are not under the thumb of the Health Department. I have no dealings with them at all, nor is it a requirement to operate a PC business. Come to think of it, there ARE no "requirements" as this is a relatively "new" businss. I did get a package of information from the United States Personal Chef's Association, but it was basic common sense, and you pay for recipes that you can easily get for yourself. In doing the job you're expected to keep your equipment clean, and prepare the food under clean conditions. You are not inspected by the Health Department. No one has a list of my clients or inspects my car or anything like that. When I said I took food home to cook in an emergency, I had to do just that, and I did it without reservation. The power was out for over an hour, I had a quiche and a roast chicken in the oven. Rather than risk my clients' health, I drove the mile and a half up the road, transferred everything into my own ovens, and went back to the clients' home to finish prepping and preparing a bit later on. My clients were fully supportive and even helped me load my car! I have no regrets doing that and would do it again, if need be. If I were under Health Department regulation, they'd have to show me where this is illegal. To my knowledge, they do not have rules (yet) that govern personal chefs' operations. Not here in NY anyway. When they do, I shall be more than happy to comply. Code Of Ethics

Edited June 14, 2004 by Pickles (log)

[andiesenji]

In California, if you cook anything at all in your home kitchen that is going to be served to other people and for which you are paid, you better have a certified kitchen, no matter what your title. Caterer, personal chef, private, chef or what.

The fines are substantial and can wipe out a years profit or more and if you have portable equipment it can be seized and sold to cover the fines. And you are out of business until they give you a hearing.

If you cook in the client's kitchen that is a different matter. However you should have a clean bill of health, be tested for hepatitis and TB and carry that documentation with you.

[Pickles]

Well they're comin' to take me away, I guess! The APCA says in their "training" materials you're not supposed to marinate meats in your own fridge overnight for your clients (but...if you read their recipes, some of the directions say "marinate overnight." I guess you're supposed to sleep over.... ), and you can't even grow your own herbs in your own garden and take them to a client's house for use in cooking.. I think that's horseshit, and I do it anyway. My herbs are a lot safer and healthier than store bought. basil illnesses The nice part about being a PC is that I am treated like part of my clients' families and if I plan to make a huge mutha batch of fresh salsa over the weekend, in my own clean kitchen, you bet they're gonna get a jar taken to them during the week as their client gift, just as I'd take a jar to my Mom or to a friend. There's no difference to me. I know the rules are there for a reason, and it's excellent for aspiring PC's to know all these things. Even that I bend these rules. In a perfect world, we never sneeze, the power is always on, and there's a bleach bucket in every kitchen. I don't live in a perfect world, but I operate very cleanly and ethically. So far, so good.

[andiesenji]

This is the reason I had my kitchen remodeled with a separate air-conditioning and exhaust system and had it certified. The building and safety inspectors were here every other day and county dept. of health made three inspections, since then I am on a biannual inspection rota. They take scrapings from the fridges, freezers, ovens, exhaust system, cabinets, storage bins and from the sinks. I have a big blue A, which I could display if I was in an area zoned for commercial usage. The last inspector quipped that he wouldn't be afraid to have surgery in my kitchen......

[Raynickben]

Andiesenji: What is the criteria for getting your kitchen certified? What exactly do you do in your kitchen/who are your customers, etc.?

[GSBravo]

I have no interest in being a personal chef, but I do find this all of this interesting.

A lot of resturant industry practices can be scaled down for home use. So I'm thinking, even more of the personal chef practices can be scaled down to home use.

Please keep answering this man's question.

[Marmish]

Thanks for starting this topic, FryGuy. I have wondered about this myself, although I have no plans to do it in the foreseeable future.

[ruthcooks]

The USPCA charges thousands to "qualify" their chefs, which means exactly nothing except you have spent a lot of money. APCA chefs may be certified by the ACF if they wish to do so. Here's all the info. Recipes are the least of it. PCN is a split off from APCA.

The APCA has seminars throughout the country to introduce new personal chefs to the routine, but you may order the materials and simply read them. The APCA maintains an open forum for members to ask questions, which most members find very helpful. There is even a forum open to non-members at http://personalchefforum.com/eve/ubb.x?a=f...513&f=963604525

Instead of overnight marinating, the APCA recommends placing meat in marinade in a zip lock and pressing out all the air, then cooking this dish last. Typical time frames for cooking sessions range from four to seven hours. Questions like this are answered daily on the forum.

Specific questions are more likely to inspire response, as opposed to general questions like "What do I need to know?"

[Abra]

Here in Washington it's the same as in CA, evidently. No food offered for sale may be prepared at home, period, the end, unless you have a certified kitchen in your home, and then it may not be the kitchen you use for your own meal preparation. In addition, I have a very substantial liability insurance policy that covers me whenever I cook for a client on site, but absolutely would not cover me if a client were to get a food borne illness and I had prepared the food at home. No marinating, no chopping veggies at home, no nada.

I turn down a fair amount of business because the prospective client wants the food delivered after off-site preparation, and I don't have a certified kitchen available. There are several well-known caterers here who prepare food in their home kitchens, cats on the counter or whatever they have going, but I refuse to do that. I stake my whole business on my reputation for not only preparing dynamite food, but following all the rules and being well-insured.

That said, sure, I take clients gifts of foods I prepare at home on occasion, but they're gifts. I do use herbs from my garden, and so far as I know there's no prohibition on this.

The key thing is to know what's legal where you live, and to follow those rules.

[Pickles]

The USPCA charges thousands to "qualify" their chefs, which means exactly nothing except you have spent a lot of money.

I joined the USPCA before I went online. So I had no points of comparison. They touted themselves as the only training system, and I bought into it. I was so anxious to begin...you see. I have also seen the training materials fom the APCA, and they're really pretty much identical. Just common sense, all zeroxed up and bound together. The USPCA offered really no help at all via phone, and if you want extra help after your year was up, you had to pay. Each charges yearly membership dues...and for what, I have no idea. I let mine slide with USPCA. I have watched the training vids the APCA gives out with their package, and they were interesting and somewhat informative. Neither organization gives substantial information on how you do your books, and pay your taxes. I would think for someone just starting out in business ownership, these issues would be one of the most important things they could explain to you. Instead, it's more like "..pack your work vehicle.....wash your hands before you start cooking...be sure to leave your re-heating instructions..." And for this I paid just over a thousand for USPCA. I imagine it's gone WAY up since then. The APCA runs rings around the USPCA in terms of media coverage. If I had it do over, I'd have gone with their training system. An aspiring PC is better off trailing with an established PC if they let you. I personally do not want to train my competition in my own area, but would be happy to have someone from another area trail with me for a day.

[Susan in FL]

I'm a personal chef, and my experience is somewhat different from Pickles'. 

Yes, the schlepping is hard, and you do need to work out for that.  I'm 53, and I think a younger person would have an easier time with this aspect of the job, but I try to make up for it in other ways.  Harder is cooking in a different kitchen every day, but I've gotten amazingly good at that.  There are, after all, only so many ways a kitchen can be laid out.  Several of my clients have very well-equipped kitchens, and I don't have to carry a lot of equipment when I cook for them.  And I'd NEVER take food home to cook it, even in an emergency, because the Health Dept. would shut me down in a heartbeat.

But I have been cooking for some of my clients since I started my business over two years ago, and I know their tastes in food as well as I know my own family's.  They're only strangers once.  Sometimes they do change their minds, or want food that I think is weird.  So what?  They're paying me to make them happy, and even I don't always know what I want to eat when planning a menu several days in advance.

I let my vehicle signs, Yellow Pages ad, and web site (www.rollingbaygourmet.com) do most of my marketing.  Sure, I talk to people on the phone, and talk about my business when I'm out in public, but mostly, my cooking sells itself, and as andiesenji says, most clients come to me through word of mouth.  You do have to be able to explain what you do, and people have to feel comfortable having you in their home, whether they're there or not.

I didn't have to shell out the big bucks to learn, because I belong to Personal Chefs Network (the link andiesenji provided above.)  The support and training I got from PCN when I was starting out was invaluable, and I still use it as a daily resource.  Yes, you have to pay to join, but it's a minimal amount considering what you get for your money.

And I do give my clients tips on cooking.  Sometimes I prepare all of the food for a big party, or even for Thanksgiving dinner, in advance of the event, and leave the client very detailed instructions about how to finish each thing and pull the meal together.  Sure, a few have pretended they cooked the food, but at least two that I know of got caught out and were embarrassed enough to tell me about it.  More often they 'fess up, and their friends become a new source of clients.

You do end up working alone almost all of the time, but you work at your own pace.  You can earn more than you would cooking on the line, with a fraction of the stress and adrenaline.  You can cook 9 different dishes a day ad infinitum, as long as you can keep coming up with new recipes - a huge bonus for me, since I  want to cook new food every single day.  And your clients will tell you a lot about how you are changing their lives, and eating habits.  My clients eat more leafy greens than they ever imagined, and love it.  All in all, it's very rewarding.

Chef Abra, congrats on a job you're obviously doing well. I love your style, flexibility, and positive attitude. It's a great job on the website, too. I would recommend your services if you were in this area!

Your posts sound like good guidance for FryGuy, and I second the thanks to him for starting this thread -- it is an interesting discussion -- and thanks to you for sharing your joy and pride in your work.

Good luck, FryGuy!

[andiesenji]

I turn down a fair amount of business because the prospective client wants the food delivered after off-site preparation, and I don't have a certified kitchen available. There are several well-known caterers here who prepare food in their home kitchens, cats on the counter or whatever they have going, but I refuse to do that. I stake my whole business on my reputation for not only preparing dynamite food, but following all the rules and being well-insured.

The key thing is to know what's legal where you live, and to follow those rules.

Exactly.

If you require a certified kitchen, have you considered working a deal with one of the private schools, particularly church schools, or service organizations in your area.

Here in town I know several caterers who have deals with the Elks club which has a state of the art kitchen, fully certified, the senior citizens center and a Baptist church school which also has a fully certified kitchen.

The churches and the seniors centers are always in need of additional funds and often are willing to give one a break in exchange for help in some of their fund-raising events.

I have professional portable equipment and before arthritis made it impossible, and before my kitchen was certified, I worked with these organizations setting up for pancake breakfasts, etc., in exchange for use of their facilities at a nominal rent, whenever I needed to do work that I could not do on site at my client's home.

At present there is a group of ladies using the kitchen at the Baptist church to bake loads of cookies to ship to military men in Iraq and Afganistan. They are shipped out from Edwards AFB but have to be prepared in a certified kitchen.

One personal chef that I know, recently moved to the San Bernardino area. He has one of the large catering trucks and used to work for the studios on location, feeding the crews. These were full meals, not fast food. He and a couple of partners had several of these units but he decided to go off on his own to do something different. He takes his unit to the clien'ts home, does much of the prep work in the unit then moves it into the house.

These units also have to be certified and inspected, much more often than a regular kitchen. I think it is every 6 months.

This might be the solution for someone who has no other way of getting a business off the ground.

[Abra]

andiesenji, my husband is alwaystelling me to get one of those catering trucks. Mostly he just wants it so he can call it the Rolling Bay Rolling Gourmet truck. But it would be way cool to be able to show up and cook just anywhere.

Pickles - PCN is full of "refugees" from USPCA and APCA, all with the same complaints you have. You're not alone, and if you want to join a personal chef community that really works, I urge you to visit the PCN site and check us out. We're not perfect, but we're very good.

[Pickles]

Pickles - PCN is full of "refugees" from USPCA and APCA, all with the same complaints you have. You're not alone

Ah-HAH!!!! That's you on the main page of that site. You look like Susan Sarandan. At least in that picture. Thanks for the invite.

[Abra]

Well, I'm only on the main page for June - it's a monthly award, and I finally won it. I'm just a regular member all the rest of the time. Probably my husband wishes I looked like Susan Sarandon!

[andiesenji]

andiesenji, my husband is alwaystelling me to get one of those catering trucks. Mostly he just wants it so he can call it the Rolling Bay Rolling Gourmet truck. But it would be way cool to be able to show up and cook just anywhere.

Pickles - PCN is full of "refugees" from USPCA and APCA, all with the same complaints you have. You're not alone, and if you want to join a personal chef community that really works, I urge you to visit the PCN site and check us out. We're not perfect, but we're very good.

I spoke to Dan the Man last night and invited him to visit eG and see what we are about. He is still a computer/web novice, (actually a Luddite about things like this - Jeez, he still has an 8-track in his old Barracuda) and he said he would think about it. I think he would be a fun addition to the community as well as have a lot of tips for people considering the "rolling kitchen" type of outfit.

He has some great stories about cooking for the movie and TV people on various locations.

At one time he had a sign stuck on the back of the truck that said "200 visits to Vasquez Rocks and counting" -- because so many films are shot there. (For instance the Flintstones movie, he woked on that one.)

Dan also worked in some well known eateries around the L.A. before going into this business. He swears he will never go back to working as a line cook or sous chef.

His rig is set up for cooking full meals just about anywhere. He has two of the big Kohler 12.5 generators on board for electricity to operate the regular appliances as well as an induction cooker. He mainly got it because it is cooler to work with than the gas stovetop and the air conditioner does not have to work as hard.

[Abra]

Oh, I wish he would come and tell us all about his rig, how much it cost initially, whatt he operating expenses are like, how the Health Dept. treats him, and all the juicy stuff!

[andiesenji]

Oh, I wish he would come and tell us all about his rig, how much it cost initially, whatt he operating expenses are like, how the Health Dept. treats him, and all the juicy stuff!

I am going to try some major arm-twisting.... I have left a couple of messages for Dan.

At least he finally has an answering machine. However he still refuses to get a cell phone.

At one time he had a pager but threw it out the window of his car on the Santa Monica freeway when he was stuck in traffic and someone kept paging him.

I happened to be riding with him that day. We were on our way to the Pacific Design Center (AKA The Blue Whale) to look at something he wanted to get for his sister.

He is clinging to the 20th century and refuses to dip a toe in the 21st, technology-wise.

I hope he forgives me for telling about his quirks.

Edited June 16, 2004 by andiesenji (log)