The World of a Private Chef

[Timh]

Do you hit any of the farmer's markets and which ones do you like?  Also, do you have a great egg person (I'm on a quest!)?

Do you buy the wines or do they?  I know you said he had an impressive collection but I was wondering if you did the pairings with a given meal.

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On the cape in the summers I got local eggs thru a restaurant , and my garden supplied everything else(except corn, got that from a guy up the way). But locally i'm hoping to discover some markets, but again, I have a large garden here that produces alot. Thats the one graw back to New England, is the extrememly short growing season. As a native southerner, I still am not in sync with the loooong winters here. I do buy the wines, but their tastes are are fairly limited to white burgundies, difficult to get California chardonnays, grand cru chablis, and a handfull of the higher end reds of France and California. They do recieve gifts of wine from friends and associates in Spain and Italy, all boutique stuff. As for pairings, I might suggest a red when I see fit, but they are primarily white wine drinkers and a good white burgundy goes with anything in my book.

Edited January 13, 2006 by Timh (log)

[bigred93]

Thurs 1/12

Lunch- Cheese tortallini, fondue of fennel, sundried tomato, veal jus, parmesean and chopped arugula for Mrs.

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Wonderful thread - it sounds like your employers are lucky to have you.

I'm having a hard time understanding/imagining the lunch you describe above. Would you mind briefly elaborating? What do you mean by "fondue of fennel", for example?

[Timh]

I sweated the fennel, thin sliced, added the sliced(soaked) sundried tomato, veal jus and reduced. Tossed (blanched) tortallini, nob of butter, and chopped arugula. Garnished with parm. The sauce was a rich "cream" of fennel,veal jus ,parmesean and butter.

The anise was a almost background, but still present, the veal jus a base and the other players adding topical flavor(tart, salty, peppery)

Edited January 15, 2006 by Timh (log)

[MightyD]

i'm really impressed by how professional you are - too many people i know would simply take advantage of the situation that you are in (ie taking free food, misusing funds etc etc).

[Timh]

Thanks. They give me too many benefits and provide me with a good working environment for me to feel slighted and the need to take advantage of them. They are good people to work for. I don't plan on doing this much longer, other things I want to do. But by maintaining my professionalism(which separates alot of us from the hacks in this field) I will always be able to come back to this type of job.I pride myself on not burning bridges. I also have others depending on me to provide to be so selfish.

[prasantrin]

Thanks. They give me too many benefits  and provide me with a good working environment for me to feel slighted and the need to take advantage of them. They are good people to work for. 

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On a related note, how much accountability do you have to them regarding your expenses? I assume you have to keep a detailed budget regarding your expenses, but do they even look at it? You've been there for so long, I imagine there's a lot of trust between both parties to make things like that less necessary (though not necessarily "unnecessary").

[Timh]

Exactly, I have a "kitty", and save all reciepts and maintain a ledger. Occasionally its checked, but less so now. I maintain transparency in my dealings, like when I buy new cookware, or any equiptment, I maintain a conversation with them and get final ok's before any big purchases.

[Brioche57]

Timh where have you been?

[andrewB]

i shared in a similar experience, working as the private chef for the US Ambasador to Slovakia. He was an investor in the restaurant i worked at in SF and asked me to come out to train his staff and to design the 3 kitchens in the new residence. The position was suppose to be for a month, but turned into a 3 year gig!!

I loved it for the first 1 1/2 year because it was an escape from the restaurant biz, but still being able to cook on an unlimited budget and scale. But as time wore on, i really got burned out on their lifestyle and the whole private chef thing. These weren't normal people mind you, so maybe that's what wore me down. Pureeing steamed pheasant breast for the kid wasn't cutting it for me anymore...

I will say, the benefits of the life were pretty good though. Diplomatic immunity in a foreign country as a young single male was pretty appealing and i used it to its fullest. Also i had plenty of time to soul search and explore my career and art further. I spent hours on end reading, doing research and experiments, even wrote a book in the end!

I think when all said and done i am a creature of the restaurant industry. I need what it has that i private chef lacks: sense of structure, the pace and stress of it, and probably the exposure as well. Only so many diplomats can enjoy your food on a weekly basis, but in a restaurant you are only limited to how many seats you have and how many you can fit in the door!!

[Brioche57]

AndrewB - very, very interesting. When is your book going to be published? And is it's subject matter your life as a private chef?

[andrewB]

AndrewB - very, very interesting. When is your book going to be published? And is it's subject matter your life as a private chef?

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the book has been published already but in Slovakia!! it was a compilation of my recipes used for formal dining and some more simple 'homely' recipes...

i'm currently in process of my second book which will make it across the pond to the states )

[Timh]

I'm still around. Lots going on , wading thru a divorce and the emotional toll. Once I'm past this I'm going to make a change. Andrew put it well, I'm just a restaurant junkie, or at least a kitchen leader type and so I've begun sorting out opportunities, Edible Schoolyard type position really appeals to me as I have two little girls, There's a small cafe for sale that I have my eye on, or moving back to New Orleans to be a part of the rebirth.

I'm feeling really unfullfilled and unchallenged by the job, as well as also being worn down by the relationship and nature of the position. I accept that I'll most likely take a salary cut, and work more hours, I did it for 15 yrs, but being a chef is, I believe , my finality, what I trained for and who I am.

I've also been approached about a book. My story would be somewhere between Nanny Diaries and Kitchen Confidential. But also it would be fiction, as I'm not prepared to get eaten alive by lawyers.

Edited February 1, 2006 by Timh (log)

[winegeek]

Tim,

Thanks for taking the time out of your busy life during such a trying time(divorce) to let us into your world.

I've really enjoyed reading this thread, probably more so than any in the past.

[Brioche57]

I've also been approached about a book. My story would be somewhere between Nanny Diaries and Kitchen Confidential. But also it would be fiction, as I'm not prepared to get eaten alive by lawyers.

Very exciting stuff Tim. Don't let Oprah but you on her book club list though.

[Timh]

Since we're back up,

Tonights menu:

Kids-(roasted )chicken soup w/ cheese tortallini

Adults- mixed salad, fried goat cheese(panko breaded), basic dijon vin.

Shrimp Creole

I've noticed when I'm in a funk of some sort, I tend to prepare what would be comfort foods for me(i taste but don't eat at the house).

My soon to be ex was a private assistant/house mgr. for another family in Boston. Her fam was younger and way more fun than mine, we actually became good friends and spent alot of off time together. The combination of anectdotes between the two are the basis of my story, and how it destroyed my family(this is truth). What has happened is too crazy to believe. But I digress...

Edited February 1, 2006 by Timh (log)

[andrewB]

timh,

the unchallenged feeling is one of pure and utter crap eh? I'd be proud of you going back to the restaurant-ish thing... I got to such a low point in the career that i would wait until 2 hours before a major dinner party to start cooking. It made me move faster and gave me the fire that i missed in the restaurant. You should give it a whirl!! )

[Timh]

Tonight was another example of the aggravation I have. After prepping their dinner and seting it up for service,I'm casually told that the father and son are going out.

Kids- Panko breaded grey sole, w/ tartar sc.

Adults- (1) Bibb, Radichio, bleu d'Auvergne, sliced comice pear. red wine vin.

Coq au vin, egg taggliatelle, mushroom, bacon, caramelized onion garnish.

I'm leaning towards moving to New Orleans at this point.

[BeeZee]

So do I understand from your post that you prepared 2 separate meals and was ready to serve them when you were told 2 people would not be there? Are your employers apologetic/sheepish when they see your work going to waste, or is it more cavalier? Are they at all cognizant of the problem of not telling you until the last minute? Or do you think they just figure that you're being paid to cook for them and it really doesn't matter if they eat it or not?

I just can't conceive of being so inconsiderate, but I also can't conceive of having enough dough to have a chef on staff (but wouldn't it be nice, along with a masseuse on call...)

[OnigiriFB]

Timh -

Good to see you back! Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Being part of the New Orleans rebirth would be cool. I hope you keep up updated on where you land. I'd love to read your book sounds like it would be interesting.

[H. du Bois]

Tim, if someone of your caliber were cooking my meals, I'd never leave the house!

Seriously, everything you describe sounds delicious and interesting. Hell, I get hungry just reading about it! Please don't be disheartened. Even if you were cooking in a restaurant, there'd be some customers who wouldn't appreciate what you've put into your work.

Ellen

[jmcgrath]

Bubblehead Chef might empathize with you, albeit on a larger scale.  He's a Navy chef aboard a submarine, and while he wants to introduce his sailors to the various & sundry foods of the world, often the sailors won't try anything that looks even remotely unfamiliar or exotic.

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It's been 30 odd years since I was in the submarine service, but there are a lot of things you just can't do on a submarine. Fresh vegetables, for example, are gone two weeks into a two month patrol. Same with milk. No wine, of course. Fresh eggs last perhaps a month, after that, it's dehydrated. Everything had to be ordered through military procurement, so selection of spices and dried herbs was limited. It's not that we didn't eat well, it just that we ate bland. One patrol, one of the southern cooks managed to snag a couple of cases of rabbit. Interesting, bony and bland. Life on a submarine, waiting for a nuclear war to start, was the ultimate exercise in boredom. Food was our only escape, and it was bland.

Jim

[bleudauvergne]

Adults- (1) Bibb, Radichio, bleu d'Auvergne, sliced comice pear.

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Hmmm, bleu d'Auvergne and pear. Sounds like that would make a super lunch. I think I will toast that on nut bread wedges over my salad. A vinaigrette with a touch of that aged chablis vinegar I never use will be just the trick to pull it all together. Thanks, Tim!

[joiei]

Timh, have you had a chance to return to New Orleans since the Storm? In the midst of all the misery, there is great food.

Because I am in a similar situation to yours, I want to input my feelings about the missed meal. For me, if my family decides at the last minute to go out for dinner, I just pack up the one I made and most times serve it to the staff the next day. I try not to get offended, I have a great job and want to keep it. My family are not foodies and I try to keep that in mind. They do enjoy good food though. And there have been the times when I have been told like a half hour before serving a meal that someone is joining them. In that case, I just make it stretch. For me it is not an emotional thing, it is what I get paid to do. Then I can go home without conflicts at the end of the day.

I appologize for jumping into your gig Timh, Couldn't stop myself. We do have similarities and differences in the way we are allowed to practice our profession. I do a lot more property management besides the culinary. Keep writing, I find it well done and fun to read.

Edited February 2, 2006 by joiei (log)

[Carrot Top]

The missed-meal thing can also happen, I've heard, when one's own children become teenagers and able to fend for themselves food-and-transportation-wise.

And of course in that case, the (non-professional) parent-chef does not even have that paycheck to look at for doing the job of cooking and putting up with the aggravation.

Nor any title that is greatly appreciated by the outside world, either.

The title "Mom" or "Dad" as opposed to "Private Chef" does not generally make for dinner companions with lots of wide-eyed questions.

But there are things that make up for it , just in doing the job.

It's a tough call, deciding which things are important in life - and balancing the personal and the professional. I hope that (when) you do make your next move to the next thing, you will be able to do it from a place of desire for something that you see, rather than from being bitten by the insistently grating mosquitoes of daily life at this job.

Best of luck.

It is not easy, no.

Edited February 2, 2006 by Carrot Top (log)

[Timh]

Thurs

Lunch- spinach, pulled roasted chicken, pickled onions, feta, redwine vin. wrapped in lavasch

Dinner- Kids- Rigatoni, veal meatballs, tomato ragu

Adults- Caesar Salad

Roasted cod loin, creamy ploenta. puttanesca sc.

Thanks all for the encouragement, I appologise if I come off as whiny. I fully appreciate what this position has afforded me in life, I have two wonderful little girls and have been able to be a dad to them. That to me is the reward for this time spent. But there's a kitchen somewhere out there calling me and i'm looking for it. In addition to applying all of my experiences to my metier, I want to apply my philisophical principles of environmentaly sound land stewardship thru my use of clean organic foods, taking active role in local hungar issues, and just being an active local communtiy supporter, none of which I can do thru my current occupation. The stress of being (vicariously) intimately involved in a family as a domestic servant, has worn me out. But hey, I can always come back to this niche if things don't work out, so I feel, why not ?