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DINNER IS SERVED
PERSONAL CHEFS CATER TO BUSY PEOPLE WHO
DON'T HAVE TIME TO COOK
BY LAURIE BURSTEIN
“What’s for dinner?” is often a dreaded question many busy professionals
don’t want to answer after a long day at work. And if there are
kids at home, the last thing many over-scheduled parents want to
do is worry about cooking dinner. For those who are tired of fast
food, there is another option that is gaining popularity—hiring
a personal chef. While it might sound like a luxury, today’s personal
chefs are more affordable and for many, worth the price of having
fresh and tasty food ready to eat in their own homes.
RICHARD
PERRY
EatPlan Limited |
Richard Perry started his personal chef business three years ago
after being in the restaurant business in St. Louis and Cincinnati
for more than 30 years. He wanted to stay in the food business without
being tied to a restaurant, and started EatPlan Limited to provide
healthful food for people who don’t have time or don’t want to cook.
His clients can eat made-from-scratch meals at home each day and
avoid drive-through fast food and pizza delivery.
“Our program provides nutritionally sound, delicious dinners, six
days a week,” Perry says. “Our clients love the convenience of having
a personal chef. It really is a way to simplify their lives.” He
adds that customers can go online each week to check out weekly
set menus at www.eatplan.com.
An EatPlan dinner might consist of sliced pepper-crusted beefsteak
with red wine sauce, roasted garlic mashed potatoes, balsamic glazed
baby beets, and snow peas and shallots. Other entrees include charcoal
grilled salmon with an oriental glaze and roasted pork loin with
a pear/blue cheese sauce. The cost is reasonable at $38 per person
for four dinners or $65 per person for seven dinners. Perry cooks
the meals in a commercial kitchen and delivers them to his clients’
homes for a delivery charge of $10.
ALISON
BRINKER
Dinner Is Served |
Alison Brinker is both a personal chef and a registered dietician.
After working in several area hospitals for nine years, she started
her business about a year and a half ago. She read about the personal
chef trend in Cooking Light magazine and decided she could
bring her background as both chef and dietician to the table. Her
company, Dinner Is Served, now serves six families and is growing.
She is a member of the United States Personal Chef Association and
American Dietetic Association.
“Eating healthy is important to a lot of people. I cook for a wide
variety of people including elderly people, Mom’s with young children,
working couples and single people. People want home-cooked meals
without taking the time to cook,” Brinker says.
Brinker meets with each client to find out his or her likes and
dislikes. She then customizes the menu for her client’s approval.
Her service includes grocery shopping and meal preparation in each
client’s home. She cooks about a week’s worth of meals and then
packages and labels all foods with reheating instructions.
Brinker cooks everything from pot roast and spaghetti with meatballs
to breaded orange roughy and chicken parmesan. All dinners include
fresh veggies. Her background comes in handy in the case of an elderly
couple on a sodium-restricted diet and recipes must be modified.
She also cooks for a diabetic for whom she monitors the amount of
sugars and carbohydrates in the meal. For two people, she charges
$300 for about nine to 10 meals.
“As busy as people are today, having a personal chef can make a
huge difference in quality of life,” says Jarod Green of DinnerTime—Your
Personal Chef. “It gives you the freedom not to spend hours shopping
and cooking, but still lets you sit down at the table to have a
wonderful dinner in the comfort of your own home.”
Green started his company with a partner, Thomas Eames, a couple
of years ago after being in the restaurant business for eight years,
mostly with Macaroni Grill. His research indicated that the personal
chef segment was growing, and he wanted more flexibility with his
time than working at a restaurant would allow.
JAROD
GREEN
DinnerTime |
Today his company cooks for a wide variety of customers. Green also
meets with clients ahead of time to determine their needs and then
designs menus for the week based on personal tastes. Customers can
request specific recipes, repeat favorite dishes, or be surprised
with a variety of different entrees and side dishes. DinnerTime
also leaves a treat each week like homemade desserts, a bottle of
wine, or fresh flowers.
Green says prices vary depending on the number of meals a client
wants, but four meals per week for two people costs $225. “If you
add up what you spend eating out two or three nights a week along
with the cost of groceries, people would be surprised.” Meal plans
with pricing are available on the company’s website at www.
dinnertime.ws.
Green adds, “We do not require a contract, so people can try us
out for a week. Our cooking speaks for itself and we think people
will be hooked. For many it’s well worth the cost to be able to
get home and have a gourmet meal ready and on the table within 20
minutes,” Green explains.
Now with many great personal chefs in the area, people can come
home from a busy day without wondering what’s for dinner.
Laurie Burstein is a St. Louis-based free-lance writer. |
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