Sherry wrote:
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in
> news:B0gzg.2138$8v.2008@trnddc05:
>
> <snip>
>>
>> 30 minutes? What in the flip can you prepare in 30
>> minutes? I can't. Unless perhaps it's a salad. I don't
>> need a chef. I actually like to cook and I have the
>> time to do it.
>>
>
> I'd *love* to have a personal chef! I'm tired of cooking
> and never know what to fix and when I do cook it never
> tastes very good to me. Other people's cooking always
> tastes better!
>
> And it seems like I spend so much time cooking and we're
> done eating in a fraction of the time that it took to
> cook!
>
> And if I had a personal chef who was knowledgeable about
> healthy cooking for diabetics, I probably could lose
> weight! Didn't Oprah have a personal chef cooking for
> her?
>
> As it is, hubby fixes breakfast, I graze for lunch and we
> usually go out to eat for dinner. A personal chef might
> be just as reasonably priced as eating out every night!
>
> Sherry

A personal chef service (PCS) isn't for everyone. But for those who don't
care to cook, it can be an alternative to frequent restaurant meals. There
are a few basic variations of PCS:

1. The chef comes to your home having shopped and prepped everything. They
use your kitchen to prepare the meal, serve it, and clean up. (Very personal
but quite expensive)

2. The chef prepares meals in their kitchen from menus you have planned and
delivers the food to your kitchen ready to serve. You serve it and clean up.
(Personalized and quite convenient. Moderately expensive)

3. The chef prepares dishes in their kitchen from a series of menus you
select. The food is delivered in an heat-n-eat form. You do the final prep,
serve, and clean up. (You get better food than take out or delivery and have
some input on menu and recipe. About the same cost at moderately priced
restaurant meals) These services often have a nutritionist that consults
periodically with the clients as well as the chef.

4. Clients come to the chef's kitchen where they are guided through the
preparation of several dishes which they take home to fix at a future date.
You invest the time to chop, mix, stir, and package. You then heat, serve
and clean up at home. (You have control over the ingredients, learn cooking
techniques from the chef, and select the meals from a menu of dishes. Less
expensive than restaurant meals and you can learn to cook. This can be a fun
social event as well.)

You can often find recreational cooking classes presented in your community
as well. Here in Houston they are found in grocery and gourmet stores,
community/senior centers, restaurants, and chef's homes) The usual format
is a two hour demonstration class where the chef prepares a multi-course
meal while sharing the recipe and techniques. The food is served to the
group as the class progresses. (You can pick and choose what classes you
attend. There's not a lot of personalization of the menus. They can be a lot
of fun. Costs between $25 and $75 per person for each class)

I'm currently discussing doing a series of diabetic cooking classes (demo
format) with the leaders of a local DM support group sponsored by a local
hospital. If it gets off the should it should be a fun project.

--
Pete Romfh, Telecom Geek & Amateur Gourmet.
http://www.bigoven.com/~promfh
promfh (at) hal-pc (dot) org