"A great artist is always before his time or behind it."George Moore
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Christmas Cookies with The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
Everyone has fond memories of warm cookies straight from the oven. The warmth of the cookie, the sweet taste in your mouth, I have never met someone without a favourite cookie, many of them centered around the holiday season. Lets face it, even your real ...
Reductions: Proving Less is More
Any liquid can be reduced just by heating it - but why would you do it? The answer comes back to two of our old friends, flavor and consistency (texture). By reducing any flavored liquid you intensify its flavor and at the same time thicken it. You can ...
Vegetarian Does Not Have To Be "All Or Nothing
Many people contemplate becoming a vegetarian at one point or another. Some consider a meatless diet because they feel sorry for the animals. Others think a vegetarian way of eating will improve their health. However, out of those well-intentioned ...
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When you think about chefs, what do you think of first? Which aspects of chefs are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.
Becoming a freelance chef does not mean that just knowing how to cook automatically qualifies you to go into someone's home and cook for them. Obtaining the necessary industry (yes, it is an industry!) knowledge through a comprehensive training program puts you way ahead of the game. Knowing how to market yourself as well as how to go about everyday business functions like accounting, price-setting, scheduling, menu-planning, customer relations, and more can very well dictate whether or not your freelance chef business succeeds or fails.
Two of the biggest organizations in the business of training and bestowing accredited certifications to personal freelance chefs are the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCS) and the American Personal Chef Association (APCA). Both organizations offer information regarding liability insurance, software to help with scheduling and menu planning, tools and equipment, and local chapters provide coaching, advice, and other support for members.
Thanks to the advent of these trained personal freelance chefs, many families now have their favorite meals prepared for them up to several weeks in advance, ready to simply heat and devour. For many, this means getting a decent, home-cooked meal instead of relying on fast food or tv dinners. And most personal chefs not only do the cooking, they plan entire meals, do all the necessary grocery shopping, and clean up their mess when through in their client's kitchen. Personal chefs spend, on average, four to six hours twice a month in their customers' homes making such dishes as salmon with Parmesan crust, fettuccini Alfredo, crab cakes, and other fine meals. Some suggest and provide wines, as well.
Once you begin to move beyond basic background information, you begin to realize that there's more to chefs than you may have first thought.
Pricing averages from $7 to $15 per plate, but with savings found in time saved by not having to shop or do the cooking themselves, people from singles to seniors and professionals with little or no free time, find the service worth much more than the cost.
Training schools for freelance personal chefs provide cooking and business education through seminars, personalized mentoring sessions, classroom instruction, video- and audiocassette teaching, CDs, books, and online testing for a typical price of around $900. Information varies, of course, from school to school, but usually includes such things as checklists for starting out with your business, learning how to price, preparing recipes and planning menus, packaging prepared meals for storage, sanitation and hygiene, and more. Chefs who are already certified as personal chefs - and who are already successfully running their own personal freelance chef businesses - commonly provide instruction and support as mentors.
Personal chefs enjoy all the benefits of any other business owner - and all the responsibilities. Some freelance chefs cook for as many as 15 families. But to most, all the hard work is worth it. One personal chef summed it up nicely: "When you cook for a family for any length of time, you become a part of that family as well." And who would not enjoy that?
Don't limit yourself by refusing to learn the details about chefs. The more you know, the easier it will be to focus on what's important.
In the meantime you can find out more by visiting the web site listed below.
Keith Londrie II has worked and researched the subject of chefs. To learn more information, please visit the new site for culinary information at http://define-culinary-arts-program-schools-restaurant-management .info/
About the author:
To learn more, please visit http://define-culinary-arts-program-schools-restaurant-management .info/
Keith Londrie II
klondrie @ yahoo.com
http://define-culinary-arts-program-schools-restaurant-management .info/
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Bittman builds your cooking skills a recipe at a timeChicago Tribune"How to Cook Everything. The Basics: All You Need to Make Great Food — With 1000 Photos" By Mark Bittman; Wiley, $35 What it is: "Everything" is a bold boast, but obviously longtime New York Times food writer Mark Bittman is not going to teach you how ... |
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Looking for Love in China? Get CookingWall Street Journal (blog)By Kristiano Ang A new survey suggests that in China and other parts of Asia, knowing how to cook may help you win the heart of a potential mate. Property ownership is often seen as a prerequisite to getting hitched in China, but if you're single and ... |
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'How To Cook Like a Man' by Daniel DuaneBoston GlobeBy Ted Weesner Jr. Page through Daniel Duane's “How to Cook Like a Man” and you will fast wonder what havoc celebrity chef culture has wrought upon present-day notions of masculinity. It's as if the blazing klieg lights of the Food Network, et al., ... |
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Artichokes 101: Tips for selection and cookingSacramento BeeCooked artichokes keep for a week, also, and can be heated up on the grill or in the oven just before serving. Freezing: Cooked hearts and blanched smaller artichokes can be frozen. To blanch, remove the outer petals (or bracts) so only the pale inner ...and more » |
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