Frequently Asked Questions

Q. What does a Personal Chef do?
A. A Personal Chef helps people with busy lives eat better, healthier and most importantly – with ease and convenience.  Gourmet food is prepared in your home and stored in the refrigerator or freezer based upon your lifestyle needs.  Best of all, menus are custom created just for you and unique to your families dining preferences and dietary requirements.

Q. Who needs a Personal Chef?
A. Families today with jam-packed schedules who are too busy to cook, dislike cooking, or are tired of the hassle and cost of restaurants and take out. Today many people find they cannot manage a home without a housekeeping service.  It’s becoming the same for putting quality food on the dinner table. Busy individuals, couples and families are hiring personal chefs as schedules become over crowded and time more scarce and precious.

• Busy Professionals, couples and individuals
• Active Families
• Independent seniors
• New Parents
• People on special diets
• People with weight loss goals
• People recovering from injury or illness
• People looking to give that one special gift no one else has thought of with a gift certificate
• When you want to be enjoy (rather than work) your own dinner party
• Those who do not know how to cook
• Those who do not like to cook

Q. How does this service work?
A. First we meet to conduct a detailed food questionnaire and understand your food preferences and any dietary needs. Then, customized menus are researched, developed and created for your approval.  Next, I do all of the grocery shopping and meal preparation in your home.  Your gourmet dinners are packaged, labeled and left in the refrigerator or freezer with complete instructions on how to enjoy. When I leave, your kitchen is spotless and the house is filled with the aromas of home cooking.

Q. What does the service cost?
A. Pricing varies, depending on the number of entrees and servings being prepared. Please see the pricing page for examples, or contact the chef.

Q. What does the service price include?
A. The price of the service includes:

• Client consultation, food questionnaire and kitchen review
• Personalized menus research, planning and creation
• Grocery shopping for the very best, freshest ingredients
• Cooking, packaging, labeling and storing
• Kitchen clean-up and sanitization
• Groceries are additional
• Pantry items such as flour, sugar, herbs and spices are included

Q. Do you cook in my kitchen?
A. Yes, all meals are cooked in the safety of the client's kitchen. I bring my own tools and equipment and leave the kitchen spotless when I am finished.

Q. How long will you be in my kitchen?
A. That depends on how many meals and the menu that has been selected for the cook date. Typically, the service takes about 4-6 hours from start to finish.
 
Q. Do I have to be home when you come to cook?
A. No, you do not have to be home on your scheduled cook date as long as appropriate arrangements are made in advance for me to gain access to your house.

Q. How is the food packaged?
A. A variety of containers are used depending on the food. We discuss this at the consultation.  Some containers are pressed paperboard, others aluminum or plastic with recycling in mind.  Most are microwavable, stackable, refrigerator-freezer friendly, leak-resistant, durable and economical.

Q. How do I get started?
A. Please contact Chef Sally via phone or email to schedule a complimentary in-home consultation. She will sit down with you to complete a comprehensive questionnaire detailing your dining preferences, dietary needs and lifestyle requirements.  From there, custom menus are created by Chef Sally, approved by the client and a service day is scheduled. So what are you waiting for?  Call Chef Sally today.

Q. Who is the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA)?
A. The USPCA is the world’s largest and most recognized professional association for Personal Chefs.  For more information on the USPCA, click the logo on our home page to be guided to the USPCA web site.

Other questions?  Please contact Chef Sally.