Official e-Newsletter of the American Personal & Private Chef Association

Official e-Newsletter of the
American Personal & Private Chef Association

September/October 2007

In this edition ...

This e-Newsletter was sent to you by American Personal & Private Chef Association. Please add info@personalchef.com or personalchef.com to your address book. This will ensure delivery into your Inbox (not your bulk or junk folders).

From Candy Wallace, Executive Director

Ciao, APPCA members!

It's time to start packing for our trip to Academia Barilla in beautiful Parma, Italy, November 4-9.

Passports current? Flights booked? International travel-insurance policies put in place? Let's jet!

This unique APPCA culinary experience is going to be one we will remember for years to come, so if you are still considering joining us - ACT NOW! Don't miss this chance to taste your way through Parma, Italy, with your colleagues.

Not only are we going to experience exclusive culinary classes at Academia Barilla, we will also have visits to the countryside to see the true producers of Prosciutto di Parma and Parmigiano-Reggiano, visits to Modena for balsamic vinegar and a gustatory tour of Bologna. We will be enjoying lunches and dinners in traditional restaurants and visiting the local farmers market.

We have so much to look forward to!

Have you registered for the trip to Parma? There is still room for you if you want to share this delicious trip with your APPCA colleagues.

You can reserve a space online at:
CLICK HERE FOR ONLINE REGISTRATION or call the APPCA home office at (800) 644-8389.

Here is some specific information for those of you who will be traveling with us to Italy:

Contact our Travel Goddess
We are fortunate to be in the capable hands of Debbie Kelder, who is a travel wizard, willing to work her magic for our travel safety and ease. To contact Debbie regarding your travel arrangements call (602) 466-2294 or e-mail dkstaug@cox.net.

Transfer info: Arrival at Malpensa Airport should be Sunday morning on November 4th. This should work for virtually everyone flying to Italy from the United States, as you'll likely embark from your home cities the night of November 3 and fly overnight to Europe.

Pickups in Milan will be from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. When booking your flight, you should arrange to arrive in Milan to meet within that pick-up time period.

If you miss that window, there are trains from the airport in Milan to Parma for a minimal fee, but the cost of the train is not covered in your registration fee, and there are no refunds for people who don't take the scheduled coach transfer to Parma.

Travel through Heathrow: If your flight is scheduled to connect through London's Heathrow airport, here is a tip: You MUST allow at least three hours to get from one terminal to the next and go through security.

Furthermore, Heathrow security allows only ONE SMALL BAG as carry-on luggage, so plan accordingly. Apparently, there is a huge backup at security while people scramble to cram everything from their normal two pieces of carry-on luggage into one bag, and most end up checking the second with the airline. Plan ahead to avoid this mess.

Travel insurance: affordably priced and always a very good idea. You can Google international travel insurance for sources or check with your travel advisor.

Hotel info: We are staying at the beautiful Sofitel Parma Grand Hotel de la Ville, mere steps from Academia Barilla and an easy stroll to the marketplace in Parma. Registration includes double occupancy, with an additional fee for single occupancy or twin-bed requests.

Clothing: for touring and meal periods, bring comfortable clothes and shoes, with outerwear suggested for outdoors. Chef wear: yes. There are three scheduled culinary classes scheduled at Academia Barilla, so you'll want to dress for these events in professional cooking attire. All tools such as knives will be supplied by the Academia.

If you have questions that are not answered in the information above, please feel free to contact our representative with Academia Barilla directly. Marsha can be reached at academiabarillaculinary@barilla-usa.com, or contact our marketing director, Brent Frei, at btfrei@comcast.net, (847) 882-5499.

Okay, start packing! See you in November if not before!

CIAO ...

Candy

Candy Signature

Join Us in Vegas for "Back to Basics" Feb. 25

APPCA is pleased to announce its 2008 Personal & Private Chef Summit in Las Vegas during the immensely popular catersource conference and trade show. Our theme: "Back to Basics," beginning with a cocktail reception on Sunday evening, Feb. 24, delivering a full day of programming on Monday, Feb. 25, and offering an optional half-day training session on Tuesday, Feb. 26, on APPCA's new Personal Chef Office business-management software.

Where we'll be
We'll meet at Sam's Town Hotel & Gambling Hall, where we negotiated a room block for the amazing low rate of only $54.99 per night on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights, single or double occupancy (+ 9% room tax; Friday and Saturday rates are higher).The hotel is located off the Las Vegas Strip with regular complimentary shuttle service to Strip and downtown locales. What's more, the property has a vast array of dining and entertainment options, including boutique and Western stores, an 18-screen movie theater and 56-lane bowling alley. Call (877) 593-5993 and mention code APPB08A to obtain our group rate. (A deposit is required at reservation; your credit card will be charged for the first night.) Our block is limited; reserve your room by January 24 to get APPCA's special rate. For more information on Sam's Town, visit www.samstownlv.com.

"Back to Basics"
We're celebrating our roots! Following is our Summit agenda; presenters will be profiled in the November edition of "à la minute."

Sunday, Feb. 24  
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. Welcome cocktail reception with highlights from our 2007 Summit in  Parma, Italy
Monday, Feb. 25  
8:00 a.m. Continental breakfast
8:30 a.m. Going "Green": How to Be Environmentally Responsible in Your Business and for Your Clients
10:00 a.m. Morning break
10:30 a.m. The Diabetes Epidemic and the Role of the Personal and Private Chef
Noon Lunch: Successful Marketing Ideas
1:30 p.m. Presentation and Packaging: Wowing Your Clients
3:00 p.m. Afternoon break
3:30 p.m. Master Class: Cooking Tips & Techniques Every Personal and Private Chef Should Know
5:00 p.m. Conclusion of Summit
   
Tuesday, Feb. 26 (optional, additional fee)
8:00 a.m. - Noon Maximizing Personal Chef Office, the Revolutionary New Business Software from APPCA

Registration: $199, includes Sunday's reception on Feb. 24 and all programming and meals on Monday, Feb. 25. For Personal Chef Office on Tuesday, Feb. 26: additional fee of $75 (registration for Personal Chef Office is limited to 20.) To register for the 2008 Personal & Private Chef Summit, visit www.personalchefsummit2008.com or call (800) 644-8389.

Special pricing for 2008 catersource Conference & Trade Show

After you've spent a day with us at Sam's Town learning how to build and maintain a more successful personal- or private-chef career, enjoy the largest catering conference in the nation at the Las Vegas Hilton & Convention Center. APPCA has partnered with catersource to offer our members special rates on one-day and full-registration packages at this annual show that is guaranteed to provide value to your business through a wealth of menu, service and operational ideas delivered by renowned experts.

catersource OPTION 1: Free Trade Show Only, Tuesday, Feb. 26, and Wednesday, Feb. 27. More than 800 exhibits. Complimentary both days. Attendees must register for an entrance badge.

catersource OPTION 2: One-Day Registration. Includes full programming and meals on one day of choice, plus complimentary entrance to Trade Show. Registration fee: $399 by 11/15/07 ... $425 by 1/15/08 ... $455 after 1/15/08.

catersourse OPTION 3: Full Registration. Monday, Feb. 25, through Thursday, Feb. 28. Discounted APPCA rate of $685 by 11/15/07 ... $715 by 1/15/08 ... $765 after 1/15/08. Register with promotion code #08777. (Note: Both the APPCA Summit and catersource run concurrently on Monday in different locations.)

APPCA will present a special program on "greening" and environmental responsibility for chefs and caterers attending catersource 2008 on Tuesday, Feb. 26.

For more information on catersource 2008 and to register, visit www.catersource.com.

Personal-Chef Training Through November

The personal-chef segment of the foodservice industry has expanded enormously and blossomed into a recognized career path, with the demand for high-quality food and service growing each year throughout the country. Join us at one of the following scheduled training sessions, where APPCA will deliver a dynamic two-day, high-intensity seminar providing the best tools and educational materials in the industry for you to operate a successful personal-chef business.

San Diego
September 22-23

NY-NJ-CT TriState
September 22-23

L'Academie de Cuisine, Gaithersburg, Md.
October 6-7

San Diego
November 17-18

There are discounted prices for APPCA active members who have already purchased Option A or Option B, so they are advised to CALL directly APPCA head office register for the above mentioned LIVE Seminars

Idaho Potato Risotto

A palate-specific recipe from
Mark Dommen, Chef/Partner
One Market Restaurant, San Francisco
Yield: 8 small-plate servings

"This dish has the richness of risotto, but it's made with potatoes," Dommen says. "It's surprising how well the potatoes hold their shape and texture, even cut into such tiny pieces. They still take a good 10 minutes to cook, and they don't turn into mashed potatoes like you might think. The texture is similar to risotto, with that same creamy chewiness."

8 tablespoons butter, divided use
4 ounces chanterelle mushrooms, cleaned, coarsely chopped
2 ounces apple-wood smoked bacon, cut in thin strips
2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic chives
1 tablespoon roasted garlic purée
6 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
2 shallots, minced
2 medium (60 count) Idaho russet potatoes, peeled
2 cups whole milk
1 scallion, finely chopped
2 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
Vegetable broth or chicken broth, as needed
1/2 cup mixed micro-herbs (fresh chervil sprigs, tarragon leaves and chive strands)
1½ teaspoons lemon-infused olive oil

Method:

  1. In sauté pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter; add chanterelles and sauté until caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; reserve.
  2. In the same pan, fry bacon until crisp; discard fat. Add bacon to mushrooms. Toss together with chives, garlic purée and thyme leaves. Set aside.
  3. Using mandoline (medium setting for julienne cut 1/8-inch to 1/4-inch) cut potatoes into long strands. Line up strands on cutting board; with knife, carefully cut into 1/4-inch pieces resembling rice. (Do not soak potatoes in water after cutting; their starch contributes the characteristic creaminess.)
  4. Sweat chopped shallots in 2 tablespoons butter in large heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add potatoes; cook 2 minutes longer, stirring to coat potatoes with butter. Add milk. Stir well.
  5. Bring to a low simmer, stirring potatoes with rubber spatula so they do not stick to bottom or corners of pot. Cook until potatoes have absorbed milk and begin to thicken, 5 to 7 minutes.
  6. Add scallions. Taste potatoes to check texture. When potatoes begin to soften, reduce heat to low. If potatoes absorb all liquid and still need more cooking, mix in a few tablespoons vegetable or chicken broth. Continue cooking until potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 minutes more.
  7. Add reserved mushrooms and bacon. Mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. As risotto begins to thicken, add vegetable or chicken broth as needed to thin it out. Cut remaining butter into 6 pieces. Add to potato mixture along with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; mix until well blended. Adjust seasoning.
  8. Toss micro-herbs with lemon-infused olive oil.
  9. Divide risotto into 8 equal portions; serve in small bowls. Garnish each with 1 tablespoon herb salad.

Making Your Personal-Chef Business Whatever You Want It to Be

Dennis Nosko and Christine Robinson, partners in business and life, discuss the importance of being quick on their feet and wearing many hats
By Lisa Shames

It was eight years ago this October that Dennis Nosko and Christine Robinson first decided to combine their culinary and business skills and create A Fresh Endeavor, a Boston-based personal-chef service. Along the way, Nosko, a professionally trained chef, and Robinson, a self-taught one, have learned that while there's no such thing as a typical day, they truly enjoy the ongoing learning and new experiences that are inherent in running a successful personal-chef business, as much as their clients enjoy the well-thought-out meals they provide for them. Here are some other things the couple has learned.

APPCA: What did you do prior to A Fresh Endeavor?
Nosko: I've been in the foodservice industry probably close to 30 years. I have two culinary degrees, one from Spokane Community College and another from Johnson & Wales University in Providence. I first worked at the Davenport, a historical hotel in Spokane. After that I worked at the Ivy restaurant for a few years. From there, I wound up in the food-brokerage business. It was then that I decided to go back to school at Johnston & Wales. I did an externship at the Rainbow Room in Manhattan. I was there almost a year, but I couldn't take the city any longer, so I moved to Virginia to work at a resort. Eventually, I moved to Boston and I've been here for 14 years. I worked in several restaurant concepts here before starting this business.
Robinson: I worked in student finance and in the credit department of a large department store. I got very tired of it. When Dennis decided to start this business, I took a look at the APPCA Web site to try and see if there was a downside to it, but I couldn't find one. He started training me, and we figured it was something we could do together. I've worked in restaurants in a server capacity, but I much prefer being in the kitchen. I'm much happier doing this than anything else I've done.

APPCA: What makes A Fresh Endeavor special?
Nosko: We take pride in researching different cuisines and making sure we are using ingredients and techniques for that specific cuisine. We like to do a lot of seasonal dishes, too, using whatever is in the marketplace. As part of the client-interview process, we find out ahead of time what our clients like and dislike so we tailor our dishes specifically to them.
Robinson: Our goal is to make the best product possible using the freshest and healthiest ingredients we can find and incorporating the widest range of cuisines so people stay excited about the food we provide them. We're both sticklers for freshness, good color and texture and not "dummying" anything down to make it easier. Sometimes it takes a couple of stores to get everything we need for one client, so we've gotten very friendly with all the store managers. At the local Trader Joe's here we've gotten to know them so well that we've started doing in-store demos. People get to experience products from the store in ways they probably wouldn't have thought of themselves.

APPCA: What roles do you each play in the business?
Nosko: There is a lot of overlapping, but there are some specific things we each do. I do things that are related to the Web site. I make sure when people are putting searches in we are coming up as much as possible. It's important for us. That doesn't mean that every personal chef needs to do that. When we first decided to have a Web site, we got somebody who was doing a school project for a business college to design one for us. We thought that would be a great idea. The problem was we could never get anything changed. We couldn't gear the site for the different seasons and we couldn't change things around if we saw something else we wanted to feature.  We decided that we would rather have a simpler Web site and make sure we can change the information whenever we need to.

APPCA: How different is it to train to be a personal chef versus a commercial chef?
Nosko: Cooking is cooking. You're still using specific culinary techniques. But when you're cooking in a house, you have to be able to adapt to the different kitchens you're at. One of the big differences is, in a restaurant, you are basically dealing with a static menu. You bring a product in, you store it, and then you draw from the product with what you are selling. In a situation like we have now as personal chefs, we are basically taking whatever the client takes off our menu—and we might have anywhere from 200 to 350 different dishes—and making it for them.

APPCA: Who are your clients?
Robinson: We have just about everybody, from singles to working parents with kids to retired couples. For example, today we have a family where the mom and dad both work and they have three daughters, two in high school and one in college, and all of the kids eat very differently. Tomorrow, we have a family that loves every type of ethnic food. We're actually cooking a bunch of food that they will take with them to Cape Cod for their vacation for the next few weeks.

APPCA: What are some of the misconceptions about personal chefs?
Robinson: That it's only for the wealthy and that it's only high-end cuisine. We've had some very wealthy clients, but I would say that most of our clients through the years are people who simply want to eat well, enjoy the food, not worry about food additives and preservatives, and be able to sit down and have a home-cooked meal with their families. We're cooking comfort food for families who simply don't have the time to do it. What you don't realize going into it—and something we found out quickly—is that there are a lot of people with allergies and certain food sensitivities and medical conditions that can be helped by diet. Many people may not know how to take care of that. A personal chef is a great way to get people going in the right direction. We never profess to be medical professionals, not by a long shot, but we've done extensive research into things like candida, how to lower cholesterol and how to take extraneous fat out of things. That really opens us up to a different clientele and one that you wouldn't think of when you hear the term "personal chef." There are many more people out there who can benefit from the services of a personal chef than just the exceptionally wealthy.

APPCA: How do you overcome those misconceptions and educate people about what you really can do?
Nosko: Basically by talking to people. We're not hard-sell kind of people. We're not trying to convince people this service will definitely work for them, because we don't know whether this is going to work for them or not. A lot of people will tell us that initially when they looked at the pricing, they thought it was a little expensive, but after going over how much food they purchase that doesn't always get eaten, they realized it wasn't, and that they actually might be able to save money by doing it. We explain any obstacles and some of the good things that have come by having a personal chef, and let them make up their own minds. We want to make sure the relationship works both ways: That it's a good environment to cook in and that the people are eating and enjoying the food.

APPCA: What skills are important to have for a personal chef?
Robinson: A sense of humor definitely comes in handy. You have to be a good listener and you have to be willing to try new things. You can't let your focus be so narrow that you only want to work with one type of food if you want to have a wide client base.

APPCA: What do you like best about what you do?
Nosko: I like the freedom to have the time off I want. I like to be able to develop menus for specific parties, and that's an end of our business that we started out slowly. We tend to do more and more parties as we go along. That's an area where you can have a lot of creativity, and the work can be quite different. I like meeting the people. A majority of our clients are such great people to work with.
Robinson: Giving people an experience that they're not going to have anywhere else and creating one-time events that will stick with them. We've actually been able to do that quite a few times now. We have the time off we want, and it's much more relaxed for us than anything that we've done before.

APPCA: What have you learned along the way?
Nosko: When we first started we made the mistake of making clients' family recipes. But we quickly realized we would never be able to make it as good as their grandmother. Even if you could duplicate the food, you can't duplicate the experience.
Robinson: You have to teach yourself to adapt quickly and know that you are going to be shifting gears all the way through. You may be working in a vegetarian household in the morning and have to switch over in the afternoon to a house where there are food allergies. So the challenge becomes, how do we adapt our day to fit around that and make sure the client is happy and taken care of and, at the same time, how do we keep our sanity driving through Boston traffic? We have to make sure we are up on, for example, North African and Moroccan cuisines, as well as a little bit about Chinese and Indian ingredients. Plus, we also have to know how to make great macaroni and cheese and meatloaf. It's not the same thing everyday.

APPCA: What kind of advice would you give to other chiefs thinking about switching from working in restaurants to doing something similar to what you do?
Nosko: The important thing is to be flexible. In the personal-chef business, you do a wide range of things, so you shouldn't limit yourself to one specific area. It takes a while to develop your business and get established. Plus, you're not going to have a client forever. You could have a client for only two to three months or two to three years. Everybody comes in with a different idea of what his or her needs are.
Robinson:  Don't be afraid to ask questions, and don't take it personally. You need to develop a thicker skin. Set your own limits and know what you want and what you are willing to put up with.
Nosko: Don't be afraid to change, even with a specific client. You have to listen, then after preparing the food for them, get feedback. You should be able to tweak things in a way that shows you are hearing exactly what they are saying.
Robinson: We're a good example of longevity in the business. The rewards of this type of work by far outweigh the obstacles. There are no health inspectors, waitstaff or sous chefs. This is all you so you can make it whatever you want it be.

[Click here for more detail]

A Day in the Life

Karen Tursi, chef/owner of CHOP Personal Chef Services in Chicago, helps us introduce a new, regular editorial department that features a diary of a typical cookdate in a typical week of a successful personal or private chef.

The afternoon before ...

4:00 p.m.    Home from another cookdate. Unpack car. Throw towels into the washing machine on a hot-water soak with Oxyclean. Put ice blankets in freezer. Put menu and shopping list together for tomorrow. Call butcher, place order. Print heating instructions, labels and cook plan. Gather and pack containers, apron, towels, spices and cookware for tomorrow.

The cookdate ...

7:00 a.m.    Alarm goes off. Into the shower, trying to wake up. I know I'm cooking today, but don't remember where.

7:30 a.m.    Into the office to grab paperwork. Discover I'm cooking for my favorite client. Carefully pack car trunk with cookware crate, spice box, towels, containers and two empty coolers. Knife/utensil toolbox lives in car, along with toolbox with Foodsaver, foil and Sani-wipes.

7:40 a.m.    Starbucks for four-shot skim latte. Baristas play "Stump the Chef" with question about salted vs. unsalted butter. I win. They can't stump me!

7:55 a.m.    Produce market. Zucchini doesn't look good, but yellow summer squash does. Make note on shopping list to change labels and heating instructions. Not looking forward to chopping five onions for various recipes.

8:25 a.m.    Arrive at butcher. Order is ready, so I pay up while lusting after the prime-beef tenderloin the butcher is trimming.

8:35 a.m.    Head to Dominick's Supermarket. Finish shopping, schmooze with check-out clerk and head back home for a couple minutes to print up invoice and check e-mail.

9:00 a.m.    On the road, dealing with construction again! Latte is almost gone and caffeine kicking in. Traffic is miserable. Happily remember that there's no construction on route home.

9:30 a.m.    Arrive at client's townhouse with kitchen on second floor. Load in, wash up, cover stovetop with foil and grab various pantry items out of "my" cabinet. Brine chicken and pork. Thaw shrimp.

10:00 a.m.    Rinse and pat dry pork and chicken, sanitize sink and wash veggies. Get mise en place done, including five onions. Put stockpot full of water on stove to blanch veggies. Prep rubs and marinades and get proteins flavored.

11:00 a.m.    Turn on broiler. Broil summer squash and cauliflower. Rest of veggies blanched and ready to package. Brown beef for stew. Reduce oven to 375° for chicken.

Noon    Rice and beef stew on back burners, pork tenderloins and chicken roasting in oven. All three timers are running, so it's time to take a break. Out to car for a smoke and read the paper. Get back in house and remember to hydrate. Wash up, grab a bottle of water and check on stuff that's cooking.

12:30 p.m.    Client comes home from health club and is starving. Stew is finished, so give him a bowl. He loves it. Chat a while about small-business marketing while washing pots, pans and utensils.

1:30 p.m.    Down to last two dishes: Spicy Mexican shrimp and chicken with tarragon/Dijon cream sauce. Decide to take another break before cooking these dishes.

2:15 p.m.    Put last two completed dishes on quarter-sheet pans and onto ice blankets to cool. Time for one last break while waiting for food to cool for packaging and stove to cool for cleaning.

2:30 p.m.    Finish packaging and labeling. Rearrange refrigerator to fit two weeks' worth of packaged meals onto shelves. Remember to change "roasted zucchini" to "roasted yellow squash" on labels and heating instructions. Also, make note to remind client not to put tomatoes in refrigerator. Do a quick pantry check and note which staples client has run out of for next cook date. Remember to put client's check in my wallet.

3:00 p.m.    Kitchen is cleaned and client offers to help load car. Gratefully accept. With car packed, get into the driver's seat, take some Advil to ease minor back pain, and pull away.

3:05 p.m.    Gas is $0.25 per gallon cheaper here, so fill up car at the corner gas station and stop at White Castle for a couple sliders and a Diet Coke to alleviate the hungry meanies.

4:00 p.m.    Get home, unload car, throw towels in washing machine, put ice blankets back in freezer. Put note of needed pantry items in client's folder. Log payment onto Quickbooks and prepare bank deposit. Check e-mail and voicemail. No cookdate tomorrow, so work on menus for next week. Ponder who's bringing us dinner tonight… the Chinese place or the Italian place. Let husband decide when he gets home.

Welcome to Vegan Rent-A-Chef

By Sharon S. Christensen, CEC

Last September, chefs nationwide suddenly faced the great E-coli contamination scare in spinach. Fresh spinach, so widely used, was replaced overnight with alternates. Skilled chefs and foodservice directors moved quickly to substitute other leafy greens and even asparagus in place of tainted spinach.

Suppose the scenario had been different. Suppose a newly identified prion, impervious to heat and mysteriously linked to the consumption of products derived from animal sources—principally beef and dairy products—emerged bearing sickness and death. Imagine the impact upon the food industry with such a nationwide outbreak.

Such a possibility is not all that far-fetched, for, currently, 29% of all food consumed in the United States comes from dairy. In addition, one study estimates an average of 67 pounds of beef are eaten per person per year. Just how fast and how competently could the foodservice industry replace these foods on the menu?

Melding Art and Science
Cooking solely with fruits, vegetables, nuts and whole grains as we do at Vegan Rent-A-Chef means alternate foods to beef and dairy are not an issue, but already a reality. For example, Vegan Rent-A-Chefs are accustomed to making selections from among 26 different dried beans or legumes and 16 different kinds of grains, not including the varieties or methods of preparation such as flakes, groats, berries, flour, or hard, soft, short grain or long—and they are just from one natural-foods purveyor.

And greens? Veritable Vegetable, a wholesale organic produce supplier in San Francisco, offers among other delectables on a 17-page produce order list: five varieties of fresh green beans, three varieties of beets (not including baby beets), three varieties of broccoli, four varieties of cabbage and eight varieties of salad greens not including kale, chard or spinach! What a cornucopia of delicious plant foods to choose from and share with customers. Each one has a flavor and texture of its own. Each contributes variety in the menu.

As a salad side dish, removing spinach from grocery shelves hasn't been all that bad, because it isn't the only green available besides lettuce. What about arugula, endive, escarole, frisėe, radicchio, dandelion greens, mizuna, rapini, baby chard or baby kale? Adding eight more varieties of lettuce including butter, red butter, green leaf, red leaf, red crisp, red oak, romaine and red romaine gives options limited only by one's imagination.

Knowing how to select and pair vegetables with grains, nuts and legumes is satisfying. Making palette-pleasing dishes and menus contributing maximum nutrients and the right amount of fiber for customers is an art and science.

This lesson I learned: Some years ago I lived overseas. Living in Taiwan opened my eyes to the immense variety of fresh vegetables available for cooking as well as the numerous ways a soybean could be prepared. But initially I was stuck in the rut of my own knowledge and skill level. One day my husband very tactfully asked me, "Isn't there some other way you could fix green beans besides steaming them?" His query nudged me to start going beyond my culinary comfort zone.

Familiar-Sounding Foods
Bringing vegan cuisine to the table stretches customers and vegan chefs. For many, this style of eating is quite new, and customers do not know what to expect. Consequently, Vegan Rent-A-Chef offers menu choices of as many familiar-sounding comfort foods as possible, such as corn-tamale casserole, vegetable lasagna, carrot burger and "Not-Meat" balls with brown-rice spaghetti and pasta sauce.

Typically a Vegan Rent-A-Chef client has already decided to make the vegan diet change and has been interviewed and signed a contract for services. A sample dinner has been provided introducing plant-based cuisine. Five menus of a main dish and side have been chosen from a list of 20. A chef and accompanying culinary apprentice go first to the store to purchase required produce and dry goods. With food, recipes and smallwares in coolers and cases, they arrive at the client's home to spend the day making five different meals of main courses and side dishes using the freshest fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. By the end of the day, these meals have been labeled with heating instructions, placed in the refrigerator, and are ready to heat and serve. The house is filled with the aroma of good, home-cooked vegan food fit for the finest gourmet restaurant.

Our personal-chef assignments include institutional kitchen work as well as private homes. Many clients we cook for at home have had health challenges with degenerative diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease or obesity.

Vegan Rent-A-Chef is an approved apprenticeship program with the American Culinary Federation, allowing carefully selected apprentices the opportunity to learn culinary-arts skills in real time. Apprentices complete an extensive notebook describing equipment, skills and techniques, as well as giving recipes and observations about dishes they have made in prescribed categories of cooking. Upon completion of 1,000 hours of hands-on training given by ACF-certified chefs, an apprentice will receive a certificate of proficiency. The knowledge gained is sufficient to pursue a vegan personal-chef career. Some may choose to work in an institutional or restaurant kitchen creating plant-based dishes or continue on in the study of culinary arts in an academic setting.

At Vegan Rent-A-Chef we feel satisfied knowing we have grown beyond our comfort zone, introduced customers to foods beyond their comfort zones, and shared what we know with clients and apprentices in a healthy, gourmet setting. Bon appétit to vegetables!

For more information on Vegan Rent-A-Chef, visit www.veganrentachef.com or e-mail Christensen at veganculinary@mchsi.com.

Sharon S. Christensen, CEC, is the director of Vegan Rent-A-Chef in Napa Valley, Calif. Besides being certified as an executive chef with the American Culinary Federation, she is certified in California as a culinary director and culinary instructor, and certified as a professional food manager as instructor/proctor for Thomson Prometric. A member of the American Personal & Private Chef Association, Christensen is also a Certified Nutrition Consultant by the American Academy of Nutrition.

SIDE DISH

Down on the Farm. Chefs may be the new rock stars right now, but we wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the near future farmers take on that title. Need proof? A recent New York Times article ("In Pursuit of Farm Fresh Flavor" www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/19Rfood.html) that has the writer referring to her farmers market as her "church" and touting the benefits of eating local over organic. Then there's the localvore movement with books (Animal, Vegetable, Mineral; Plenty) and eat-local challenges. (Check out Chicago's week-long event here: www.chicagogreencitymarket.org.) Looks like Old MacDonald will be singing a new tune.

Back to the Table. He's one of Oprah's favorite things, and now we predict he's about to become a favorite with the rest of Chicago, too. Chef, author, TV personality and the recipient of the 2007 James Beard Humanitarian of the Year Award, Art Smith - also known as the personal chef of Oprah Winfrey for 10 years - has opened up his own restaurant. At the Windy City's TABLE fifty-two, look for Smith to offer his "Southern food with a French attitude," as well as a commitment to the value of family dining. www.chefartsmith.net

Nuts to You. A recent study from Wheaton, Ill.-based Food Beat, Inc., shows that peanuts and peanut products are on the rise at the nation's largest restaurant chains. According to its MenuTrends report for July 2007, menu incidence has increased 142% over the past seven years. Not sure what those with peanut allergies would have to say about it, but the Thai Crunch Salad at California Pizza Kitchen, with chicken, napa and red cabbage, edamame, carrots, scallions and peanuts topped with a Thai peanut dressing, sounds pretty good to us.

Milkin' It. It wasn't all that long ago that European cheeses were considered to be the best in the world. But judging from the number of entries and attendees at this year's annual American Cheese Society (ACS) cheese competition held in Burlington, Vt., in August, domestic is where it's at. "The ACS competition, featuring entries from a record 200 cheese companies, really showcases the emerging trends and the leaders in the world of American artisan cheese," said Allison Hooper, president of the ACS board of directors and co-owner of Vermont Butter & Cheese Co. The "Best of Show" award went to Leelanau Cheese Company of Suttons Bay, Mich., beating out more than 1,200 entries, for its Aged Raclette. www.cheesesociety.org

It Started with a Kiss... And a hundred years later, Hershey's Kisses are still satisfying sweet-tooth cravings. First introduced in 1907, the American classic has morphed into a family of treats, including special dark chocolate, milk chocolate with almonds and peanut-butter filled. For Hershey's Mini Kisses recipes, visit www.hersheys.com/kisses/recipes.

 

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