FAQs
- What should the customer know about your pricing (e.g., discounts, fees)?
The way I charge for service is a little different from the traditional caterer. I work within a budget rather than a per plate fee. The only thing not included in the final budget, is the menu planning. I charge a nominal fee at the time you decide to hire me, so as to prevent cancellation of the event, which would leave me out the hours I had worked. It is to protect myself from pseudo-clients. In order to keep my costs down, I have had to minimize work done on events that never happen. This is to ensure I can keep working the way I do. As for cooking lessons, I charge between $25-$40 an hour. Two hours is the minimum, and I charge a flat rate for travel if it is greater than 10 miles. You will recieve a shopping list of ingredients to purchase before I arrive. I will bring the more obscure items, so we will be in effect spitting food costs.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I go through cycles of cuisine. Every few months, I choose a cuisine or technique, and do it till my eyes bleed. Repetition is the only way to get a handle on culinary knowledge. You can't just read it from a book or take a class on it. It comes from doing, doing, doing. Lately I have been tackling Italian food and playing with Molecular Gastronomy.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
When I got out of the Navy, I had no idea what I wanted to do. It was actually my parents who suggested going to culinary school. I loved cooking, and I cooked any chance I got. After I went to TCA, I couldn't go back to doing anything else. Ever since then, I have been cooking every day of my life. Writing menus, and experimenting with new cuisines.