FAQs
- What is your typical process for working with a new customer?
No matter the event a client wishes to hire me for, I always schedule a time for us to discuss their vision of the event/cooking lesson. From that conversion I work to build a personalized menu/lesson plan to submit for the client's approval. For clients looking for a private chef for a one time event, this menu would be made up of a list of course options, as well as plate component options (proteins and sides), depending on the type of event they are planning. For clients looking for private lessons, the menu would include individual dishes as well some of the potential techniques I could teach them while we cook the dish. For clients looking for a private chef to cook for an event, I do like to visit the site of the event at least 3 days prior to the event. This helps me plan what I will need to bring in terms of pots, pans, and cooking utensils. It also helps me see if I will need to bring extra tables to work on, and how best to organize my work the day of the event.
- What education and/or training do you have that relates to your work?
I graduated as Valedictorian from The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York.
- How did you get started doing this type of work?
I started cooking for family friends when I was just 15-years-old. Throughout the years following, I worked off and on as a private chef and in restaurants as a dishwasher, prep cook and line cook, spent 2 years working as a cook in the United States Air Force, and finally completed my degree at The Culinary Institute of America. Now formally trained, I continue to work full-time as a private chef and run a small business out of a local farmer's market selling an array of artisan baked good and sauces.