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/
