10 replies to this topic

[Chris W]

My question about whether there are any good personal chefs in the area stems from my brothers birthday coming up and the fact that when I move in a couple months he is going to be in a world of take out and frozen dinners. He doesn't cook for a number of reasons chief amongst them he just doesn't want to.

That said, I thought I would for his B-day get some personal chef services for him so he can take advantage when I'm out of here. Any thoughts? Who's good?

Thanks!

[smokey]

[Don--apologies if this is in the wrong forum. It didn't seem appropriate for the employment forum.]

I'm looking for a personal chef to help me out with dinners for an approximate 2w period around the end of March in which I think it will be difficult for me to cook. I'm looking for somebody who can prepare fish-a-tarian items that are, generally, lower in fat/calories. Spicey, 'ethnic' foods are great. I'm thinking serving sizes for 2-4/night. Oh, and I live in MoCo.

My impression is that these folks generally come to your home and do the cooking for a week's worth of meals in one day in your kitchen, which works well for me. I've considered Dream Dinners (and its ilk). The problem there is that they rarely have enough recipes that meet my various requirements (e.g. the fishaterian thing is a real limiting factor), and I've never had the impression that the quality of food/recipes was very high. I'm not looking for somebody to prepare gourmet meals for me, but something a step up from what I would get at a Marriot-run cafeteria would be nice.

I know there is an association of professional chefs (or some such), but it's hard for me to get much of a sense of the people from that website, or even from their own websites. So, I was really hoping somebody here had personal experience to steer more towards (or away) from somebody.

Thanks for any advice.

[brr]

hmmm, no personal chef recommendations out there? I'm looking for either a personal chef or a small catering company to put together a nice meal for my wifes upcoming birthday. I'm having a small get together at our house for about 12 people and don't want anyone to have to think about cooking/cleaning. Awaiting a quote from 3Citron whose online menu seems interesting/appetizing but happy to receive recommendations from other folks.

Thanks

[brettashley01]

Elizabeth's on L recently catered a party for my company and did a great job with both the food and decor/set up.

[Marks]

Call Joel Olson at http://hemmachef.com/ Joel teaches classes at lacademie and is exactly what you are looking for. If he is not available I suggest calling Lacademie and asking them as many of their instructors are personal chefs.

[Heather]

PM Rochelle Reid Myers, AKA Malawry. She's a friend, food writer, teacher, caterer, and a damned fine cook.

[Pool Boy]

I'm curious...Do any of the chefs from the local restaurant scene ever consider doing personal chef duties for extremely special occasions where money is (almost) no object?

And who?

[zoramargolis]

I'm curious...Do any of the chefs from the local restaurant scene ever consider doing personal chef duties for extremely special occasions where money is (almost) no object?

And who?

Jeff Black might. Also Roberto Donna. Just speculating-- Jeff doesn't regularly cook at any of his own places anymore. And I think I have heard about Roberto doing this sort of thing in the past.

[V.H.]

Jeff Black might. Also Roberto Donna. Just speculating-- Jeff doesn't regularly cook at any of his own places anymore. And I think I have heard about Roberto doing this sort of thing in the past.

Wasn't there an article in the WaPo a couple of years ago about Roberto doing this for a sizable sum of money?

[CrescentFresh]

hmmm, no personal chef recommendations out there? I'm looking for either a personal chef or a small catering company to put together a nice meal for my wifes upcoming birthday. I'm having a small get together at our house for about 12 people and don't want anyone to have to think about cooking/cleaning. Awaiting a quote from 3Citron whose online menu seems interesting/appetizing but happy to receive recommendations from other folks.

Thanks

I did the exact same thing a few months ago for my wife's birthday. I hired Eliza Gonzalez, who teaches most of the Mexican cooking classes at Sur La Table in Arlington. She put together a fantastic menu, including a variety of antojitos, soup, mole for the entree along with some sides, several fresh salsas, a dessert buffet, drinks, music and decoration. Prices are very reasonable for the quality, quantity and variety of food, not to mention how she takes care of it all, start to finish, including cleaning. She even had special dishes made for some youngsters who were with us. I can't recommend her highly enough. PM me if you'd like contact info.

[UtNina3]

For those of you who are looking for personal chef services, I know of a great new company called SIMPLY EAT WELL, LLC. They do everything from catering dinner parties, corporate events, cooking lessons, and meal services for people (like, me) on a diet or with no time to cook! I got a gift certificate from them for my best friend who is a new mom and needed an extra hand in the kitchen. The chefs are flexible and personalize each menu creation to the client's needs.
Overall, very pleasant, affordable and hospitable up-&-coming company!
Their website is:
www.SimplyEatWell.com