The distinction between a trend and a fad hits home for me since many of my colleagues went on record about my decision to develop the personal chef career and shared their feeling that personal chefs were just a fad and would never last. I believe some even went so far as to say, personal chefs weren’t REAL chefs. My 10+-year-old organization, APPCA, got off to a slow start because few in the industry considered working as a personal chef to families a viable career path. Now, successful personal chefs are making very comfortable, satisfying livings and the career becomes more mainstream each year. The staying power of this career choice is further evidenced by the APPCA offering professional personal-chef certification through the American Culinary Federation. The future of the personal chef career is no longer up for debate. Personal Chefs are here to stay, and will continue to flourish as a career.

My work over the last 12 years has advanced and legitimized the role of the Personal Chef and facilitated the successful start up of this new industry. I believed from the beginning that external validation of the personal chef was required to achieve stature among our culinary peers. That recognition occurred at the ACF 2002 National Conference in Las Vegas where a certification agreement between APCA and ACF led to the announcement of certification designations on 2 levels for personal chefs and the public validation of the personal chef career path as a legitimate culinary career by then ACF President Ed Leonard.

In an industry wide survey commissioned by the American Personal & Private Chef Association, as of June 2005, there were reported to be approximately 8,000 operating personal chefs in the U.S. The number of personal chef clients currently being served by those 8,000 personal chefs is estimated to be 72,000, which generates over $300 Million annually.

Industry predictions are that within the next 5 years, at the present rate of growth, there will be nearly 20,000 operating personal chefs in the U.S. serving nearly 300,000 clients and contributing nearly 1.2 Billion to the U.S. economy.

Typical personal chef clients fall into categories such as two income couples with or without children, single career focused individuals, professional athletes and high profile clients, individuals with specific medical challenges, seniors who wish to remain in their own homes and live independently, single parents and clients who enjoy fine dining.

Entrepreneur Magazine has designated the Personal Chef Industry as "One of the 4 Fastest Growing Businesses in the Country."

Some of them are women chefs who are raising families or like me, chefs “of a certain age” who choose to cook for a living, but on our own terms. We are also younger chefs who do not feel compelled to pay dues for the next decade before owning a business of our own, and “dad” chefs who want to participate in their children’s lives and feel that cannot occur if they are cooking in restaurants or hotels on nights, weekends and holidays. Cooking for a living no longer means cooking on a line.

Culinary Schools which traditionally provided training almost exclusively for future line cooks are now being asked to provide training for future personal and private chefs, food writers, food stylists and photographers, research chefs and educators. Students entering culinary schools are no longer predominantly recent high school graduates. They are former or “recovering” engineers, lawyers, physicians, architects, software designers, administrators or teachers who have elected to pursue a second career in foodservice, but have no intention of cooking in a commercial situation on a line. Owning your own business in food service is no longer limited to owning a restaurant.

Personal Chefs are unique in that they wear two very distinct hats. One as a culinary professional and one as a small business owner.

A personal chef business should reflect 2 things. One is the level of expertise of the owner/chef, and two is the personal requirements of the owner/chef. What my personal chef business looks like has nothing to do with anyone else’s. Specificity is the key to success as a personal chef. What do you want to accomplish as a personal chef? Do you want more quality time with your family? Money? Freedom? It’s all there. You have to make a plan and go get it.

What kind of special training does a personal chef need if any? Good question, and one that is often asked. Competency in the kitchen does not guarantee success as the owner and operator of a legitimate business. You may be an ace in the back of the house, but what do you really know about running a successful business? Ask yourself.

What format do you want your business to take? What licensing and regulations will you be subject to in your municipality? How do you construct a personal chef specific business plan? What specific level of service to you intend to offer, and to whom? How will you find clients? Once you find a potential client, what do you say to them? Customer Service was never a prerequisite in the back of the house. How do you glean information necessary to customize a program for that client? What forms and paperwork are necessary to support that client and your business? How do you get media exposure for your business? Should you advertise, and if so, where? Who can you talk to if you need advice or assistance? These are but a few of the areas where a personal chef specific training program can provide the information and expertise necessary to operate a legitimate, successful business. Knowing how to cook is only part of the challenge. You need to learn the business of doing business as a personal chef.

This text, “The Business of Doing Business as a Personal Chef” has been adapted from the APPCI training materials I wrote 10 years ago and that I have been updating and teaching from in a different city each month for over 10 years. So far, I have trained more than 5,000 working personal chefs across the United States and Canada, but my goal has always been for the program to be taught in the culinary schools as an adjunct to the culinary skill and technique classes so necessary to culinary success. This book, adapted by and written with Chef Greg Forte is the culmination of my dream, and my contribution to the future fulfilling lives of working personal chefs across the world.

These past 10 years have been deeply satisfying from a standpoint of having created a new culinary career path which will continue to evolve over time since no two personal chef businesses and no two clients will ever be the same. It has also been deeply satisfying from a standpoint of commitment. “Paying it Forward” for other personal chefs to come and commitment to the culinary industry and the individuals who work in it each day is who I am. It is how we as chefs and cooks show up in the world. I cannot think of any other career that could make my heart sing.

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