By Terry Henderson
How do we address the issue of, the role of the Personal Chef ? Well the role has many components, firstly we are eduacators, We bring healthy nutritious food back into peoples lives and teach them how to eat properly. We bring them back to the dinner table where they can communicate and interact with the family instead of running around trying to get dinner ready. Secondly we teach our clients to "try" new and interesting foods from all over the world, for
example some of my clients have eaten Morrocan food for the first time! Giving suppliers from that part of the world a "window of opportunity" in Canada Not that I am suggesting we are the only source, but certainly every little helps.
Many clients will tell you that their grocery bills drop, even after they add in the PC fees, because they no longer impulse buy, and because we buy only the product needed, so food does not go bad in their fridges. So not only are their fridges full of healthy nutritious meals and food, but they are not full of rotting vegetables and spoiled meats, so we are actually preventing the waste of food!
We also help people with other kinds of food related problems, whether it be food allergies, dietary restrictions or weight loss, Personal Chefs can help. Here is how it works, when the PC first meets the client they perform an extensive interview, documenting everything about the client and their needs. Lets say that the client is type 1 diabetic and on a carb based diet, we will contact their nutritionist and work on a meal plan specific to that client. Personal Chefs
are able to build a file with the client based on what they like to eat as well as what they are supposed to be eating to maintain a balance.
Many Personal Chefs work alongside other Personal Services such as Personal Concierge, Personal Trainers, nutritionists, dieticians and event planners, each service able to offer something specific to help the client live a somewhat less chaotic life! Many of the PC's I know have seniors as clients, and seniors can have very restrictive diets, hence the work with someone like a dietician or nutritionist who can guide the PC as to balance in the diet. Some of the PC's
out there work with Celebrities, that poses another set of problems, generally a PC is called in to work with a Personal Trainer and or Doctor, to help get the celebrity in a lean condition.
As the industry flourishes in the US and grows steadily in Canada, it surely will not be long before the governments and or health departments start to look more closely at this industry, whether it be to monitor food and health safety standards or the government looks for ways to further tax people in the industry, some of the associations are looking to establish standards and criteria for Personal Chefs, now.
The American Personal Chef Association based in San Diego recently signed an agreement with the ACF in the USA to formalise and recognise that associations materials and training standards, and will see several new programs launched in the next few months. The owner Canday Wallace is a recognised visionary in the industry and recently led 175 Personal Chefs in the first truly international Personal Chef Summit in Orlando. This was a first for the industry and saw a
trade show with representatives from companies like Signature secrets there.
This fall sees the release of the Canadian Personal Chef Alliance's newest materials, which have been approved by the ministry of colleges and universities as a diploma program in Canada, the Alliance plans to start offering it's "Personal Chef Diploma" at all of "liaison college's campuses in late September, and many of the people signed up for the already sold out first course are working Personal Chefs, seeking to have the certification offered by the
course. The reason?, as more and more Personal Chefs start their services up, people will want to see some kind of paper that states that this particular Personal Chef is established, knows their stuff and has the papers to prove it. Right now there is NO government standard just about anybody who wants to call themselves a Personal Chef can?! And does.
The associations are now starting to realise this, and so, in order to protect both the client and themselves, the certification process began.
Liaison college and the Canadian Personal Chef Alliance announced the forming of a strategic partnership about 6 months ago to start the process in Canada, and with Personal Chefs fast becoming a fixture in Canadian homes and with more and more culinary trained people moving into this exciting new industry, both the Alliance and Liaison college sat down and drew up an extensive program.
Liaison college is recognized as one of the leading culinary schools in Ontario, and is the largest trainer of Chefs and Cooks in Canada today, with campuses in Toronto, Kitchener, Hamilton, Kingston and St. Catherines, with more scheduled to open this year.
Information about becoming a Personal Chef will be included as part of the Career action plan service, (CAPS) that is an integral part of the Liaison course, and Personal Chefs from the Alliance will talk to Chefs as part of their theory training.
And the "Personal Chef Diploma" program kicks off in October.
All of this done to ensure that like our culinary brothers and sisters, our Chefs have the tools they need to serve and protect their clients and themselves.
Terry Henderson October 2002
