Archive for September, 2010
Oprah has a personal chef, as do most Hollywood celebs. But surely a personal chef is a luxury that only the rich and famous can afford, right? Not so fast. You may be surprised at how easy – and affordable – it is to hire a chef in Atlanta. Here are answers to five common questions about an Atlanta personal chef.
1. Does a personal chef come in every day to cook?
Typically, north Georgia chefs come into your home one day a week to cook, although in some instances you can book a chef in Atlanta who will come into your home several times each week. It’s a more common practice to find a chef who will come in and cook, and leave a variety of meals stored in the refrigerator or freezer for upcoming days.
2. Do I have to do all of the grocery shopping?
One of the beautiful things about Atlanta personal chefs is that they do all of the shopping for the meals they prepare. This not only ensures that the chefs will have the ingredients they need, but that the meals they create are made with the freshest meats, poultry, fish, and produce.
3. Do I have to have professional kitchen tools?
When you hire a personal chef, she or he will have everything needed to prepare your meals. You don’t need to have any special appliances or tools in order for the chef to work in your kitchen.
4. What if the chef prepares something my family doesn’t like?
In home chefs are called “personal chefs” for a reason – they want you to enjoy the foods they prepare. To that end, they will meet with you in order to determine your food preferences, and plan menus accordingly. They’ll go over the menus with you, and if you don’t care for a menu item, a good chef will substitute something that your family will enjoy.
5. How much does a personal chef cost?
While the chefs of Georgia each have their own pricing, it’s common for them to offer package pricing. For example, a package that covers dinner for two people for five days (an entree and two side dishes for each meal) might run $179, while a package that will feed four people for five days might run $339. These prices include the food, as well as the preparation and storage.
For some people, having a personal chef for everyday meals might seem like an extravagance, while for others it can be a lifesaver. Many people use private event chefs in Atlanta for business gatherings, while others use private party chefs as they might use a caterer for an in-home dinner party.
The bottom line is that you don’t have to be a celeb to hire an Atlanta personal chef to create delicious, nutritious dishes in your home. Best of all, your chef will bring everything he or she needs, and will clean up before leaving! You can simply relax and enjoy scrumptious food in the comfort of your own home.
April Fool’s Day is the perfect day to have fun with the meals you serve. Surprise your family on April 1st with these fun meal ideas.
Fake Hot Dogs And French Fries
Your kids will love fake hot dogs and French fries for lunch this April fools day. Peel a banana and spread peanut butter all over it to give it the appearance of a hot dog. Serve it in a hot dog bun with some strawberry preserve drizzled over the hotdog to make it look like ketchup.
For the fries, peel some apples and cut them into sticks resembling fresh fries. Roll them in a cinnamon and sugar mixture and bake them for 8 to 10 minutes in a preheated 400 F oven. Serve with a side of strawberry preserve as fake ketchup. What a fun lunch.
Fool everyone in the family with these fun dinner and desert ideas. They won’t believe you are actually serving cake for dinner and spaghetti for dessert.
Cherry Cake Or Meatloaf?
Your Family will be in for a big surprise with this meatloaf cake. Prepare your favorite meatloaf and bake it in two 9-inch cake pans. Reduce the cooking time from what you would usually cook it since the meatloaf cake is thinner.
While the meatloaf cakes are baking, prepare some creamy mashed potatoes. Spread a layer of mashed potatoes on one of the cakes and top it with the second one. Use the remaining mashed potatoes to “frost” your cake. Cut a few cherry tomatoes in half and use them to decorate the top.
Serve Spaghetti As Desert
Since your serving cake for dinner, it only makes sense to eat spaghetti for dessert. Put a slice of pound cake on a plate. Spoon some softened ice cream in a pastry bag with a thin round tip. Pipe the ice cream over the pound cake in a swirly motion to resemble spaghetti noodles. Freeze for about 15-20 minutes to allow the ice cream to harden back up. Top with strawberry jam as tomato sauce and a few coconut flakes to resemble Parmesan cheese.
Don’t Forget The Drinks
Meals like these deserve a fun twist on a beverage as well. Prepare some lemon Jello and pour it into glasses. Add a straw and let it set. It will look just like a glass of lemonade. You can even decorate the glass with a slice of lemon.
Have fun with these creative April Fool’s recipes this April 1st. They are sure to make your family smile. Enjoy!
On the surface, preparing a good meal seems straightforward. In practice, however, cooking and serving a nutritious and delicious meal can be difficult for people with dietary restrictions or who may have other special needs. That’s when in home chefs can be a godsend. Let’s look at three examples.
Food Allergies
If you look at the numbers, the chances are good that you or someone in your family has a food allergy. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network notes that as many as 12 million Americans have food allergies. Granted, not all food allergies are life threatening. Still, consuming foods that one is allergic too can, over time, exacerbate the problem and trigger sensitivities to other allergens.
According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the eight most common food allergies are: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, shellfish, soy, and wheat. If one person in your family is allergic to a common food, such as milk, eggs, or wheat, you can face a difficult choice: you can prepare allergen-free meals for everyone in the household, or cook a separate meal for the family member with a food allergy. Given how hectic our lives are these days, neither is a perfect solution.
That’s where an Atlanta personal chef can be of service. The services of Georgia chefs are less expensive than you might think, and you can hire a chef who will meet with you to discuss your family’s needs. Once you’ve communicated your concerns about food allergies, she can come up with menu ideas that can work for everyone in the family. Typically, she will then do the shopping and come into your home once each week to prepare several dinners, which she will then place in containers and refrigerate or freeze – and then she’ll clean up. You can either have her cook meals for the entire family, or for the person with special dietary needs.
Nutritious Food for the Weight Conscious
Seeing how Oprah Winfrey has successfully lost weight and kept if off is inspiring, but her personal chef and personal trainer most likely made a difficult process easier. If you’re fighting the battle of the bulge, a chef for hire can help you achieve your goals. An Atlanta personal chef can work with you to come up with menu ideas that will fit in with your diet – whether it’s low-calorie, low fat, or low-carb, and then prepare delicious and nutritious meals that you simply have to reheat.
Helping Seniors Remain Independent
If you have elderly parents, you undoubtedly understand their desire to live independently, but you may be concerned about their decreased appetites or their ability to prepare nutritious dinners every night. A personal chef can help out by coming in and cooking several meals at once, which will give you peace of mind and your parents delicious meals. Since she’ll also do the shopping and clean up, they won’t have to worry about those cumbersome chores.
Atlanta personal chefs can easily accommodate all of these situations, and many more. Whether you need meals that are low in salt, low in sugar, or tasty dishes that will tempt those with waning appetites, a personal chef can deliver an affordable solution.