Causing a stir: Personal chefs setting up in Las Vegas homes

Kimberley McGee

Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2002 | 8:24 a.m.

A new trend is simmering in Las Vegas kitchens: Having wholesome, affordable meals custom-made by a personal chef in a client's kitchen.

"It's so much easier to come home and have meals prepared for you," said Carolyn Nadler, a local semiretired woman who hired a Las Vegas personal chef last January, to ensure gourmet meals would be cooked at home without the fuss. "I get home and I don't have to spend time in the kitchen."

The personal chef prepares meals for up to two weeks for Nadler to reheat, such as shrimp newberg, stuffed chicken breasts and pasta with cream sauce.

"I don't have to go out and I feel taken care of, too," Nadler said. "It's a relief."

That's why more and more people are turning to personal chefs, said John Moore, national director of the U.S. Personal Chefs Association in Rio Rancho, N.M.

"Personal chefs are in the business of giving people time," Moore said. "What would an extra hour with the kids or relaxing be worth?"

The 10-year-old USPCA has grown from about 500 members in 1995 to about 5,000 in all 50 states today, including three in the Las Vegas area.

A personal chef visits a home to prepare days or weeks worth of meals. After preparing the meals, the chef leaves the kitchen clean and the aroma of home-cooked meals wafting in the air. The individually wrapped bundles of meals are labeled and stored in the refrigerator or freezer and left with heating instructions.

Personal chefs conduct detailed interviews with clients to uncover their favorite and not-so-favorite foods before planning a menu.

Meals cost on average from $10-$20 per person, depending on the ingredients.

Typically, the cost includes the ingredients and time it takes for the chef to plan, shop and prepare each meal.

The USPCA recommends that clients ask for referrals and a sample menu from a personal chef before embarking on the venture. Recently the USPCA set up a website, hireachef.com, for people to locate a personal chef in their area.

Nationally the typical personal-chef clients are dual-income families with an annual income of $80,000-$100,000 and children with a schedule that rivals that of their busy parents, Moore said.

Locally the same statistics hold true, said Las Vegas personal chef Valentina Columbo, owner of Inspired Chef. Columbo caters to a dozen local clients, mostly double-income families, who want to carve out quality time in a day packed with activities.

"We help them find time to do what they want with their kids," Columbo said.

With more than 27 years of experience working as a chef at Las Vegas hotels, Columbo began her career as a personal chef last summer.

The time was right, Columbo said, and clients were ripe.

"People are busier than ever," Columbo said. "They don't want to have to get home and cook a meal, spend an hour to prepare it, 45 minutes to eat and an hour to clean up. They just don't have that time."

Most of her clientele are local builders, designers and people who work in hotel or service industry positions, who found Columbo through word-of-mouth. Many were looking to change their fast-paced, fast-food lifestyles, but didn't know where to begin, she said.

"Baby Boomers are hitting that age where they are crossing that line and know that they have to eat well and have a healthy lifestyle to have longevity," Columbo said. "Using a personal chef is ... pampering without being an extravagant issue."

Local business owner and single mother Reta Bearfield began to use a personal chef in 1996 when her son, Chad, was 11 years old.

The two would sit down to hot, healthy dinners and discuss their day.

"The time I would have spent cooking I was able to spend with my son," said Bearfield, owner of Interior Images Ltd., an interior decorating firm at 2550 S. Rainbow Blvd. "We spent time talking about what was going on in his life."

Bearfield recently hired Columbo to expand her knowledge of food. Beyond preparing weekly meals, Columbo also explains which wine might enhance a particular meal, and offers dishes based on Bearfield's tastes that she might not have tried before, such as pureed eggplant and garlic.

"I never would have tried that at a restaurant, but I trust her and it was so flavorful," Bearfield said. "People don't know the knowledge, experience and good food they can have in their home when they hire a personal chef. It's very reasonable (in cost), too."

Time on the side

Frank Carroll, a personal chef and member of the USPCA, moved to Boulder City five years ago after semiretiring from owning a restaurant in Northern California.

Carroll, who specializes in Cajun food such as thick gumbos and seasoned shrimp dishes, has found in Las Vegas that a personal chef is as good as his understanding of the client's pallette.

"It's good to know what the clients like so you can feed them and make them happy," Carroll said. "A good meal can make anyone happy."

Before he pulls out his stew pot, he extensively surveys the family about their favorite dishes, tastes, smells and spice tolerance.

"There are some things people never want to see in their kitchen, like liver and onions," Carroll said. "That, and shellfish is a big one."

Strawberries and the occasional nut are also ingredients non grata in many households due to allergies or aversion to the food, he said.

"People get to choose what I'll make them and narrow down what they expect on the table," Carroll said. "They have to know they are coming home to something they'll enjoy."

Carroll spends between four and five hours in one day at the client's home to prepare 20-24 meals at a cost of $250-$350. The two-week supply of meals is neatly packaged in reheatable containers for easy handling.

For Carolyn Geiger, personal chef and assistant garde manger chef at MGM Grand Convention Center, health seems to be the biggest reason clients turn to a personal chef.

"There are a lot of food-ignorant people who don't know a lot about food," Geiger said. "They don't have the time or knowledge to cook healthy food. (Personal chefs) can teach them."

Geiger offers cooking lessons so that interested clients can wean themselves from a personal chef, or just gain an epicurean education at home.

Cutting corners to quickly prepare an elegant meal and the ability to include good-for-you foods are a few of the techniques Geiger shares with clients as a personal chef.

"People are curious," Geiger said. "Especially these days, in the wake of (the terrorist attacks), people are looking to cook comfort foods and stay at home instead of grabbing some fast food."

Food for thought

The weekly interaction and convenience of healthy, hot meals can be beneficial to the elderly, said Joe Cooper, personal chef and owner of Tallulah restaurant at 1236 Blankenship St. in North Las Vegas.

Many of his clients are accustomed to preparing sumptuous Sunday dinners for their large families, but don't have the energy to construct such elaborate meals, Cooper said.

"We come in and cook their special meals, clean up and they can relax and enjoy their meal with their family," said Cooper, a Las Vegas chef for more than 30 years.

For a $45 hourly fee, his staff of four caters to six clients locally who ask for weekly meals to be prepared in their homes. Cooper and his staff plan, shop, chop and cook and occasionally set the client's table.

"We do whatever they need for the hours we are there," Cooper said.

Cooper prepares family-style meals he and his own family have perfected over the years. His staff also cooks the client's family favorites so they can continue to taste Grandma's famous potatoes without having to endure the peeling, boiling and chopping required to assemble the signature dish.

"You get gratitude," Cooper said. "You own your own business, you're your own boss and you're also helping people."

The personal contact that comes with preparing daily meals for people is a large part of the reason why Las Vegas personal chef Elizabeth Hoiles-Menzel began her business last year after two decades as a restaurant chef.

"If you have a bad day and go and have a good meal, you feel uplifted," she said. "That feels good to do for people on a daily basis."

She has collected a dozen exclusive clients who prefer to have fresh, organic and prepared meals on hand throughout the week, she said.

Area grocery stores stock fresh produce for Hoiles-Menzel's eclectic palette of flavors. Her background is flavorful and influenced by Asian, French, Russian and Indian cuisines.

"I like to experiment and my clients enjoy trying something different," Hoiles-Menzel said. "It's exciting to see what you can make, what people request."

As an assistant chef at Shadow Creek Golf Course from 1998-2001, Hoiles-Menzel gathered a list of clients who didn't want a full-time chef, but did want home-cooked meals without the work. She was ready to leave the restaurant industry for a more personal relationship with clients -- and food.

"Being a personal chef affords one-on-one contact with a client, which I enjoy," Hoiles-Menzel said. "You can make a positive impact on someone's life by giving them time and a good meal."

Hoiles-Menzel polls clients for their preferences in food as well as their travel tendencies and social activities. She prepares dishes that refelct the client's style, tastes and sense of adventure, she said, because food can be more than simply filling.

"I'm giving them the joy of food and the wonderful kind of experience food can bring to you," Hoiles-Menzel said. "It's a wonderful service to provide to people."

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