Albany Democrat-Herald & The Springfield News

"Delegating Dinner"
By Jennifer Rouse

It's 5:30 p.m. and you're stuck at a red light while you're on your way to pick up the kids from soccer practice. It's been a long day, you're tired, and you know the first thing out of their mouths is going to be, "What's for dinner?"

For some busy families, the answer is found in a personal chef: People who make their living answering that dreaded question for busy people all over the country.

For a fee, a personal chef will provide months or weeks worth of tasty, nutritious meals that you can have waiting at home just to pop in the oven. Lee Lawton of Corvallis and Becky McConnell of Eugene are two of a growing number of personal chefs nationwide who've found that providing food for people who don't want to cook is good business.

"I think it's popular because people's lives have gotten so busy, combined with there being more of an interest in good nutrition," Lawton said. "There is a simple joy in eating good food. It's one of those uncomplicated pleasures."

David McKay of the United States Personal Chef Association said that in the nearly 14 years he has been in business he has seen a huge jump in the number of people willing to hire someone to do at least some of their cooking for them. He estimates that there are 4,000 to 5,000 personal chefs now working in the United States, while another group, the American Personal Chef Association, puts the number at 9,000. Entrepreneur Magazine named "personal chef" one of its top six home-based businesses for 2004, and the APCA claims that in another five years there will be nearly 25,000 personal chefs in the United States.

Making house calls

The service usually works like this: The chef and the client discuss food preferences and plan a menu. On the day the client's food is to be delivered, the chef gets up early and goes shopping for the ingredients. Then the chef brings everything necessary to cook the meals, including groceries, utensils and storage containers, to the client's house. The chef spends the next six to eight hours cooking up meals, both entrees and side dishes, to last for the next few weeks. The chef packages the food, writes down re-heating instructions, and stocks the freezer with meals that are all ready to go when they're needed. Lawton even mops the floor before she leaves. In many cases, the client provides the chef a key so the cooking can be done while the family is gone for the day.

"Other times people are home, and they get really interested in what's going on," Lawton said. "They come in and say, 'Oh, it smells so good.' "

McConnell does things a little differently. She used to cook in clients' homes, but now she has her own commercial kitchen.

"It got really hard to cook in a different kitchen every day," she said. "I had to haul around all my gear all the time." Also, having a commercial kitchen allows her to do catering as well as personal cheffing.

Both women say the personal chef service has been extremely popular. Lawton has only been in business since this summer, but she's already picked up several regular and some occasional clients. McConnell has been in business for three years and is so busy she often works eight to 10 hours every day. Over the holiday season last year, she had to hire extra help to keep up with the demand. She even mailed food to a client once who spent half the year in California every year but wanted her service anyway.

"I packed it on dry ice, put it in a box, and shipped it overnight," she said.

Fast, but not cheap

McKay of the USPCA said he expects that demand for personal chefs is only going to continue to grow as today's young people, who were raised in an era of instant gratification and surrounded by food that comes out of cans and boxes, begin to establish homes and families.

"To them, food is something you go out and buy, not something you prepare from scratch," he said. "They were raised in a time when services were not looked down upon. You have people to cut the lawn, people who come in and clean the house once a week ... it's all a service mentality, and we fit right in there. It makes it convenient for me to have my food."

And that convenience doesn't come cheap. Prices for the service vary from region to region, chef to chef, and even from client to client, as some people request food that fits special diets. However, McKay estimates that in Oregon, a personal chef service probably costs $16 per serving per person.

"We are not for everybody, that's for sure, but for a good cross section of middle America, we are a good option," he said. He guesses that soon there will be a personal chef working in every city with a population of 50,000 or more.

In Corvallis, Lawton has found that many of her clients are retirees who can afford good food but either don't want to or can't spend hours in the kitchen anymore. McConnell, whose clientele is mainly in Eugene, said that her clients are mainly couples where both people are working professionals. They probably could afford to eat in a restaurant, but choose not to, she said.

"They work long, hard hours, and they're tired of eating out. They'd rather be at home," she said.

Both chefs have some clients who get a delivery only occasionally, while others are regulars who get food delivered once every two weeks or once a month. Some clients eat the chef's food nearly every night, while others still cook for themselves or go out a few nights a week.

Lawton said she actually prefers clients who enjoy cooking themselves.

"They appreciate the food more," she said.

From a hobby to a business

For most personal chefs, it's their own appreciation of food that led them to their career. McKay said that the median age of the personal chef is 40 years old, and 83 percent are women. He said in most cases, these women get to mid-life and decide to turn something that's always been a hobby into a business.

Lawton says cooking for people gives her a great sense of satisfaction. She remembers working for one older couple where the wife's declining health made it impossible for her to cook anymore. The husband had been doing it all himself, but on the day Lawton came to make their food, she grilled some salmon for them and they ate it while she was still there. Lawton watched as they savored the meal and the husband relaxed, knowing that they were enjoying a meal he didn't have to shop for, cook, or clean up afterwards.

"It felt so good," she said. "With this job, I get to help people, and I get paid for doing what I love to do."