Secrets of a Private Chef
As private chefs, our role goes beyond just the food. We focus on curating the entire dining experience. For many chefs, this holistic approach can be challenging, requiring us to sometimes check our ego at the door.
I supplemented my fledgling private clientele when I first started by working with various catering companies. Luckily, a few were generous in referring their smaller jobs to me that they didn't want to take on. This helped me to gain experience while developing (or building) my network. It took years of refining my processes and offerings to generate enough momentum to fully go out on my own.
One of my first private jobs in the chef business was with a celebrity client a learning experience that I will never forget. It was a private catering job held at their residence and to ensure I was familiar with the layout of their kitchen, I did a walkthrough before the event. Being starstruck, I had to remain calm and professional.
On the day of the event, I arrived early to prep the food. Initially, the discussed time to serve the guests the main dinner course was planned for 7:00 pm. At 6:45 pm, they requested that we delay serving dinner until 7:30 pm. While waiting for the arrival of a late guest, they wanted to open birthday gifts. My client's husband was a pescatarian, and unable to eat beef, which was the main entree. By this point, I had already started to prepare a swordfish entree for him, so to keep it warm, I covered it with aluminum foil and placed it in the lower oven.
When it was time to serve dinner, I checked the fish and the foil had completely melted it into an inedible mush. Since many recipes call for cooking fish in aluminum foil, I hadn’t anticipated any issues. However, I later learned that swordfish contain high levels of enzymes called cathepsins, which can break down muscle fibers at warmer temperatures. Going forward, this experience highlighted the importance of fully understanding ingredients and how they react when using different cooking methods.
My heart raced as I scrambled to find a quick solution. Feeling the pressure and in a panic, I rushed to find another option. Not wanting to disappoint, I acted fast to devise another fish dish, but I didn't have time to go to the store. Thankfully, their freezer held some quick-thawing fish portions. Worried but determined, I moved swiftly to remedy the situation. With their first course keeping them busy, I was able to rush-cook the replacement fish without issue.
The key lesson I took from this experience is to always test recipes thoroughly and never serve anything that you haven't practiced cooking beforehand. Maintaining flexibility and keeping calm under pressure is crucial as a private chef. Being prepared for potential challenges and having a backup plan, can help prevent disaster to ensure happy clients, even in stressful situations. Overall, maintaining a positive mindset is key to success!
Empower yourself as an entrepreneur with my professional business course. Inside you'll find advice for setting up your business, marketing strategies, scaling operations, business planning, and promotion tactics. As a successful private chef, I understand the many challenges of entrepreneurship. People frequently ask me for tips on how to launch a private chef business successfully. In this course, I share my key recommendations to help guide you on your journey as a solo entrepreneur. You'll learn my secrets to success as a private chef and how to apply those principles to your own business. Gain the knowledge and confidence to take that first step towards building a thriving private chef enterprise of your own. It’s your life, and I’m here to support you every step of the way. You’ve got this! —Chef Robin