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Official e-Newsletter of the American Personal & Private Chef Association

Official e-Newsletter of the
American Personal & Private Chef Association

July/August 2008

In this edition ...

This e-Newsletter was sent to you by American Personal & Private Chef Association. Please add info@personalchef.com or personalchef.com to your address book. This will ensure delivery into your Inbox (not your bulk or junk folders).

From Candy Wallace, Executive Director

Hello, everyone! Greetings!

What a year it has been so far—storms, floods, wild fires, psychotic gas prices that are impacting the cost of everything, especially food, and a national mortgage meltdown that is far from over. Are we having fun yet ?

Here we are in the personal-services business looking for ways to serve our clients while supporting our families. Take heart, as it can be done, and is being done by many of our members who report to us that they are “busier than ever.”

One of the good things about owning a small business is that you can be flexible, you can move quickly and you can make adjustments as necessary to address changes in the marketplace. It looks as if we’re all going to become experts at making changes.

With the cost of food in chaos, we need to be mindful of our clients’ state of mind. For those of us who have been pricing our services on an “all inclusive” basis, the challenge becomes avoiding changing our “all inclusive” fees too frequently. Clients have enough on their minds without our fees changing monthly.

This may be a good time for personal chefs to consider changing their pricing structures to a flat fee for their professional services for each cookdate, with a separate fee for food. That way, your clients won’t feel you are raising your fees too often, and they will understand that the food fees are the food fees.

We have often said we are in the personal-services business as much as we are in the good-food business, and this is a good time to emphasize some of the services we provide. Custom meal design and preparation are as important as always. The clients know our food is prepared from scratch to their requests and needs, and that they are handled and packaged for their safety and enjoyment. Peace of mind that they have a professional in charge of their kitchens and their meal programs means a lot. They can dine with confidence knowing they are no longer ingesting a lot of fillers, stabilizers and preservatives that will impact their health, and they have confidence in our attention to their specific needs.

Not having to plan, shop for, prep, prepare and clean up for themselves is a real plus. We do the sourcing, so our clients are not out in their cars driving to the butcher, fish monger and grocer—we’re saving them time and money by doing it for them, not to mention the time we put back into their lives by doing all of the prep and preparation for them. Now they can enjoy eating at home with their loved ones, knowing their food dollars are stretching further and for a better product than what they were spending their dollars on at the local fast-casual chain.

Want to know how to keep your family safe in their home kitchen? We can teach and show you. Want to know how to take your kitchen and possibly your household “green”? We can teach and show you. Want to know that there is someone on the planet who is going to pay scrupulous attention to your wants and needs? Guess who does that for you? Yup! Your personal chef. Want more time back in your life and less stress worrying about what you are going to eat and when and where you are going to eat it? Us again!

There are successful new companies springing up all over the virtual world who are “personal assistants,” offering services to busy people who are “too busy” to spend time on hold on a phone line to be settling billing disputes—or tracking down lost luggage or packages, making appointments, shopping for friends or family members (are they kidding?) and generally taking care of all of the daily time-consuming chores people no longer choose to do for themselves.  Don’t you think that what they eat, when they eat it and where they eat it is a much bigger decision? I sure do.

The services we provide are tremendous. They contribute to our clients’ wellbeing and the quality of their lives. Price your service so that you are validated personally and professionally, and celebrate your career as a personal chef. You ROCK!

Keep it personal!

Candy Signature

Personal-Chef Training through November 2008

The personal-chef segment of the foodservice industry has expanded enormously and blossomed into a recognized career path, with demand for high-quality food and service growing each year throughout the country. Join us at one of the following scheduled training sessions, where APPCA will deliver a dynamic two-day, high-intensity seminar providing the best tools and educational materials in the industry for you to operate a successful personal-chef business.

Click here for more..

NPD Finds Fewer Americans Dieting, but More Eating “Better for You” Foods

Candy Wallace helped deliver a panel presentation on alternate careers to culinary educators attending the recent CAFÉ Leadership Conference in Chicago, and while there, discovered “Eating Trends in the U.S.” presented by Harry Balzer of The NPD Group. Some of the data from that presentation follows.

Eating “better for you” foods rather than dieting appears to be the weapon of choice against the battle of the bulge, according to The NPD Group, a leading market-research firm based in Port Washington, N.Y. NPD reports that the percentage of adults on a diet has decreased by 10 percentage points since 1990, while the percentage of Americans eating healthier has increased.

“While dieting for both women and men remain huge markets, they are not growing markets,” said Harry Balzer, vice president of NPD and author of Eating Patterns in America. “The desire to lose weight really was a '90s trend. Today consumers appear to be making healthier food choices.”

NPD’s National Eating TrendsTM data finds that at least once in a two-week period, more than 70% of Americans are consuming reduced-fat foods, and over half of them are eating reduced-calorie, whole-grain or fortified foods. In addition to these foods, other “better for you” foods consumed include diet, light, reduced-cholesterol, reduced-sodium, caffeine-free, sugar-free, fortified, organic and low-carb varieties. The average American, according to National Eating Trends®, has at least two “better for you” products a day.

% of Individuals Eating Products with Label at Least Once in Two Weeks
79.4% Reduced fat:
57.6% Light/Lite/Diet/Reduced or Low Calorie:
56.4% Whole Grain:
54.4% Fortified
33.7% Cholesterol Free/Low Cholesterol
29.4% Low Salt/Sodium Free
28.8% Unsweetened/No Sugar Added
27.2% Caffeine Free/Decaffeinated
26.9% Reduced Sugar/Sugar Free/Sugar Substitute
21.8% Organic
10.7% Low/Reduced Carbohydrate

To consumers today, healthy eating tends to boil down to basic mathematics, said Balzer, who has been tracking consumers’ food consumption behavior for 30 years. “A generation ago it was about subtracting bad things from your diet, but today healthy eating is more a matter of addition and subtraction,” he said.

More consumers are looking to add whole grains, dietary fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and probiotics, according to the NPD Dieting Monitor, which examines top-of-mind dieting and nutrition-related issues facing consumers. Awareness of these nutritional food elements continues to grow. For example, in 2005, 36% of consumers surveyed said they were trying to get more omega-3 fatty acids in their diets, and the most recent NPD Dieting Monitor shows that number increasing to 46%.

The ongoing concern about health appears to be paying off, according to Balzer. Recent U.S. government studies confirm obesity leveling off, and most recently, childhood obesity stabilizing.

Even with concerns about the economic downturn, eating healthy still remains top-of-mind with consumers. According to a recent NPD Fast Check Survey on economic conditions, adults who identify themselves as financially worse off compared to last year said that eating healthy still had the greatest impact on the food and beverages their household selects. Saving money ranked a close second.

Join Us in Vegas Next February

APPCA is pleased to announce its 2009 Personal & Private Chef Summit in Las Vegas during the immensely popular catersource conference and trade show. We’ll begin with a cocktail reception on Sunday evening, Feb. 22, followed by a full day of programming on Monday, Feb. 23 (which is also National Personal Chef Day).

Where we’ll be
We’ll meet at Tuscany Suites & Casino, a beautiful all-suite property on Flamingo near Bally’s, a mere block from the world-famous Strip. We’ve negotiated a room block for the low rate of only $85 per night on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights, single or double occupancy (+tax), and $135 on Friday and Saturday. APPCA members will be able to attend the 2009 catersource Tradeshow following our Summit. More details will appear soon on our Web site and in future editions of “á la minute.” For more information on Tuscany Suites & Casino, visit www.tuscanylv.com.

Asian Beef and Green Beans

A palate-specific recipe from
Karen Tursi, chef/owner
CHOP Personal Chef Services, Chicago
Yield: 2 portions

Tursi, president of Chicagoland Personal Chefs, a chapter of APPCA, stores this dish in FoodSaver bags. She recommends to the client to place the bag in boiling water, turn heat to very low, and leave the bag for seven to 20 minutes depending on the quantity being reheated. Don’t reheat in the microwave, she says, because doing so tends to toughen the protein and overcook the vegetables. Recipe from The Professional Personal Chef: The Business of Doing Business as a Personal Chef (Wiley, 2008) by Candy Wallace and Greg Forte.

½ lb. green beans, washed, trimmed
1 T. cornstarch
¼ t. ground ginger
1 T. soy sauce, divided
3 cloves garlic, minced, divided
8oz. flank steak, sliced into thin strips
1½ T. canola oil, divided
1 T. smooth peanut butter
½ T. lime juice
Cooked rice as needed
1 T. chopped cilantro

Method:
1. Blanch the beans in salted water until tender. Shock and hold.
2. Mix the cornstarch, ginger, 1 teaspoon soy sauce and half the garlic. Add the sliced beef and marinate for 20 minutes.
3. Heat half of the oil in a wok or skillet over medium heat. Add the beans and stir-fry for about 3 minutes or until the beans develop a few brown spots.
4. Add the remaining garlic and fry an additional 30 seconds. Remove green beans from the pan and keep warm.
5. In a small bowl, mix the peanut butter with 4 ounces hot water until smooth. Add the remaining soy sauce.
6. To the skillet used to stir-fry the green beans, add the remaining oil. Heat. Add the beef strips and stir-fry for about 3 minutes or until the beef is brown.
7. Stir in the beans and peanut sauce and cook for an additional minute to thicken slightly. (Whisk in about 1 tablespoon of Signature Secrets to thicken, if desired.) Add the lime juice; adjust seasoning.
8. Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.

Full Fridge Feeds the Soul

Combining his passions for food, travel and connecting with people, San Francisco-based personal chef Tom Herndon has found a happy—and rewarding—balance
By Lisa Shames

The way Tom Herndon sees it, food should give you pleasure, not pressure. And that’s exactly what he strives to provide his customers with Full Fridge, his three-year-old personal-chef business. Growing up, Herndon was always passionate about food, but eventually he found himself working in the corporate world rather than the culinary one. Not for long, however. Here’s how he found his way back.

APPCA: How did you get interesting in cooking?
Herndon: I’ve been cooking since I was 14. I started helping my mom in the kitchen because we had a big family. Pretty soon I started doing the whole meal myself. I noticed people liked what I was doing and I enjoyed it. Then I started experimenting with recipes and finding out that there was a whole other world out there.

I worked in restaurants in my 20s and 30s. Most of my training has been around home cooking and that kind of style. My father owned a Mexican restaurant for a couple of years, and I was one of the cooks there. I worked in a vegetarian restaurant, in a hospital kitchen and something close to a Denny’s, which lasted about two months. My most exotic cooking job was working for an American camp kitchen on a liquefied-natural-gas plant in Algeria for four months.

APPCA: How did you become a personal chef?
Herndon: I’ve been doing this for three years. Six years before that I was in advertising and marketing. My boss was a big foodie and obviously I am, too. I would do supper clubs and dinner parties and talk about restaurants and food. My partner, Dan, would say to me, “Quit talking about food and go do something about it.” My boss was saying the same thing. They both saw that the advertising/marketing game, while it paid well, wasn’t one of my passions. They kept encouraging me to hang up my own shingle. It took two years to transition because I didn’t want to let go of that steady paycheck.

At that time, Dan and I were saving to buy a house. So we stopped eating at restaurants and I would cook one day a week, usually on Sunday, for the entire week, which just so happens to be the model for a personal chef. I had about a year under my belt of practicing that format. It got to the point where I needed to make a decision. I was driving to work going over the Golden Gate Bridge, where I guess a lot of insights happen, and I let it all go and I said, ‘Okay, I’m going to do this.’ I quit my job a couple of months later. During that time, I did some research and found the APPCA. They were just about to have their convention in New Orleans, two months or so before Katrina. Hanging out in New Orleans for a week with 150 chefs was one of the best experiences of my life.

APPCA: How did the name Full Fridge come about?
Herndon: Dan and I were sitting at dinner, trying to think of a name for the company. I asked him, ‘What would be the benefit of hiring me as a personal chef?’ And he said, “Well, I would come home and I wouldn’t have to cook and I would have a full fridge.” We both looked at each other and said, “Full Fridge, yea!”

APPCA: What are some of the challenges of working as a personal chef?
Herndon: One of the main challenges that I discovered about two years into it was the earning ceiling. It’s hard to do more than one customer a day, which means I’m limited to five customers a week. I’m in conversation now with a friend who’s a nutritionist about getting a commercial kitchen and hiring a crew so we would be able to serve more of her customers who are on these very special diets. Also, working alone has its pluses and minuses. I’m a social guy, and I like having company. So on one hand it’s meditative, but on the other it can get lonely.

APPCA: What are the biggest differences between a personal chef and one in a more traditional setting like a restaurant?
Herndon: It’s the customization. It’s giving the customers the feeling that they’re going to get something that is completely unique to them. That personal-service aspect of it is a big seller. You get into relationships with the folks, and that’s really important. They can trust me, they give me the codes to their houses, they can ask for what they want and I’ll give them feedback.

APPCA: What are the biggest misconceptions about the profession?
Herndon: That it’s expensive. You have to be at a certain level of income, but you don’t have to be über-rich. I looked at pricing on the forums before I tried to determine what would be a good price range for my area. It was a hard swallow for me because I never charged money for anything like that. I came up with a price; there is a market out there, and people who can afford it call, and those who can't [afford it] don't last very long. Still, it averages around $400 a week including groceries, and that’s shopping at Whole Foods. That’s a good value.

APPCA: What skills make for a good private or personal chef?
Herndon: The personal skills are really important. You have to listen well and listen to what your customers want. That plays into your being in their home. You have to leave them feeling like they are safe and taken care of. I really try to be as invisible as possible. I don’t want them to have to handle any of my stuff, and I don’t want to leave any trails. So their kitchen is always clean, the labels are in good order, and I leave the refrigerator in good order, too. I try to be very personable, but short, so I’m not this thing that they have to manage.

APPCA: How do you describe Full Fridge to prospective clients?
Herndon: I say I’ll come to your home and prepare a week’s worth of food every week or every other week. The food is organic, sustainable and it’s local whenever possible. I always shop at Whole Foods because it’s one-stop shopping and the quality is very high. We’ll work together so you will be getting the nutrition you need and the kinds of food you really like. So it’s customized to your palate. I try to get my friendly personality across as much as I can. I’ve got some pretty good listening skills, and I’m very personable and funny. The feedback I get from my customers is that I’m kind and thoughtful.

APPCA: Tell me about the culinary tours you do?
Herndon: I’ve had a major travel bug for a really long time. I was having a conversation with one of my best friend’s mom, who’s a travel agent, and she was saying that she was going to do a culinary tour with a chef who had contacted her. And I was like, “Oh my God, I’ve been wanting to do one of those things all my life.” She said, “Why don’t we just do one?” That’s how it started. We went to Tuscany. That was the first one. I took 16 people in May 2007. I’m a natural promoter. I just started talking it up, and people obviously were infected with my excitement. It evolved over a year’s time. I wanted to give people enough time to be able to afford it. We went to Siena, Florence, visited three cooking schools and ate in wonderful restaurants. It was a magical time.

APPCA: What makes these trips special?
Herndon: I’ve had a lot of practice and experience with a kind of Buddhist mindfulness. I try to bring that to the trips, as well as have the people do light meditations to keep them as present as possible. It enhances everyone’s experience. They say what you remember is what you are most present to. And what makes a trip valuable is the anticipation of going and all the stories you can tell afterward. So if people are as present as possible they’ll have lots of memories and lots of stories to tell.

APPCA: How did you get interested in organic and sustainable food?
Herndon: It’s stuff I’ve been paying attention to since it started. The integrity of food is important. One thing I learned is that what gives food its flavor is nutrients. The more nutrients in something, the better it tastes. So obviously, if the ground has been overfarmed, there are no more nutrients in it. That was a very important piece of information, and it connected the dots for me. I’m lucky that I live in San Francisco, because the produce and meat are extraordinary here.

APPCA: What have been some of your most memorable accomplishments since you became a personal chef?
Herndon: I’ve done some great parties. One of the first ones I did was for a man who was turning 90. I have a very good friend who’s a high-end waiter. We both dressed in black with long bistro aprons. He’s wonderful with the people and I’m great in the kitchen, so together we make a great team. He kept coming back from the dining room in tears because these folks were all sharing with each other and acknowledging this older gentleman, and he was moved.

I also do these romantic four-course dinners for two. I make these little note cards that go next to the plate, which are questions for the couple to ask each other to bring them closer during the evening. Not anything intrusive, but questions like, “I knew I fell in love with you when… .” They have a little bell they ring, because I leave them alone as much as possible. The bottom line as to why I do all this stuff and what inspired me to be a personal chef is to facilitate people connecting with each other.

APPCA: What kind of advice can you give those interested in becoming a personal or private chef?
Herndon: Keep it simple. When I first started I was out shopping for rolling suitcases to take all my pots and pans with me. What I found out early on is everyone has a kitchen and everyone has pots and pans. I have one Dutch oven and a toolbox with my cooking stuff—knives, service towels and a few bowls. People have no qualms about letting me use their pots and pans. Obviously, I’m careful. I don’t use anything that could break, like the garbage disposal or dishwasher. It’s all about keeping it really simple and having your system be easy to implement and seamless for your customer as much as you can.

Food Fridge’s culinary barge cruise in the south of France is already sold out. Look for a foodie week tour of Manhattan in May 2009 with trips to Spain, New Orleans and Oaxaca, Mexico, down the road. For more information on Tom Herndon and Full Fridge, visit www.fullfridge.com.

A Day in the Life

Sharyn and Bruce Cohen of Pampered Palates, Inc., in Reading, Pa., soldier on while their beloved pet turtle goes missing.

It was a typical, yet not-so-typical, day.

We are in the process of having some construction work done in the kitchen and on the outside area surrounding our house. The day before we were to cook, Bruce was reviewing with our contractor what had to be done in our absence. As they were discussing the project, our more-than-41-year-old turtle, Groffie, was hanging out at our back door near where the work was to be done.

Let me take a minute to explain who Groffie is, how he came into our lives, and how he got his name. We live on the side of a mountain in a wooded area. In June 1982, our 11-year-old son, Seth, was riding his bike in our neighborhood when he spotted a turtle. He was particularly interested in turtles because he had recently met a live-aboard turtle on a boat in Annapolis, Md. We, too, had a boat, the Constellation II, in the same marina, and we had become friends with the human family of the turtle (named Turtle). Seth immediately decided that the Cohen family needed a pet turtle, too, so while balancing the turtle under one arm and his bike in the other, he made his way down a steep hill toward our house. When he got home, he shouted to his younger sister, Jackie, to get him a box in which he could put his new prize.

In those days, there was a company that made the most delicious lard-fried potato chips that were packaged in a brightly striped blue-and-white box. It was just the perfect size to temporarily house a turtle. The colorful box had the company's name emblazoned upon it: Groff's Potato Chips. As a notable radio personality says, "And now you know the rest of the story.” Groffie has had free roam of our ranch-style house since the day he arrived. He follows us around, comes to his name (when he feels like it), loves to swim in his kiddie pool on our patio when the weather permits and does all kinds of interesting things. He is definitely a gourmet!

Back to the present…

That night, just before we went to bed, Bruce casually mentioned that he thought Groffie had escaped while the construction work was being discussed. Years ago, he escaped and was missing for 31 days that were traumatic for us. Extremely good fortune and four weeks of lost-and-found ads in our local newspaper brought Groffie back home after he was found by some high-school students in a local park and they returned him to us. What Bruce had just said was like lightning striking twice in the same place, and I remembered that as I was baking some Amish Friendship bread earlier that day, Groffie had not been underfoot in our kitchen...very unusual for him not to be in the middle of the action. We both agreed that we could not go through the same missing-turtle trauma as we had years ago. We tried going to bed pretending everything was normal, but we both had a very restless night.

The cookdate ...

6:30 a.m.       When we arise like zombies, we prepare for our cookdate as we always do. We load the car with all our standard load, definitely an overabundance of equipment and supplies: three large rolling duffle bags filled with pots, pans, rice cooker, pressure cooker, lots of towels, more than enough to cover any emergency and to keep two chefs well equipped. We also packed our two hard-pack rolling Stanley Tools’ Work Stations from Home Depot, one filled with cooking tools, a Foodsaver machine, 16 stainless-steel nested bowls, three measuring cups, etc. The other filled with spices, oils, flours, sugars, vinegars, various cooking alcohols and just about anything needed to jazz up any recipe. Other bags included a cleaning supplies bag, a bag with assorted Versatainers for packaging the finished meals, two briefcases, and two soft, rolling, collapsible thermal coolers. Our “Pampered Palates Blue” Subaru Outback is always filled to the brim. One client exclaimed as she saw our equipment rolling into her house, “It looks like the circus coming to town!" All that equipment also serves as an ice-breaker when we arrive at a new client's home.

Our 20-meal-package menu today is: chicken Marengo loaded with mushrooms and a side of tri-color fiore pasta, shrimp scampi with a side of peas tossed in with fettuccine, meatloaf with cauliflower and broccoli in a cheese sauce, chicken Kiev with confetti rice, and pork scaloppini with garlic mashers and honey-glazed carrots—a typical 5x4 package for us.

6:30 a.m.       We arrive at the grocery store with the recipes and combined shopping list from Mastercook on our clipboards, divide up the list, and roll through the aisles, greeting the various managers we know as we shop. Bruce takes the produce and fish list while I take the meat, poultry and diary list. After about 20 minutes, we meet in the pasta aisle and finish our shopping together.

At the checkout line, Bruce opens the thermal cooler, places a bag of ice in the bottom, and then packs the perishables. The cashiers always chuckle when they see us coming because Bruce is so methodical when he packs.

8:45 a.m.       For this client, we try to leave the store no later than 8:45 because we have an hour-and-15-minute drive to the client’s home and sometimes encounter traffic when we near the Philadelphia area. Normally, we request that our clients clear as much counter space as possible for us to work, especially since there are two of us cooking and we bring so much equipment. This client rarely has time to move his things, so while Bruce brings in our bags, I clear off the counters, sanitize them, and post the day’s recipes on the cabinet doors.

10:00 a.m.       We start a pasta pot boiling with salted water and set the oven to 325 degrees F. We set out our flexible cutting boards, and begin to chop while we wait for the water to boil. Since the meatloaf will take the longest, Bruce assembles the ingredients, forms the loaf and puts it in the oven to bake along with two heads of garlic that will be needed for the mashers. I pound the chicken for the Kievs, roll the chive butter and put it in the freezer to chill. The water boils and I add the fiore, set the timer and go back to chopping the mushrooms and slicing the chicken for the Marengo.

When I look over my shoulder, I see that Bruce has chopped a bunch of the vegetables, has started trimming and slicing the pork tenderloin, and is about to season and pound it. We continue  to dance around each other for the rest of the day, checking the recipes and sensing what needs to be done next ... one pasta done and into an ice bath, the other pasta in the water ... second pasta out, broccoli and cauliflower in to steam, potatoes in to steam. The rice cooker is making the rice. Two skillets are going, one for sautÉing the chicken and vegetables for the Marengo, the other for sautÉing the pork. One saucepan is heated for the glazed honey carrots and then for the cheese sauce … back to the skillet for frying the assembled Kievs, and on the day goes. Since we are so tired, we check on each other a little more than normal, but things go smoothly. The jazz and bluegrass playing on our i-Pod, as usual, helps keep us focused. Even with the lively music playing, we’re still somber at the thought of losing Groffie again.

At some time during the day, Bruce takes a break to call the contractor to see how things are going and to tell him the sad tale about Groffie. The contractor needs a tool, so Bruce gives him directions as to where to find it in our basement. When he comes back up into our kitchen, he says to Bruce, "What do you mean Groffie's missing? He’s right here, sunning himself under the kitchen skylight!"  What a relief! That poor turtle was going to get such a scolding and such a hug when we returned home. (The next day, we figured out that he was disturbed by the construction noise and commotion, so he decided to hide in a corner on our dining-room window sill where he could watch what was going on but not be in the way. What a clever little fellow.)

3:30 p.m.       The "dance" continues until everything is cooked, chilled, packaged and labeled. We are ready to clean the rest of the equipment, pack up and go home. While Bruce packs up our equipment and loads our car, which takes about a half hour, I clean the kitchen and return items to the client’s countertop.

Earlier, as we cooked, we even had time to chat with our client when he came home early in the afternoon. He’s a bachelor, loves grown-up toys, and is always willing to share stories of his newest acquisition with Bruce, whether it’s his new motorcycle, radio-controlled helicopter or i-Pod.

5:30 p.m.       This client doesn't keep all the meals for himself. We deliver some of the meals to the seniors in his family on our way home. We load the meals designated for delivery into our chilled thermal cooler with ice blocks and head off to his folks’ home. Our day is almost done. All we have left is the hour-and-50-minute drive to deliver the remaining meals and return to our home in Reading….

7:20 p.m.       ... to be greeted by Groffie and our 11-year-old Golden Retriever, Daisy Belle (Groffie’s third dog).

After each cookdate, we have no idea how the time flies by so quickly. We have a ball each time we cook together, and find that our clients are so appreciative of our service.

We each have had various careers throughout our lives. I was an elementary-school teacher and was in fashion retail for many years; Bruce was an Air Force pilot, then a manufacturer and retailer of ladies' swimwear in the family’s business where he was also the company's computer guru. He now is a Web designer and professional/commercial photographer, along with being my co-chef. We are about to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary at the Fancy Food Show at the Javitz Center in New York City, and we'll be taking a Tuscan cooking class at the Institute for Culinary Education, also in Manhattan.

Our already wonderful marriage has been "kicked up another notch" by Pampered Palates!

“Emeril Live!” Premieres on Fine Living Network

“Emeril Live!,” hosted by Chef Emeril Lagasse, will premiere with all new, never-before-seen episodes on Fine Living Network (FLN) starting July 7, 2008, and will air seven nights a week at 7 p.m. ET, followed by The Martha Stewart Show at 8 p.m. ET. The show will continue to air on Food Network in a new daytime slot at 2 p.m. ET/PT weekdays. “From the very beginning of “Emeril Live!,” our goal was to blend the art of cooking and entertainment, and make it fun and accessible to a wide audience,” said Lagasse. “Today I am very happy that the show has a new audience on Fine Living Network—it will be fun to kick things up a notch with Martha!”

Stewart added, “I’m thrilled to have Emeril join me on Fine Living Network. I think viewers will really enjoy these two back-to-back hours of fantastic programming that both entertain and inform.”

The all-new premiere week airs Monday-Friday, July 7-11 at 7 p.m. ET. Special encore presentations will air Saturday and Saturday, July 13-14, at 7 p.m. ET. Beginning July 14, a new episode of “Emeril Live!” will premiere on FLN every Monday at 7 p.m. ET, with episodes from the Food Network library re-airing in that time slot on FLN Tuesday through Sunday, giving a new audience a taste of Emeril seven nights a week.

“Emeril Live!” first premiered on Food Network in 1997. A completely new format for cooking shows, Lagasse brought food television to a new level—making cooking more accessible than ever before—in front of a live studio audience. Lagasse has been the cornerstone of Food Network's success, and helped pave the way for chefs on TV. The show has hit numerous television milestones; for example, Lagasse was the first chef to have food consumed in space when he created recipes for the astronauts at International Space Station; he redesigned and invigorated the cafeteria at Children's Storefront in Harlem; he cooked for troops on military bases and firemen at firehouses; and more.

In April 2008, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia acquired the assets related to Emeril Lagasse’s media and merchandising business, including television programs such as “Emeril Live!,” in a transaction that paired one of the biggest brands in food-related content with the established leader in “how to” lifestyle information and content.

Lagasse is the chef/proprietor of 10 award-winning restaurants in New Orleans, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami and Gulfport, Miss. He is a national TV personality who has hosted more than 1,500 shows on Food Network and is the food correspondent for ABC's "Good Morning America." This summer, he will host “Emeril Green,” a new series exploring fresh and seasonal ingredients on Discovery Communications' Planet Green.

Lagasse is the best-selling author of 12 cookbooks including Emeril's New New Orleans and Emeril's There's a Chef in My World. In September 2002, he established the Emeril Lagasse Foundation to support and encourage programs creating developmental and educational opportunities for children. Emeril's Homebase is located in New Orleans and houses restaurant operations, a culinary test kitchen and a boutique store for his signature products.

Fine Living Network (FLN) is the leading entertainment and information resource for programming that impacts viewers’ quality of life. The cable network, currently available in about 50 million homes, is dedicated to providing topical, timely and fast-paced lifestyle-related content for success-driven individuals who see value in knowing the best ways to spend their time and money. From the makers of HGTV and Food Network, Fine Living Network is available nationwide on DirecTV channel 232 and DISH Network channel 113, and on local digital cable. To find your cable provider, visit www.fineliving.com/TV.

SIDE DISH

Give a Fig This Summer
Summer is here, and with it one of the season’s finest delicacies: fresh California figs from the state’s fertile San Joaquin Valley. Succulent and sweet, fresh California figs will be plentiful until mid-December. Growers report excellent early-season quality and anticipate a total harvest of close to 8 million pounds. Brown Turkey and Black Mission Figs, with their robust sweet flavor, were first to market and will be available until late fall. Amber-colored, delicately sweet Kadota figs will be abundant through October, while fresh Calimyrnas, known for their pale yellow skin and nutty, sweet flavor, will be available from July through September. Known for their fiber content, figs also contain more calcium, potassium and iron than other common fruits. Fresh figs also contain important antioxidants. For recipe ideas, visit www.californiafigs.com.

Not Just for Sunburns.
Aloe vera is the latest food in the Superfood trend, with more than 75 nutrients and 200 active compounds (20 minerals, 18 amino acids and 12 vitamins). In addition to its well-known moisturizing benefits, studies are beginning to show that aloe has substantial benefits for the immune system, particularly in regulating digestive health and reducing inflammation. Many companies claim aloe helps with many health concerns, including aiding in weight loss, slowing the aging process, retarding tumor growth for cancer patients, and resisting opportunistic infections in HIV/AIDS patients. Consumers can find aloe gel in drinks and increasingly in other foods in powdered format. Products common in other countries are finding a market in this country, such as these below. Watch for other products coming to the U.S.A. soon, such as aloe yogurt (popular in Japan and parts of Europe) and aloe-filled cereal bars

Healthier Meals, Healthier Clients.
There are many benefits to a healthy diet, and one of them is preventing atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is the gradual deposit of plaque—fatty substances and other cells—in the walls of your arteries. These blockages (once called “hardening arteries”) lead to heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure, stroke and aneurysms. Yet a recent survey found that only about half of Americans understand the deadly danger. Fortunately, there are lifestyle changes that people can make to prevent or treat atherosclerosis. These include eating healthier meals, and that’s where personal chefs can play a big part. We can help our clients by cooking heart-healthy meals—and explaining the importance of eating smart to treat atherosclerosis. For some tips on healthier meals—and more information about atherosclerosis—visit www.usagainstathero.com/what-you-can-do/make-healthy-choices.aspx.

The Growth of Grocery.
With less money in the family budget, consumers are turning toward eating in versus eating out. New research released by the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association at its annual conference in New Orleans in June cited that consumers are eating more meals in the home than in recent years. To date in 2008, grocery spending for the average consumer has increased by 4.9% to a weekly average of $97.80, and consumers are now eating 44 more meals at home per year than they did just five years ago. Additionally, consumers are also changing the way they shop. They’re not only looking for lower-priced alternatives, but they are using lists and cutting back on “non-essential” purchases.

APPCA Chefs: Discounted Rate at Professional Culinary Institute, Aug. 1-3
The Center for the Advancement of Foodservice Education (CAFÉ) presents its International Cuisines hands-on workshop specifically designed for chefs at all levels of expertise at Professional Culinary Institute in San Jose, Calif. Italian, Japanese and Pacific Fusion cuisines will be demonstrated to participants and then practiced in PCI’s state-of-the-art facility, followed on Sunday afternoon with a session on international desserts taught by an ACF-Certified Master Pastry Chef. CAFÉ offers a $100 discount to APPCA members! This hands-on skills workshop costs only $349 to members in good standing, and includes the welcoming reception, two breakfasts, two lunches, a chef’s jacket, tool kit and all educational materials and food used throughout the workshop. Register online at www.CafeMeetingPlace.com under Events/Summer Workshops, and simply mention “APPCA” after your full name to receive the discount. (Be sure to request the size of your chef’s jacket.) CAFÉ will invoice you. The host hotel is Larkspur Landing, directly across the street from PCI. Rates: Studio Suite with queen bed, $99 plus tax; Executive Suite (king bed plus pullout sofa bed), $129 plus tax. Call (877) LARKSPUR (782-9444) by July 7 and ask for the PCI-CAFÉ Conference group rate. Call CAFÉ with any questions at (410) 268-5542, or e-mail Mary Petersen at marypetersen@prodigy.net. Visit www.pcichef.com for a preview of this incredible school.

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