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

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

March/April 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

2008 Summit recap!

To all of you who attended the APPCA Summit and the catersource Tradeshow in Las Vegas: Bravo and thank you for coming!

It was wonderful to have the opportunity to see you all, get caught up on your lives and businesses and exchange information and tips in a warm climate and relaxed, encouraging atmosphere.

Thank you to APPCA members Brian Kasten for your well-thought-out case study on cooking for diabetic clients and Karen Tursi for the brilliant luncheon presentation on marketing and promotional tips. You both are to be congratulated on the thoughtfulness and completeness of your material and presentations and for your generosity in supporting your fellow members.
Thank you both so much for your contributions to the success of this year's Summit.

Thanks as well to John Deatcher for the demo of his beautiful and tasty arancini appetizer, which we are offering as this issue's recipe. I'm sure you'll all enjoy preparing this visually stunning creation and offering it to clients who will love both the look and the taste.

In addition to our terrific member presentations we welcomed Tim Schlitzer of FoodRoutes Network, who shared information with us about specific steps we can take to provide LOCAL ingredients to our clients and how to participate or even set up a CSA in our respective areas. I hope to develop a deep and abiding relationship with Tim and FoodRoutes that will support our members' contributions to their clients' well being and the well being of our own families and communities.

As always, our friend Nicole Aloni was not only charming, but well informed, topical and exciting. Nic really does have her finger on the pulse of the industry, and generously shares not only her information and tips, but her enthusiasm with us, which we appreciate and enjoy.

We got a lot done in just a day and a half of the Summit, and the catersource Tradeshow was an added bonus. What a tradeshow! I learned a lot, and purchased items from gel innersoles for my chef clogs that are deliciously comfortable to a great induction cooker for demos and catering gigs that rocks! Did you guys see the "Pancake Pods" that promise "100% hands free eating"? Pretty scary, eh?

A BIG thanks goes out as well to everyone who worked so hard to put this year's
Summit together-Denny, Jackie Alejo, Jim Davis, Katie Ayoub and Brent Frei. You are all wonderful, and you did a great job facilitating our needs. It wouldn't happen without you.

Thank you, everyone, for attending and participating. We look forward to hearing from you as to what and who you would like to see, meet, hear about and learn at next year's Summit.

Candy Sign

Personal-Chef Training through July 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..

Increase Traffic to Your Web Site!

By Dennis Wallace

I have noted that many APPCA members have not logged in and updated their profiles for their Find A Chef listings at www.personalchefsearch.com. This is crucial to getting more prospective clients to e-mail or phone you. Below is a slide presentation that will assist you in optimizing your member profile in a step-by-step screen-shot manner. Click here.

Now that you have optimized your PC Search member profile, you will want to check out how you might increase your traffic through Google Search.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) - What you can do to enhance youur opportunity to get more visits to your Web site. If you have a Web site, you will also want to review the below linked slide presentation that offers tips and tricks for increasing your chances of more traffic (your local search position) for a Google local search. Click here.

Wallace Honored as Distinguished Guest Chef of Sullivan University

Candy Wallace, executive director of APPCA, was recognized by Sullivan University's National Center for Hospitality Studies as its 33rd Distinguished Guest Chef on Feb. 14 in Louisville, Ky.

Wallace was presented to students, faculty and staff by Glenn Sullivan, president of the Sullivan University system, at a ceremony marking the event.

"It is a pleasure to give this award to Chef Wallace," Sullivan said. "Her professionalism and entrepreneurial spirit are surely an inspiration to our students and faculty. We look ahead to greater collaboration with Chef Wallace and the APPCA. "As a Distinguished Guest Chef of Sullivan University - the first personal chef to be so honored - Wallace joins the ranks of such cullinary luminaries as Ella Brennan, Emeril Lagasse, Charlie Trotter and Martin Yan.

While on campus to receive her award, Wallace conducted three cooking demonstrations to more than 900 students, emphasizing "palate specific" meal preparation for clients in their homes with such flavorful and easy-to-serve dishes as chicken posole and apple meatloaf with Asian five-spice glaze. Wallace devoted special attention to proper storage of prepared foods to maintain food integrity and safety, as well as proper rethermalization at service. She also described the growing career-path opportunity and encouraged interested students to pursue with confidence a personal-chef business as a viable supplement or option to commercial cooking.

"The world is changing, and the way people eat is changing," Wallace told students. "By catering to the individual flavor preferences and dietary needs of people representing all lifestyles, we provide a solution to what an increasing number of Americans lack the time and know-how to do: Create home-cooked meals that taste great, are a healthy alternative to fast food, and cost no more than dining out. In the process, personal chefs are bringing families together at mealtimes, which benefits American society as a whole. Never has there been a better time to pursue a career as a personal chef."

Sullivan University's honoring of Wallace as its Distinguished Guest Chef crowns an impressive list of recognitions bestowed upon Wallace from such organizations as the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), which named her  Entrepreneur of the Year in 2003.

Wallace founded the American Personal Chef Association in 1996 as the first significant national effort to recognize the impact of personal chefs on Americans' evolving lifestyles and to provide career and management training to those who aspire to become personal chefs with their own businesses. She pioneered strides that positioned personal chefs as culinary professionals, culminating in 2002 with a formal partnership between APPCA and the American Culinary Federation to award certification to qualified personal chefs.

In 2006, Wallace earned additional industry accolades by being first to formally acknowledge the contributions of private chefs to American society, resulting in the renaming of her organization to the American Personal & Private Chef Association. Last year, John Wiley & Sons released the first definitive academic textbook on launching and operating a successful personal-chef business, The Professional Personal Chef, coauthored by Wallace and Greg Forte.

Aside from ceremonies honoring her as Sullivan University's Distinguished Guest Chef, Wallace conducted an intensive train-the-trainer module with key Sullivan University faculty, the result of which will be a new certificate-granting program for Sullivan University students and alumni interested in pursuing careers as personal chefs. The new program marks the first major alliance between APPCA and an internationally recognized postsecondary culinary program to award a certificate in personal-chef training.

Mussel-Stuffed Truffled Arancini with Tomato Jam

A palate-specific recipe from
John Deatcher, chef/owner
Foodini's Catering and Personal Chef Service, Neptune, N.J.
Yield: 50 portions

This recipe, which Deatcher demonstrated at the 2008 APPCA Summit in Las Vegas last month, earned the top prize for Deatcher's team at the 2007 catersource Mystery-Box Challenge. Although Deatcher presents his arancini in martini glasses, an alternate presentation is votive holders nestled among red lentils in a wicker utensil holder, with demitasse spoons sticking out of the lentils.

For the arancini balls:

24    Prince Edward Island mussels
½    cup white wine
½    cup water
6    cups chicken stock, kept warm
4    shallots, minced
3    cloves garlic, chopped
2    cups uncooked Arborio rice
¼    cup cream
½    stick butter, cut into cubes
¼    cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
¼    cup white-truffle oil
Salt and black pepper, to taste
1    qt. panko bread crumbs
¼    cup chopped parsley, plus as needed for garnish
1    T. lemon zest, plus as needed for garnish
Tomato Jam (recipe follows)
Black truffle shavings, as garnish

Method:

  1. Clean mussels. Steam in wine and water. Cool, strain, remove meat, and discard shells.
  2. Buzz mussels in processor or buffalo chopper. Set aside.
  3. Bring chicken stock to a boil; reduce to simmer.
  4. Sweat shallots and garlic. Add Arborio rice. Add an 8-oz. ladle of hot stock at a time, stirring often and adding more stock when previous stock is absorbed.
  5. When rice is al dente, add cream. Cook 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat.
  6. Stir in butter, Parmesan and truffle oil; season to taste.
  7. Spread risotto onto a parchment-lined sheet pan to cool.
  8. Roll into walnut-sized balls. Roll each ball in mix of panko, parsley and zest.
  9. Freeze rice balls to facilitate frying.
  10. Fry off the arancini; hold warm for service or cool and bring to event to be heated in a 375º F oven.
  11. To assemble, rim each martini glasses with chopped parsley and lemon zest. Add about 1 oz. tomato jam to each martini glass. Skewer an arancini with a lollipop stick and suspend from rim of each glass. Garnish with shaved black truffle.

Tomato Jam

3    cups fine-chopped shallot
½    cup extra-virgin olive oil
½    cup chopped garlic
½    t. red-pepper flakes
2    T. sugar, to taste
2    T. sherry vinegar or good balsamic, to taste
7    lbs. San Marzano whole, peeled canned tomatoes

Method:

  1. Caramelize shallots in oil. Add garlic until aroma is apparent. Add red-pepper flakes. Season to taste.
  2. Add sugar. Turn up heat. Deglaze with sherry vinegar. Reduce by half.
  3. Buzz tomatoes with beurre mixer; add to shallot mix. Simmer at least 1 hour.
  4. Add basil to tomato/shallot mixture; buzz with beurre mixer.
  5. Optional: Strain into clean pot; reduce to nappe. Keep warm or cool.

Getting Back to the Dinner Table

Personal chef Gina DeSciscio brings to her clients the love she found in her own family's meals. Meanwhile, she'll help anyone with a special diet need, but she makes him or her come along for the ride.
By Lisa Shames

The way Gina DeSciscio sees it, a lot of life's problems can be solved around the dinner table. Having grown up in a family where mealtime was much more than the food on their plates, she should know. "My own upbringing was strict about having Sunday as a sacred day to feast… Dinner would start early and we would eat as a family, telling stories and laughing throughout the evening," she writes on her Web site. In today's hectic world of people eating on the fly, that scenario is becoming a thing of the past. But DeSciscio, with her company, At the Dinner Table based in San Francisco, is trying to change that. Here's what else she has to say about being a personal chef.

APPCA: How did you get interested in cooking?
DeSciscio: I grew up in a big Italian family in Boston where everybody cooked. All of my uncles were in the restaurant business, and my father owned a restaurant for a short stint. It was part of my lifestyle and upbringing. When I decided that I was going to move out on my own, my mom came home with the essentials: a garlic press and a cheese grater. I remember friends getting really cool gifts for their 20th birthdays, and I would get a frying pan. That was my life [laughs].

APPCA: You write on your Web site that "being a personal chef is something I have to do." Why?
DeSciscio: I was a massage therapist, and I got injured, so I had to find another profession. The reason why I chose to become a personal chef is because I grew up with such a close-knit family. I've talked about this with my cousins, and we believe that as crazy as we were in our youth, we all knew what we had at home. I grew up around the dinner table. It was more than just the food; it was our time to come together. As I got older, I found more and more families weren't eating together. When I was choosing the name of my company and starting out as a personal chef, it really did feel like I had to help families find their way back to the dinner table. I felt this is what I had to give back to the world.

APPCA: Where did you get your culinary training?
DeSciscio: I want to Tante Marie Cooking School [San Francisco]. I could have gone the two-year stint, but I chose the six-month school because it was an older group of people and there was more seriousness about it. Also, I wanted to get in and get out. I went in to really learn knife skills and learn my sauces. I knew how to cook. I also worked in restaurants, in both the front and back of the house.

APPCA: How did you learn about personal chefs?
DeSciscio: They hadn't been around for long when I signed up about nine years ago. My first idea was to open a soup kitchen. I had done all this research on how I could feed people. Then when I started researching, I came across the APPCA. I was fortunate to meet Candy the first time I went to a meeting. Everyone was really worried for me, because it is such physical work and I had a herniated disc. People weren't convinced it was what I should be doing. But that didn't stop me. I knew that I would heal.

APPCA: What are some of the challenges of working as a personal chef?
DeSciscio: In the beginning, it was, What's the best way to schlep my stuff around? I had it down to where I used minimal stuff, and it worked. Also, I have an amazing husband - he's a contractor - and we were able to pick up tool kits on wheels for me.

Now I work out of a commercial kitchen, but in the beginning, I worked in people's homes. The hardest part of doing that is a lot of my clients would want to be my friend, and would sit in the kitchen even though I would tell them, If you want me to make good food, stay out of the kitchen. It didn't stop the lonely ones. It's a whole boundary thing you have to learn. Most of the time it was okay, because most people weren't even home. But with the ones who were, it was definitely an issue. You were there longer.

APPCA: What skills make for a good personal chef?
DeSciscio: You have to be organized, understand your mise en place and have knife skills. Also, I don't follow recipes; they're just an outline. I work with a lot of people who have ailments. I started that way from the get-go. I can look at a recipe and know how to change it to cater to whatever client I'm working with, whether he or she is a diabetic, a person with heart disease or what have you. Having a bigger version than what a recipe gives you is important, as is knowing how to supplement quickly.

APPCA: What is your company At the Dinner Table about?
DeSciscio: When I started, the first client who came to me had diabetes. I talked to his doctor, and I reversed his diabetes within six months. That was huge. At the time, I took on every high-maintenance client I could because I was willing. I have ADD, so I love challenges like that.

My next client was a woman who was recommended by a doctor to lose at least 150 pounds. I've never had a weight issue, so I had no idea how to help someone lose weight. I had to do some research, and I actually started out with Weight Watchers as a model. This woman lost 100 pounds in a year eating my food. After that, it seemed like each client I got had a different ailment. Basically, I was getting paid to learn a new disease by helping them.

I say to my clients: If you really want the results, I'll take you there, but you have to come along for the ride. I tend to get clients who are willing to make a change in their lives. What's amazing about being a personal chef is that you can make your business model whatever you want.

APPCA: How do you find your clients?
DeSciscio: My Web site and word of mouth. When I first started, I picked up the phone book and called 20 random people a day—hoping you'll get an answeriing machine instead of somebody live - telling them who I was and what I was doing. Basiically I was doing positive thinking. I was saying 20 times a day, "I'm a personal chef; this is what I do, and let me help you." My business didn't come from those calls, but it was almost like you're putting it out there in the world.

APPCA: Describe some of the special services you provide.
DeSciscio: I will help people learn how to shop, and I'll give assessments similar to a nutritionist. Ultimately it's about getting behind them. One of my questions is, When you're stressed out, what do you go for? I think that's really telling. Not everyone goes for sweets. People go for different things when they are binging. I'm trying to find out where their weaknesses are, which helps me create a routine for them so they won't go into deprivation.

Also, when they start to lose weight, you need to hook them up, whether it's a personal trainer, a nutritionist or a gym. I used to weight-train a lot, so I have a lot of that type of education. It's important to know when to introduce clients to the next piece of their health.

APPCA: How do you stay on top of current trends?
DeSciscio: With any profession, once you get complacent, that's when you starting losing your edge. That's where I find my stress. I have a huge library, and I read a lot. I watch Oprah. I love watching her stuff with people. I get my inspiration also by going to the APPCA Summits. So much of what we do is by ourselves, so there is something very good about being around your peers.

APPCA: What advice do you have for those who want to become a personal chef?
DeSciscio: It's important to know that [in this profession] you get to make it what you want. But you need to know your reasons for why you want to be a personal chef. I'm a true believer you have to go for what is in your heart. Then the money will come. I do make very good money, and I could go down that road if I wanted to, but I don't believe I would be as satisfied. It's something about being of service, and everything else will come. You have to find that.

For more information on Gina DeSciscio and At the Dinner Table, visit www.atthedinnertable.com.

A Day in the Life

James Huff, a personal chef and "Traveling Culinary Artist" in Flushing, N.Y., shares a recent day in his professional diary on which he cooks for a well-to-do family in Manhattan.

The cookdate ...

6:00 a.m.    Roll out of bed to hit the computer while I listen to the morning news and wake up.

6:30 a.m.    I make a bowl of cereal and check the APPCA forums. Read up on some posts I'd skipped over the night before. After breakfast and a shower I pack up the specific spices from my pantry that I will be using, checking them off the shopping list I created from MasterCook for the day's cookdate. It's a weekly 5x4 for two adults and two pre-teen boys.

7:30 a.m.    I load up my rolling cooler with the ice blankets from my freezer and head down to the street where my car is parked. My first stop is a Stop and Shop grocery store, where I buy most of the staples I need for the day's menu. On the way back to the car with the groceries I stop at the Starbucks counter in the store and chat with my barista while he prepares my iced (yes, cold) vanilla latte. He asks what's on the menu, and we talk about ingredients. Next, I drive into Forest Hills, where I have to choose my parking space carefully, as each block/side of the street has different times for street cleaning between 8 and 9 a.m. Put the quarters into the parking meter and put the printout on the dashboard before hitting The Natural produce store, where I purchase all the fresh produce needed for the day's menu. Now I'm down to only needing the fish for the client's dinner. 

9:00 a.m.    I'm heading toward Manhattan from Queens. I listen to the all-news radio station that gives traffic updates every 10 minutes. I'm hearing that the 59th Street Bridge is backed up on both the upper and lower levels, and the slowdown is backing up traffic on the expressway that I'm traveling on. The recommendation is to take the Queens/Midtown Tunnel, which was my plan all along. As I near the exits for the bridge, the traffic is down to a crawl. The radio now advises that as a result of the backup on the bridge, everyone has switched to the tunnel and it is now experiencing 25-minute delays to reach the tolls.

Now I'm in the thick of it, so 25 minutes it will be. I use the time to return a phone call to a client who wants to adjust the menu for the planned dinner party two weeks away.

9:50 a.m.    I come through the tunnel and start my trek downtown on Second Avenue. The only good thing is that I'll be in front of Citarella, the store where I'll get the fish needed, at 10 a.m. when it becomes legal to park again.

9:59 a.m.    I arrive in front of the store, put my quarter in and get the ticket for 15 minutes, and run into the store to get the Chilean sea bass I need. Back in the car in 10 minutes and drive the two blocks to my client's building on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 11th Street.

Mike, the doorman, is on the sidewalk helping a tenant with her baby stroller as I double-park the car to unload. He smiles and nods to me as I pile up my Rolling Contractor's tool kit and soft tote with sheet pans, sauté pan, etc., on the sidewalk. Next comes the rolling cooler, which is now packed with meats, fish, ice blankets, bottled water and a sandwich for my lunch.

As I return to the car, Mike starts hauling the kit up the eight steps to the lobby. I grab the two IKEA tote bags that I have filled with the groceries and other soft goods, towels, paper towels, etc., and haul them up to the lobby. Mike brings up the cooler and I head back to the car to drive it around to the garage. (This can take 15 minutes; due to the one-way streets, I must drive around four blocks to reach the garage, which is only a half-block walk from the doorway of the building!).

At the garage, Manny, the familiar attendant, wishes me a good cooking day and says he's jealous that I'll be working in a warm kitchen while he's in a freezing garage.

By the time I return to the lobby, Mike has sent everything upstairs via the freight elevator with one of the porters.  When I arrive on the fifth floor, my kit and the groceries have been deposited in the kitchen of my clients' pre-war Fifth Avenue apartment. Time to start the donuts!

I typically empty the oven of the sheet pans stored in there and remove the Romertopf clay pot and red Le Creuset French oven displayed on the top of the stove, clear the morning's newspaper and at least one half-drunk glass of milk from the kitchen counter, and start unpacking after turning on the oven. When I get to the bag with my pasta pot, I stop and fill it with water and place it on the stove top to heat.

On one counter I have set up the fan and sheet pans for cooling, removed all produce from the bags and placed them in foil pans for easy grabbing as I go. Put all ice blankets and small sheet pans in the freezer. Place all herbs and the fish into the refrigerator. Survey any leftover food containers, setting aside the ones that are in the process of defrosting and toss the remainders, often just bits of food left. The remaining meats stay in my cooler with one ice blanket until they are needed.

The other counter has been set up with cutting board and utensil kit.

11:00 a.m.    I'm about to start rockin' and rollin'.  To help that process, I set up my i-Pod Shuffle and speakers and get cookin'. Pull out the sheet protector with the day's recipes and choose the first recipe to begin the cooking. Usually, I get one thing going, like a roasted vegetable. Once that's in the oven, I continue with mise en place for the next few recipes I will work on. Having something going gives me a sense of accomplishment. After two or three dishes are cooking and/or cooling, I stop and wash up what's been used, and then start another mise en place effort for a few more recipes. I have to keep reminding myself to drink water and eat lunch.

2:30 p.m.    I've finished another washing session, and I'm feeling like I've got things under control. I figure out what's left to cook and start another mise en place, but before I start cooking again, I finish packaging and labeling the food that has already cooled and move it to the fridge.

The clients and their personal assistant are in and out of the apartment all day, and often come to the kitchen just to take in the aromas and say hello and remind me how much they love Mondays!

3:30 p.m.    The kids come home from school. The 13-year-old always opens the door and shouts: It smells like Chef Jim is here! 

After having spent another few minutes packaging and labeling and storing in the fridge the recently finished dishes, I review my recipe list and determine that I have one more side dish to cook and the fish entrée to set up. After finishing the side dish and setting it up to cool, I do another wash-up session, leaving only the few items I'll need to prep the fish dish. I will be leaving the Chilean sea bass with spinach/pine-nut/Parmesan coating to be baked off by the client for dinner that night. It is a recipe that was shared by Chef Carol on the APPCA forum that is a frequently requested repeat by these clients. (Thank you, Carol!) Set it up in a casserole, cover with foil and label the dish with a reminder that the fish is raw and must be cooked today.

Package up the last side dish and pull the printed menu from my folder and set two entrées and side dishes into the freezer. Finish washing and drying my tools and equipment, dry everything and pack it all up. I now clean the stove top, countertops and sink. Pack up the garbage and stage everything in the hallway for my exit.

5:15 p.m.    I pull out the printed menu and heating instructions and notate which items I've stored for them in the freezer. Then I take out a blank invoice and calculate the groceries and leave the invoice with a stamped envelope for their convenience. As I start toward the door, the client returns and writes me a check, and I take the stamped envelope for next time.

Now I reverse the process and leave my kit in the lobby with Juan, the evening doorman, and head to the garage. Manny sees me enter the garage, and shouts into his walkie-talkie to bring down the green Nissan from the third floor. He takes my credit card and processes the payment, and by the time I'm finished, my car is waiting for me, warmer than if it was parked outside a client's home. Gotta be thankful for the small things. Drive around to the door of the building, and Juan helps me load the car.

5:45 p.m.    I'm on the road, listening to the traffic report, and choose the 59th Street Bridge for my Manhattan exit. It appears to be a good choice, as I'm able to travel at 40 mph. The rest of my commute home is uneventful, and I'm able to find a parking spot a few doors from my building.

7:00 p.m.    I enter my own kitchen for one more quick cooking session as I prepare dinner for myself and my wife, who has just arrived from her physical-therapy appointment and subway ride home. 

After dinner I prepare my paperwork for Tuesday's cookdate: a simpler 3x6 in a spacious kitchen on Long Island. Get to sleep until 7 a.m.! Looking forward to traveling against the traffic instead of in it. But there's no Mike to help unload the car or Manny to park it in a weather-protected garage at this mini mansion!

Highlights from the 2008 APPCA Summit!

By Katie Ayoub

The 2008 Personal & Private Chef Summit in Las Vegas, Feb 24-26, was a resounding success. The dynamic speakers presented information that attendees could fold right into their businesses. They left the Summit with valuable insights on marketing, how to better serve special-needs clients and a crystal-clear picture of the importance of food sourcing.

But beyond the incredible seminars was the extension of camaraderie and friendship among APPCA members. New members gleaning advice from old-timers. Old-timers catching up and sharing war stories. All of the members talking about the business of being a personal chef—their successes and chhallenges, hopes and aspirations for the future.

Candy Wallace, APPCA's executive director, opened the Summit with an honest look at today's economy. But she showed members how to see the recession as an opportunity, not a setback. "Face it head on, and then market it correctly to your clients," she said.

The Summit's keynote presentation, "Going Green: Why Buying Local Is Good for the Planet, Good for your Clients," was delivered by Timothy J. Schlitzer, executive director of FoodRoutes Network, Arnot, Pa. He spoke fervently about the state of farms in this country and how urgent the need is to get that connection back from farm to fork. "Where will our food supply come from in the next 10 years?" he asked. "We must protect local identity and the local economy, and it is imperative that we not only protect our local farms, but help them be productive."

Schlitzer's presentation resonated with the attending chefs. Not only was he arming them with information on how to be better stewards of the land, but he gave them marketable information to pass on to their clients. For more information about FoodRoutes, visit www.foodroutes.org.

The overlying theme of health and wellness continued with Brian Kasten's presentation, "The Diabetes Epidemic and the Role of the Personal and Private Chef." Kasten, chef/owner of The Supper Solution, Post Mills, Vt., and a diabetic, himself, has seen his client base grow by serving diabetics meals that fit their dietary requirements.

"You can provide meal solutions for people with diabetes, and give them great food, but you have to understand the restrictions and guidelines," he said.

Attendees enjoyed a deli-style lunch while watching Karen Tursi's invaluable presentation on successful marketing ideas. Tursi, chef/owner of the very successful CHOP Personal Chef Services in Chicago and president of that city's local APPCA chapter, framed her fail-proof strategies through her personal experience of trial-by-fire. She went through different marketing strategies-Yellow Pages, coupon books, charity auctions-and shared her poor results with them. Tursi then hit on winning strategies-Web site development, word-of-mouth promotion, how to acquire and package referrals and niche outreach.

The afternoon programming featured two powerhouses. Nicole Aloni, author of Secrets from a Caterer's Kitchen (HP Trade, 2001) and Cooking for Company (HP Trade, 2003), gave a knockout presentation on conscientious cooking and eating. She talked about how to place organics and local foods in a workable context, proclaiming that "green" is the new black.

"Your clients are counting on you to give them the best service," she said. "Knowing about food sourcing, sustainability and organics is how you can make yourself a valuable resource to your client."

Attendees were then treated to a master class, where John Deatcher, chef/owner of Foodini's Catering in Neptune, N.J., shared his recipe for mussel-stuffed and truffled arancini with tomato jam. Both the presentation and flavor were amazing. The same dish helped Deatcher, a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and a successful personal chef and caterer for many years, win the Mystery Box Challenge for his team at last year's catersource Conference in Las Vegas.

The Summit ended with an informal Q&A. The presenters-Jim Davis, James Huff, Brian Kasten and Karen Tursi-along with Wallace offered theiir expertise about the business of being a successful personal or private chef.

Tuesday's half-day presentation on APPCA's Personal Chef Office, the organization's revolutionary new business software, helped members maximize its exciting and user-friendly new features. For more information about Personal Chef Office, visit www.personalchefoffice.com.

SIDE DISH

For Diabetic Clients, Chocolate to Savor. Brian Kasten, chef/owner of The Supper Solution, Post Mills, Vt., who presented on meeting the needs of diabetic clients at the 2008 APPCA Summit in Las Vegas, mentioned Amber Lyn Chocolates based in St. George, Utah, as a chocolate "solution" for diabetics. The company uses high-quality Belgian chocolate and sweetens with Maltitol, which, as a substitute for sucrose, does not raise blood-sugar levels. Several varieties of dark and milk chocolate include hazelnut almond, cherry nut, cappuccino and mint. A number of white-chocolate offerings include orange, strawberry and French vanilla. Visit Costco or order direct, www.AmberLynChocolates.com, (800) ALC-9234.

Puck Promotes Green. He may be well known for his celebrity friends and expanding culinary empire, but Wolfgang Puck, a celebrity himself, is no stranger to the green movement, having promoted local growers and farmers and buying organic whenever possible for the last 20 years. Now, Puck takes it up a notch with the Springs Café, the latest green addition to the Las Vegas Springs Preserve, a 180-acre national historic site. The 6,800-square-foot café showcases organic ingredients from regional artisan producers and growers, and complements the Preserve's commitment to sustainable living. This is Puck's first eco-friendly, quick-service eatery to open in Las Vegas. Let's hope that in this case, what happens in Vegas doesn't stay in Vegas. www.springspreserve.org.

Eco-Friendly Food Airs April 29. Sundance Channel will premiere season two of the award-winning original eco-series, "Big Ideas for a Small Planet," beginning April 1 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. The 13-part series airs as part of THE GREEN, Sundance Channel's weekly primetime destination focusing on environmental issues. "Big Ideas for a Small Planet" is a documentary series presenting the forward-thinking designers, products and processes that are at the forefront of a new green world. Each episode revolves around a different green theme as it spotlights three specific innovators or innovations that have the potential to transform our everyday lives. "Big Ideas for a Small Planet: Food" airs on April 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT. Visit www.sundancechannel.com for a complete description of each segment in the series.

Spring Is on the Plate. While some people get excited when the first flowers of spring can be seen, we, on the other hand, get spring fever when we can actually get a taste of the season in our mouths. From mid-February through May we plan on doing just that with healthful California asparagus. (We're not the only ones it seems. In a recent National Restaurant Association "What's Hot, What's Not" chef survey, asparagus is listed as the No. 2 perennial favorite on America's menus.) For creative - and profitable - menu ideas, visit www.calasparagus.com/foodservice.

At a Fishmonger Near You: Alaska Halibut and Black Cod. Seafood consumption among Americans is predicted to reach a record 16.8 pounds per person this year, so it's good news that Alaska halibut and black cod season opened March 8. Wild, natural and sustainable Alaska black cod (also called sablefish) is known for its luscious velvet texture, rich flavor and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids-1.8 grams per 3.5-ounce serving. Wild, natural and sustainable Alaska halibut is renowned for its mild, sweet flavor, firm texture and cooking versatility. Visit www.alaskaseafood.org to sign up for the foodservice e-newsletter and browse through hundreds of on-trend recipes.

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