LIFESTYLES

Cooks for hire

Too busy to plan and prepare meals? Sick of frozen dinners and takeout? A personal chef might be the answer for your family.

By Michele Hatty

Two years ago, Cindy Conner of Alexandria, Va., decided she'd had enough. She was tired of trying to cook gourmet meals each night for her family, tired of the takeout food routine, and tired of thinking constantly about how to eat right in the midst of her family's busy lifestyle.

Then, as she was leaving the grocery store one day, she saw a flier for Jennifer Howe's personal chef service, Food Therapy.

For a fee, Howe, 35, would come to the Conners' house once a month, bringing fresh groceries and her own cooking gear; prepare four complete, healthful gourmet meals for the family; portion each one into four individual servings; then leave the kitchen as spotless as it had been when she got there.

Conner was sold. "It's almost like having a restaurant in your freezer," she says. "But you know that the food is going to be good for you and is going to taste great. We are so busy, and this really fits our lifestyle well."

Both Cindy Conner, 48, and her husband have demanding jobs, and their two young daughters play on sports teams. Their schedules rarely mesh well enough to allow for sit-down family meals, but what time they do have together is made more meaningful by having a healthful dinner ready to zap in the microwave. Like many who use the services of a personal chef, the family doesn't rely on Howe's meals as its sole source of food, but rather to fill in on busy weeknights.

It's because of families like the Conners that the demand for this convenience has grown. In the early 1990s there were only a handful of personal chefs, and the idea of hiring one seemed out of reach for the average person; today there are thousands, and their services are skyrocketing in popularity.

Howe, for instance, has 13 regular clients. She generally cooks for each client either once or twice a month and charges $250 to $350 per visit. She focuses on clients with special needs: from those on generally low-fat diets (like the Conners) to those who must eat gluten-free or dairy-free meals for health reasons. She works five days a week and has a waiting list several customers long. And she loves what she does.

"I look at this as providing a service for people that really improves the quality of their lives," Howe says brightly, barely looking up as she works in the Conners' kitchen, preparing a savory dish she has dubbed Chicken Carlos. "I enjoy cooking. If I can use my passion to help other people, it's great."

As the ranks of personal chefs grow, so do their specialties. Some cook only for vegetarian clients, some only for families, some only for singles. There are personal chefs who specialize in high-protein/low-carb cooking, and others who refuse to take on clients with rigid dietary restrictions. Most go into clients' homes to cook on designated days; others cook out of commercial kitchens and deliver the food already prepared. All try to form a bond with their clients and tailor the menus to meet their specific tastes.

Terry Riesterer, of Paragon Chef in the Chicago suburb of Hoffman Estates, Ill., says catering to her clients' needs is essential. Riesterer, 46, spent 20 years in manufacturing before switching to a career as a personal chef. Now she serves a diverse clientele -- one former customer is a Chicago Cub -- and focuses on how food can be more than just fuel for her clients: "I work hard to make sure each person is getting the right menu to meet their needs."

One of those clients is Robyn Cagan, 24, who competes in as many as five triathlons each year. Cagan, who has to consume 2,700 to 3,000 calories a day when she's training, says having Riesterer monitor her diet is "like having a second mom. She's super-personal."

To find a personal chef, some would-be clients go through bulletin boards in their communities; others turn to the Web, where sites like that of the American Personal Chef Association (personalchef.com) offer referrals to chefs around the country. Still others go by word of mouth.

Says Conner, who just marked two years of having Howe cook for her family: "I can't imagine going back. I like to cook, but there's something wonderful about knowing that Jennifer's meals are ready and waiting for us to enjoy them."