Become a Personal Chef: An Introduction to the Industry [Paperback]

Brian T. Koning (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Authorhouse (April 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1418408956
• ISBN-13: 978-1418408954
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,196,512 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Adequate Overview, but Lacks Substance, July 15, 2005

By 

Chef in the Making "Chef in the Making" (Central Valley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Become a Personal Chef: An Introduction to the Industry (Paperback)

Being the only book I could find on the Personal Chef industry, I purchased this book with high hopes of learning more about being a PC. I was disappointed to find this book lacked substance, was poorly edited, and left out important information.

While this book gives an adequate overview on several different aspects of the business, it doesn't go much into detail. For instance, the author gives a short summary of the 3 major PC associations but provides nothing that I couldn't get for free by going to each of the association's websites. And while one of the chapters claims that "Marketing is Key", he doesn't give specific tips how to market this particular type of business - what is the primary demographic and where is a newbie most likely to find business? This is very basic information that would be invaluable to someone looking to start a PC business.

Another problem I had with this book was the editing. There were some comments that just didn't make sense. For instance, the author explains that a bi-weekly service means you cook once every 2 weeks and a monthly service is when you cook once a month, but goes on to say, "Some clients will select a bi-weekly service but only have you cook once every four weeks." Huh?

The author encourages membership with one of the PC association and wisely takes a neutral position on which has more to offer. However, he does not give the reader any advice as to what to look for and what questions to ask. The biggest ommission is information on creating a website for the business. Is it necessary? If so, what type of information should you provide and how much information given up front is too much?

This book would be good for someone with little or no business experience and just wants some general information. But keep researching the internet and interviewing established PCs if you are seriously looking into building a PC business.