The Professional Personal Chef: The Business of Doing Business as a Personal Chef (Book only) (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Greg Forte (Author)
Key Phrases: culinary services, personal chef business, safe food handler, Review Questions, Chef Carol, Learning Outcomes After (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The definitive guide to a successful career as a professional personal chef

The job of professional personal chef is one of the fastest growing careers in foodservice. People are choosing to become personal chefs in order to have a culinary career on their own terms, with a self-determined schedule and freedom from restaurant strictures. Not only do personal chefs have the chance to work with food in a more creative, personalized way, they are also able to approach their careers with a more entrepreneurial business sense.

Written by Candy Wallace, the founder and Executive Director of the American Personal and Private Chef Association (APPCA) and Greg Forte, CEC, CCE, AAC, The Professional Personal Chef offers the definitive guide for starting and growing a successful professional personal chef business. It covers the skills and competencies required for the American Culinary Federation's Personal Certified Chef certification, and lays out a practical road map for this challenging but rewarding career.

Filled with resources rich in detail, this useful and engaging text covers:

• The evolution of the professional personal chef career path
• The benefits and disadvantages of various forms of business ownership
• Operating legally
• Writing an effective business plan
• Creating a vision statement, mission statement, and elevator speech for your personal chef business
• Managing and securing finances
• Identifying target markets and revenue streams
• Developing marketing and sales plans and quality customer service
• A day in the life of a personal chef

In each chapter, learning outcomes, key terms, and review questions reinforce the key concepts. From the Field features present interviews and real world experiences from working personal chefs.

A complete instructor support package providing business resources, syllabi, and project suggestions is posted on a companion Web site at www.wiley.com, and also offers sample business plans, recipes for menus, forms, and other useful documents.

Culinary arts instructors seeking a classroom text, as well as individual culinary professionals and amateurs interested in starting or growing a personal chef business, will find The Professional Personal Chef the essential A-to-Z guide to this exciting career.

From the Back Cover

The definitive guide to a successful career as a professional personal chef

The job of professional personal chef is one of the fastest growing careers in foodservice. People are choosing to become personal chefs in order to have a culinary career on their own terms, with a self-determined schedule and freedom from restaurant strictures. Not only do personal chefs have the chance to work with food in a more creative, personalized way, they are also able to approach their careers with a more entrepreneurial business sense.

Written by Candy Wallace, the founder and Executive Director of the American Personal and Private Chef Association (APPCA) and Greg Forte, CEC, CCE, AAC, The Professional Personal Chef offers the definitive guide for starting and growing a successful professional personal chef business. It covers the skills and competencies required for the American Culinary Federation's Personal Certified Chef certification, and lays out a practical road map for this challenging but rewarding career.

Filled with resources rich in detail, this useful and engaging text covers:

• The evolution of the professional personal chef career path
• The benefits and disadvantages of various forms of business ownership
• Operating legally
• Writing an effective business plan
• Creating a vision statement, mission statement, and elevator speech for your personal chef business
• Managing and securing finances
• Identifying target markets and revenue streams
• Developing marketing and sales plans and quality customer service
• A day in the life of a personal chef

In each chapter, learning outcomes, key terms, and review questions reinforce the key concepts. From the Field features present interviews and real world experiences from working personal chefs.

A complete instructor support package providing business resources, syllabi, and project suggestions is posted on a companion Web site at www.wiley.com, and also offers sample business plans, recipes for menus, forms, and other useful documents.

Culinary arts instructors seeking a classroom text, as well as individual culinary professionals and amateurs interested in starting or growing a personal chef business, will find The Professional Personal Chef the essential A-to-Z guide to this exciting career.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Wiley (February 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471752193
• ISBN-13: 978-0471752196
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #232,693 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The REAL DEAL on how to become a Professional Personal Chef! , March 7, 2007

By	Traveling Culinary Artist "chefjim" (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews

This book speaks from experience! It resonates the actual voices of Personal Chefs and extols their expertise. Anyone remotely interested in becoming a Professional Personal Chef must adopt this book as their Personal Chef Bible. Yes, it is a text book; yes, it is packed with detailed information; yes it has review questions & exercises; and YES it is the REAL DEAL! Candy Wallace, as the Executive Director of the APPCA, has tirelessly promoted the Personal Chef Industry to bring it to the forefront of the Culinary World. And further, she has proven it is a viable field of choice for a very diverse group of cooks. From Executive Chefs to Homemakers to Mid-Life Career Changers, we all continue to benefit from her driving force of energy for true validation. Her collaboration with Greg Forte, an excellent hunter-gatherer of specifics, has produced the ultimate resource for our industry. I applaud them both for a stellar performance. Now, this resource can prepare the aspiring student for a satisfying career in the food industry that is as much about the service as the food. Read, digest and practice!

Chef Jim

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good basic text., December 31, 2007

By	B. Morse - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was a little disappointed to see that the first 100 pages or so is a basic primer on starting a business. There are better books for that, my favorite is Small Time Operator. The rest of the text is more of what you would expect, but I think it could go much more in depth. I would like to see the author leave the basic business info, such as whether to incorporate, run as a sole proprietor, etc., to other books and expound on the daily issues of a personal chef. All in all a good basic primer, but I think something more is needed for someone really considering starting a business in this field.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally!!!!!!, March 11, 2007

By	Lisa M. Sargert - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an incredible alternative to those expensive trainings offered by the three top very reputable Personal Chef Associations. It in no way should replace that valuable training but it is truly a great start for the person who is just starting out in the industry and doesn't have the means to pay for the training right away!

Great Information!