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Questions, Asked Frequently and Otherwise
Where did you get your training? Please let me know if you have any other questions. Chances are, other people have the same query. Thanks! Where did you get your training?This is probably the most-asked question, everywhere I go. For the record, I have two college degrees, and I am not a person who loves school or wants to collect degrees. (ie it was torture to get those degrees!) The degrees are a BS in Technical Writing and Journalism and an MS in Technical Communication. Ok, now that we've got that out of the way, you still want to know what culinary school I went to. I trained through the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) and I have taken classes at the culinary school at Schenectady County Community College. Yeah, sure, it would sound much fancier if I went to the CIA in Hyde Park, or some other prestigious school. Truth is, I'm just a practical person most of the time. SCCC has good teachers, I don't have to move away to go there, and I can keep working and take classes at night. For me, that is perfect. The night classes are a great way to meet a lot of other adults who are making changes in their livelihoods. It's very interesting! I have looked at the various degree programs at SCCC, but to tell you the truth, I can't stand the thought of spending time in classes I have no use for at this point in my life, like banquet management or line cooking.
I cook and bake at the Honest Weight Food Co-op, part time, and I learn A LOT there! That's the best classroom I've ever had. It's taken me all these years to learn I'm a doer, I have a short attention span, and I can choose to focus only on the things that truly interest me. Enough said.
I could certainly cook for a shut-in, but right now my customer base consists mainly of single people who work or dual-income couples who travel a lot for business. They tend to have no children, or children who are grown and do not live with them. But being part of that demographic is not a requirement to become a personal chef customer!
I have to say I do not request bank statements when interviewing potential clients, but in general, my guess would be that most of my customers are not what any of us would call wealthy. I have customers that appear to be of various income levels. For most people, having someone come and cook for them is a lifestyle choice. By this I mean that many of my customers can cook, or even love to cook, but they are very busy with other things and don't have the time. Or they simply want to make time to do something else other than cook. But, maybe a person with a modest small home and a 10 year old car is a multimillionaire. I couldn't say! :) I don't have a storefront for my business. There is no sign and no parking lot. When I say I have a private commercial kitchen what I mean is that my kitchen is not open for walk-in business, it's strictly for production. You will need to make an appointment with me to meet me at my kitchen. But please do! I have a consultation area and am happy to give you the tour!
You can pick your food up at my kitchen, by appointment only, at 324 3rd Street, in Troy, NY. I can also deliver the food to your home or work place. We just need to make arrangements ahead of time. I can prepare food for your small event of 20 people or fewer. You can pick the food up at my kitchen, or I can deliver it to you. Right now I do not have a set catering menu, so we will work on your menu together.
I'm working on a new web site in my copious spare time (ha ha ... that's sarcasm). Really, I am working on a new web site and I am building a menu database, but I'm kind of busy so it's taking me a lot longer to sit down and do it than I'd like. Someday you will be able to come to my web site and look at meal choices online. Until then, email is our best bet. Let me know what type of food you like, hate, and are allergic to and I will email you a bunch of menu ideas and we can go from there.
I am making vegetarian California Rolls and am selling them at the Honest Weight Food Co-op, 484 Central Ave, in Albany. I deliver the rolls on Monday and Thursday, before noon. $6.75 will buy you a nice lunch and you will be trying my food! Look in the deli case. All ingredients are from the co-op, most of them organic.
New York State requires me to collect sales tax and pay it to NY for all aspects of my personal chef service. Why? The easiest way for me to explain it to you is that NY collects tax on services rendered within the state. Prepared food figures into the picture.
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Lori Doyle • Personal Cheflori@personalchef-llc.com324 3rd Street, Troy, NY 12180 Ph: 518-286-1650 |
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