lorna-white-apronI am so humbled and grateful to my existing clients, some of whom I have been cooking for for 16 years, who have continued to trust me as their personal chef to make their home-cooked meals for them. With the recent events of Coronovirus (Covid-19), I am providing an outline of the way my procedures have continued to be the absolute safest that they can be, for my client’s sake, as well as my own. At this time, during Illinois’ Shelter-In-Place order, I am only cooking for my clients who fall into the “essential needs” category. This includes some seniors, some people dealing with serious (non-contagious) illnesses, such as cancer and diabetes. After the Shelter-In-Place is lifted (hopefully on April 8), I will be accepting new clients. During this time, when we are all practicing social distancing, it is so tempting to eat in an (justifiably) indulgent way. That quickly catches up, and gets old, as I am hearing over and over from new clients calling looking for alternatives to constant take out and frozen meals. I have been certified in Food Safety and Sanitation for many years, but as a personal chef helping my clients stay safe and free of the Coronavirus, I have had to take extra measures, which include santizing all packaging, wearing gloves which are switched out after each ingredient, constant hand washing, sterlization of the cooking area before and after cooking. I maintain social distancing while shopping in the grocery stores (I do not shop in stores that don’t have a social distancing procedure), and make every effort to stop the spread of this virus. Every client is different, but as your personal chef, I will help you and your family eat healthy home cooked food at home while social distancing. Call me and we can talk about the details!

My busy family that needs a personal chef in Elmhurst, thought they had a problem making everyone happy at dinnertime. The dad loves beef, the mom is a vegetarian who likes to eat light and healthy, and the kids love cheesy dishes like enchiladas and baked pastas.
On this week’s menu, I made Chicken Enchiladas, BBQ Chicken Meatballs, Baked Shells with Cauliflower and Fontina, Chocolate Chip Toffee Cookies. Everyone in the family will have what they like! The refrigerator is stocked full, not only with the entree size of all of the food, but with individual snack sizes, because they like to open the refigerator and grab a bite or two when they don’t have time for much else! 

I recently got a call from a women and her sister, looking for some help on their weight loss journey. They were looking for a personal chef to cook meals from the Shape Reclaimed eating plan. To make their new plan easy and stress-free, I am cooking for them weekly, making 4 dinners of each dish for them. On this week’s menu was Carne Asada, Meatloaf and Mashed “Potatoes” (actually made with cauliflower rice cooked in chicken broth), Turkey Zucchini Meatballs and Chili. I also left a big bag of crudites to snack on. Having a personal chef is making their mealtimes easy and enjoyable!

My longtime Wheaton clients that I’ve worked as a personal chef for for several years had some special requests this week. Their grown children were visiting, along with their cute grandchildren, and they wanted the fridge stocked full of comfort foods so they could relax and enjoy on the evenings when they didn’t feel like eating out.

Oven Baked BBQ Ribs, Duck Fat Roasted Baby Potatoes, Corn off the Cob with Browned Butter, Chicken Milanese, Spicy Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Baked Cheesy Pasta with Beef, Brownies with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream. I also left some blueberry lemon muffins and some homemade granola just for fun.

One of the highlights of my 16 year career is when I get to help people with special dietary needs with their meals. As a personal chef, I have many clients who are seniors and no longer wish to cook for themselves, as well as people who are unable to prepare their own meals. Helping them to eat healthy, convenient home cooked meals is a passion of mine. This week, I cooked for one of my seniors who needed a personal chef to help her eat regular meals, as well as enjoy them. She had recently lost her appetite and interest in food. I was happy to make her some of her old favorites, such as Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Pot Pie and Stir Fried Asian Chicken with Snow Peas.