Services
Home Plate Personal Chef Service exists to make your dinners healthier, your life easier and your worries fewer - at least as they relate to the classic question: "What's for dinner?"
Whether you desire home cooked comfort food, the variety of international cuisine or have the need for a specialized diet, Chef Valerie will work with you to customize a menu that meet your needs. Here are some of the services we provide at Home Plate:
* Meal service on a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly basis - dine at home, enjoy more free time!
* Special events - birthdays, anniversaries, engagements or just because!
* Cooking lessons - learn specific dishes or get some general tips on how to best use YOUR kitchen. Enjoy a private session or choose your classmates for fun themed event in the comfort of your own home.
About the Chef
Chef Valerie Perry has been cooking since she could drag the chair to the countertop in her family's kitchen to help her mother prepare meals. Influenced by her (very talented!) mother's international cooking and inspired by the wide range of foods her whole family enjoyed, she was always interested in variety and using as many different flavors as possible. As a young foodie, her first love was desserts. She was constantly turning out pies, cakes, cookies and even what she sheepishly refers to now as "The Jello Variations." While she did learn a great deal from watching and helping her classically trained mom, it wasn't until after college that Chef Valerie started to hone her cooking skills by taking classes at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco. After completing the Basic Cooking certificate, she trained further there and took as many classes as she could at various schools including the Culinary Center at Monterey and the Culinary Insitute of America at Greystone in Napa.
All the while working as a marketing manager in "Corporate America," Valerie was searching for a way to follow her passion professionally. Not particularly excited by the prospect of what she felt were the more institutionalized and impersonal careers in the restaurant, hotel or large catering ventures, she came across an article about personal chefs by the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA) and pursued enrollment. While completing the Personal Chef training program at the USPCA, she became even more convinced that she was finally on the right culinary path.
Ever the nurturer, Chef Valerie feels that being a personal chef allows her to combine creativity with her natural instincts to "take care of people." In providing her clients with healthy, convenient and delicious alternatives to the too-busy-to-cook-fast-food-to-go-eat-on-the-run-oh-my-gosh-I-forgot-about-the-board-meeting dinner dilemma, Chef Valerie and Home Plate Personal Chef Service allow busy individuals and families to come back to the table to welcome quality food and quality time back into their lives.
frequently asked questions
What is a Personal Chef Service?
A Personal Chef service is designed to solve your dinner dilemmas. Whether to provide you with meal alternatives during the week, or allow you to throw a dinner party AND spend time with your guests (what a concept!), or even if you want someone to show you how to cook a few things for yourself, a personal chef can help with all these things and more! A personal chef customizes menus to your nutritional needs and tastes.
What is the difference between a Personal Chef and a Private Chef?
A private chef is normally a paid staff member in a household. Often, private chefs' client arrangements are exclusive and usually involve the preparation of all meals. Sometimes they are even live-in positions. A personal chef will also cook in your home, but may have several clients. You may hire a personal chef once or on a regular basis. It's up to you!
This sounds expensive... can I afford a personal chef?
Only you can answer this question for sure. To help you, we advise that you consider not only what you normally spend on meals but also what your own time is worth. Remember that a personal chef does all the planning, shopping, cooking, packaging and cleaning up which is time you get to spend doing other things. To get a better understanding of the big picture, we can send you a helpful form called "Is It Worth It?" for you to answer the questions to the best of your knowledge. Please call Chef Valerie at (530) 305-2141 or email homeplatepcs@yahoo.com for this and other information.
What if I am trying to lose weight or am on a special diet?
One of the best things about hiring a personal chef is the ability to have someone else plan, shop for and cook specialized diets. Whether you require an all organic diet, want to control your portions or have a medically supervised diet, a personal chef will help you eat and live better.
What areas do you service?
Home Plate's primary service area is Placer County. Chef Valerie is happy to serve surrounding areas, including Sacramento. Depending on the service agreement and location, some travel fees may apply.
How are prices determined?
Normal service agreements are based on a flat fee. Because of the cost and difficulty of finding certain specialized ingredients, there are several factors which may increase the basic price of services. Examples include but are not restricted to: all organic ingredients, items such as premium beef and seafood, items that are not easily found in area supermarkets or local specialty shops or items that require advance or special orders. Clients will always receive an estimate to approve in advance of the cook date and Home Plate will always suggest alternatives to fit your budget. For basic pricing information, please contact Chef Valerie at (530) 305-2141 or email homeplatepcs@yahoo.com.