A cook on the other side of the kitchen

In my ten years of working as a personal chef I have often wondered what guests feel like when they are on the other side of the kitchen, what is the real value of sitting and relaxing at home and having a personal cook who works to make your evening, an unforgettable experience.

 

This year for my 42nd birthday I decided to experience what our customers experience when they choose us!

 

After a long working summer season I needed relaxation, nature, family and friends and we chose to go for the winter holidays to Fuerteventura, one of the Canary Islands where we rented a house in an isolated bay facing the ocean.

 

Majanicho was our paradise for two weeks: sea, sun, wind, and a starry sky. Electricity with solar panels, no internet and little telephone signal, and the first inhabited center was 5 km away. For us it was a dream.

 

In those days my birthday 'was falling 'and my biggest wish was that I did not want to do anything practical in order to make the day even more special, neither cooking nor leaving our paradise.

 

I had not arrived unprepared for the big day: I had already organized my birthday dinner one month before and  for the first time, as a special treat a chef- colleague of mine was going to cook for me!

 

As our customers do with Chianti Cooking Experience I wrote to Christopher of Volcanic Food and together we decided on the menu for the evening: seafood tapas and fish paella. He was really good and professional, he provided an excellent service as we also offer to our customers. He was empathetic and discreet, a professionist who, as an added extra has a close culinary connection with the place where he lives and chooses quality.

 

In practice it is as if we were talking about our very own gastronomic reality!

 

Here are some thoughts also shared with my son Joshua and Gabriele my partner, chef and pizza maker from the Chianti Cooking Experience team.

 

Customer considerations:

• How nice it was for all of us to have a personal chef: in the end the price we paid was well worth the quality and the exclusivity.

• The chef arrived at 6.30 pm - I came home after a day at the beach at 6.00 pm.

• The only thing I did was to open the door to Christopher and sit myself down  with a glass of white wine to contemplate the sunset!

• I completely relaxed and enjoyed the evening. I didn't have to think or do anything.

• Our kitchen was bright and clean at the end of the evening.

• Fresh, tasty food, excellent quality, captivating presentation.

 

Professional reflections:

 

• The kitchen in our house was really minimal, with poorly functioning burners, little space to work and not very well equipped. I too often find myself in beautiful villas where, however, the kitchen is the somewhat forgotten part.

• Working as a professional also means knowing how to cook an excellent dinner, sometimes without the best equipment.

• The kitchen and dining room are often an open space. For the chef it can be challenging to cook on sight with people passing by you, filling up the space, the space you need!

• It is very important to find the right measure between being friendly and present but also knowing how to become almost invisible; in the end when we find ourselves cooking for a family or a group of friends we enter a very intimate and private space and confidentiality and empathy are fundamental.

• A quality cuisine starts from the choice of ingredients: first quality, seasonal, possibly local. With these things in place a good chef cannot fail!

• The idea that I had of the quality of the service we offer was deeply confirmed and expanded through this experience.

 

 

 

As a client and as a professional, I was delighted to try this experience: it strengthened in me what I believe is the real value of choosing a personal chef, having an exclusive service exactly as you want,where you want, only for you!