Friday, March 18, 2011

Local Chef for Hire

I gave birth to twins three months ago. So exciting! And as predicted, my boyfriend and I had no time to do any of the things we used to do. Which, for the most part is no big sacrifice. However, we always ate really well before, and one night I found myself grumpily eating a can of beans and thinking something had to change.

People who know what it is like to raise twins will often tell you to hire help. And we thought, before we had the babies home, that this was a ridiculous idea. Then the babies came home, and we were exhausted. We didn't have much money. And we didn't want to hire someone to take care of the babies- we wanted to take care of the babies. Someone else might have hired someone to help them clean the house. But we never cared that much about a clean house to begin with. Sick of eating peanut butter for lunch and spending money on takeout, I hired Jeremy Ward to help us to have fresh homemade meals at home.

"What a novel idea," said my boss. Yes, and a good idea. All of the food I had bought that was sitting unused in the cabinets and refrigerator suddenly got made into fabulous cuisine that was so good I could weep for gratitude. Jeremy came a couple of times per week, made several dishes including dinners and a fritatta for breakfast, and we could pop things in the oven, premade, from the refrigerator or the freezer. There was chicken cordon bleu, and pork piccata. We had risottos made with fresh butternut squash I had hoarded from the last farmer's market of the season. There were mushroom marsala soups and spinach and feta-stuffed chicken breasts. I got about four meals out of what I would have paid for one meal out for all of us. And I was able to take advantage of sales at the grocery store and surprise Chef Jeremy, who would cook whatever I gave him. Jeremy would also make lists for us to go grocery shopping for special meals. For Valentine's Day, Jeremy made us an exquisite leg of lamb.

That was a good month, and it got us feeling human again. We also attracted a number of friends and family, who would happen to show up when they knew that Jeremy would be cooking. We had good times in the kitchen holding babies, chatting, and smelling the delicious smells of homemade meals. Eventually we transitioned back to cooking for ourselves. But I sure do miss it.

To talk to Chef Jeremy about your needs for a private chef for home cooking, private parties, cooking instruction, weddings, etc., contact him at 240.446.4503.

1 comment:

Chelsea said...

Hey - welcome back and big congratulations!