Mentor Chef Team

Our Mentor Chef Team was chosen to further enhance your learning experience at Personal Chefs Network. After reading their stories we think you will agree that these Chefs are truly experts. They are ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help you to succeed.

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Chef Jan Harding
jantastic.meals@mindspring.com
Jantastic Meals, Marietta, GA
http://jantasticmeals.com/

It took Jan Harding a long time to figure out what she wanted to be when she grew up. Finally, after two college degrees and a long career in training and development, Jan discovered the world of personal cheffing. Jan joined PCN in mid-2004 and launched Jantastic Meals a few months later. She says "joining PCN has been the most important business decision I have made as the head chef".

Jan really can't remember when she wasn't interested in food and cooking. Her earliest cooking memory is making Pixie Delights (the oven version of S'mores) when she was about 6 years old in Salt Lake City. Since then, her interest in food and cooking has grown and evolved, beginning with the basic techniques she learned from her mother and influenced by a curiosity about other cuisines. As career moves took her family from Utah to Virginia and then Georgia, she joined gourmet dinner groups that opened up whole new ideas about food. A growing understanding about the link between eating habits and health prompted Jan to focus on recipes that feature low fat, whole grains, fruits and vegetables and that is now a key aspect of Jantastic Meals.

In October of 2006 Jan was honored as a PCN Pacesetter. Jan attended her first PCN convention in 2004 and found it so helpful in launching her business that she eagerly attended the next one in Las Vegas and the 2007 convention in Bloomingdale, Illinois. Currently Jan is expanding her services to include Cooking Lessons that Come to You and plans to add a dinner and massage service soon.

When she's not immersed in the worlds of food and networking, Jan loves spending time with her three grandkids, traveling with her husband, being outdoors, working to protect the environment, and reading.

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Chef Karla Billdt
donkar801@adelphia.net
Karla's Kreations, Yuma, AZ
http://www.chefkarla.com/

Karla Billdt, owner of Karla's Kreations, started her business in Yuma, Arizona in October of 2004. Karla can trace the inspiration of her Personal Chef career back to watching her grandmother, mother and aunts put together Thanksgiving dinner each year for over 50 people. 26 different pies lined the pantry, 3 glistening roasted turkeys sat cooling, while dozens of her aunts' favorite recipes jockeyed for room on the stands around the kitchen. As she looked at the flushed faces of her aunts, she saw their happiness in being together preparing the feast for their families, and the joy of preparing food for others was instilled in her.

Karla's Kreations came into being after a conversation with Karla's sister about how so many families do not have time these days to prepare good meals at home for their families. Karla decided to create a business that was all about cooking good delicious food for people who want to eat at home without the fuss of fixing it themselves. Karla heard of Personal Chefs Network and after doing some research and signed up to become a member. She has worked closely with Personal Chefs Network and credits their wonderful support as one of the reasons her business continues to grow and be a great success. "Where else can I find the answers to everything I need to know to make this business work from forming a business plan, the need for insurance, as to how many appetizers are necessary or a special recipe that she knows will work because my friends posted it at Personal Chefs Network."

Karla's business not only involves Personal Cheffing for individual families, but parties of all sizes, business breakfast and lunches. She has also ventured into the catering field. "I did one catering job and people liked what I did, my food and presentation was different from anything else they could get in Yuma." Karla now caters at least four events a month.

Karla has always been very civic-minded and gives of her time freely. Currently Karla is working with a private school teaching seventh-graders how to use manners and menu plan with nutrition in mind. Karla is also working with the Crossroads Mission on teaching the basics of safe and proper kitchen practices. Many restaurant owners are backing her in this as they are anxious to hire the graduates. Karla also cooks for the Safe House once a month, putting goodies and soup in the freezer to comfort the abused women and their children when they arrive.

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Chef Marcy Kaminski
primethyme@charter.net
Prime Tyme Personal Chef Service, Sutton, Massachusetts
http://pcnchef.com/primethymepersonalchefservice/

As a young girl, growing up in a melting pot neighborhood and experiencing a variety of cuisines, Chef Marcy Kaminski knew that cooking would some day be her profession. In the 70's and 80's, Marcy owned her own catering business, employing a staff of 12 people at any given time. During this time, she also worked as a pastry chef in a cafe that she helped open for a friend. Mentored by several family members in the food industry, she was most strongly influenced by her mother-in-law, a master gardener and canner.

In 1976, Chef Marcy served as president of the local Junior Women's club where she developed a cookbook entitled "Cornucopia." Although pretty well worn, she still refers back to her cookbook today to cook for her clients. In 1985, Chef Marcy entered the corporate world to become an events planner and coordinator. She continued to cook for family and entertain friends, hosting dinner parties, teas, and luncheons. While reading the back of a cooking magazine, she saw an advertisement for the Personal Chefs Network and within a few days, she was a member and on her way to a new career. "It saved my life," she claims. "I knew this was where I was supposed to be."

During the next few months, Marcy realized a need to bring all the area members of PCN together to form a chapter. She became Head Chef and founding member of the New England Chapter of the Personal Chefs Network. It was during this time that Marcy also won an award for Best Marketing Materials at the Houston annual convention in 2002. She also became ServSafe certified through the MA Restaurant Association in safe food handling.

Chef Marcy decided to go Boston University's Metropolitan College to receive her certification as a Personal and Private Chef under the direction of Chef John Vyhnanek. She returned each semester to the school as a guest speaker for the same course she took. Shortly after completing her certification, Chef Marcy began working with a nutritionist and doctor to develop a program for diabetics and renal patients looking to eat and live a healthier lifestyle and continues to use this program with her clients today. In 2004, Chef Marcy was chosen to be a restaurant critic for a local newspaper.

Chef Marcy is currently working on several cookbooks and teaches in-home cooking classes. She translates the skills she developed as an event planner into offering worry-free dinner parties and events with fabulous food. "I never dreamed I would be working at something I loved so much. It has been a long road to get to where I am now, but when I sit in my office and look around, I am so proud of what I accomplished." Chef Marcy received the Personal Chefs Network Pacesetter award in April of 2007.

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Chef Laura Whalen
thymetosavor2002@yahoo.com
Thyme To Savor, Williamsville, NY
http://www.thymetosavorhealth.com/

Chef Laura Whalen grew up in the Buffalo, New York area - but spent every summer in Western Pennsylvania with her Grandparents. Plucking still-warm eggs from the chicken's nests and pulling carrots from her maternal Grandmother's kitchen garden gave this chef an early appreciation for the freshest and most wholesome ingredients. Growing up in a large family, with a Mom that had a flair for delicious meals increased Laura's knowledge of cooking and love of food.

After attending both a local community college for culinary courses and SUNY Buffalo for a BS in Business - Laura joined the business world. Working for a variety of companies Laura sharpened her skills and had the opportunity to view business world from many different angles. But her favorite job was working for local gourmet retailer as a Manager and barista!

During these years Laura was happily experimenting with new recipes that her family enjoyed - her husband, Jim and son, Patrick are her toughest critics! While Laura enjoyed the business world, her heart was in the kitchen. After moving to the Boston area Laura attended Boston University and received her Personal and Private Chef Certification there, studying with Chef John Vyhnanek, Head Chef of the Ritz-Carlton - Boston.

Laura divides her time, energy and love of cooking between Seneca Lake in Finger Lakes Wine Country and Western New York. She credits her love of life and energy to her loving and very supportive family, dear friends, regular exercise, delicious food and great wine! In her spare time, Laura enjoys cross-country skiing with her family, flower and herb gardening, boating and catching up on reading Fine Cooking Magazine.

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Chef Joe Augusto
Librachef2002@yahoo.com
Joe Augusto Personal Chef Service, Watervliet, NY
http://pcnchef.com/joeaugustopersonalchefservice

Joe Augusto operates the "Joe Augusto Personal Chef Service" which serves the Albany Capitol District area, as well as the surrounding cities of Saratoga and Glens Falls. Born and raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, Joe never imagined himself owning and operating his own business, and that the formation of his business was the direct result of being lucky enough to work with some really great people who assisted him along the road.

Joe's culinary career began at Marriott, re-filling bowls at the salad bar. While doing his job, he paid lots of attention to what was going into the salads and to how they were made. One night, the regular salad prep person didn't show up and Joe jumped right in and began making the salads. The Executive Chef took notice of his initiative and asked him if he wanted to learn how to cook, beginning seven years as apprentice to the Danish executive chef, years in which Joe learned all the basics of cooking. Joe remembers, "The chef believed that the only way to learn was by doing."

Over the next 20 years, Joe held a variety of positions in the food service industry, such as Banquet Chef at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis, Sous Chef with Marriott Hotels, as well as many positions in private clubs on the East Coast. While he found his career fulfilling, Joe always felt that there was something missing. The long hours, and corporate environment that is a big part of the hotel industry began to wear thin. Approaching 40, Joe decided it was time to make some changes in his life.

Joe came across the Personal Chefs Network on the internet. "The idea to start my own business was really beginning to look like a possibility to me; I already had great connections with a scout camp and a local fraternity, and this seems like a great way to expand on that." After much deliberation, Joe decided to join.

"Today, I really love what I am doing, the scout camp has hired my service to run its food service operation for the foreseeable future, and the fraternity continues to be a great source of support and inspiration. They make great test subjects for new recipes with direct feedback and assistance in developing new ideas." Joe Augusto Personal Chef Service continues to offer a truly personal approach.

When asked what his favorite part of personal cheffing is, Joe responds, "Oh, easily it's the people that I have the opportunity to work with, this is the personal touch that was missing from my previous life in the hotel industry. I really love what I am doing and I do my best to convey that to all of my clients."

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Chef Karen Ross
mychefkaren@yahoo.com
Karen's Creative Cuisines, Dorchester, MA
http://mychefkaren.ezchef.net

Karen Ross' love of cooking began at an early age in Florida as she watched and helped her mother, Bernice, prepare meals for their family. Over the years she has continued to fine tune her culinary skills. In 2002 after receiving Personal/Private Certification from Boston University under the guidance of Chef John Vyhnanek, she started Karen's Creative Cuisines as a part-time business.

As her passion for foods increased, Karen knew that she had to go full-time with her business. So after spending seven years as a Health Benefits Coordinator, Karen decided in August 2006 to take her Personal Chef business full-time. She now has clients in the Metro Boston area as well as south and west of the city. She currently has two bi-weekly clients and one weekly. She also teaches in-home cooking classes and provides service for dinner parties and romantic dinners for two. She enjoys helping her clients to make every meal memorable.

Since joining the Personal Chefs Network in 2002, Karen feels that the support has been phenomenal. She thinks that most members feel like this is a big family "because we all do care about our fellow chefs and helping them to reach their goals." When she decided to leave her full-time job, becoming a member of PCN was part of the decision process for her. Karen knew there would be days that she would need the support and could get it at PCN 24/7.

Aside from cooking food and loving to talk about food, Karen likes to sew and make various crafts including gifts baskets and party invitations for family and friends.

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Chef Conni Brownell
chefconni@comcast.net
The Charmed Radish Personal Chef Service, Snohomish, WA
http://www.thecharmedradish.com/

Conni's love of food started at an early age. She spent many weekends with her grandparents who taught her what good food really was. Her Grandfather was an avid gardener and Grandmother a wonderful cook. Accordingly, great food has always been a big part of her life. Since her Mom isn't the greatest cook, Conni and her sister Sherri took over cooking the evening meals almost as soon as they could reach the stove. This chore was taken over shortly after their Mom thought it would be a great time saver to make a stack of sandwiches in one day then freeze them for school lunches.

This was a little much for two kids who loved good food. As you can imagine, no one at school wanted to swap lunches with them. They spent hours in the kitchen together after school and on Saturday mornings working their way through the one cookbook in the house.

After graduating from high school, Conni worked almost 15 years in the grocery business. It was the perfect place to learn about food. As a cashier, Conni was frequently asking customers what they were making with the ingredients they were buying. She worked her way around the different departments and eventually ended up in management. It was a great job; however, Conni's dream was to make people happy by cooking good tasting quality food for them.

After moving from California's Central Valley to New York's Hudson Valley Conni and her husband settled in Snohomish Washington in 1999. In 2000, Conni was able to follow her dream and attend a culinary school where she graduated with honors (The Art Institute of Seattle). While in culinary school she would intern during the week at Rovers, Seattle's finest dinning French restaurant. This was a non-paying job, but the education Conni received while working there was invaluable. She was able to experience food and wine from all over the world sometimes created from ingredients she had never even seen or heard of before. Then when she graduated in August 2002, she was offered a paying job at Rover's which was very exciting.

At the beginning of 2003 Conni joined PCN and opened The Charmed Radish Personal Chef Service. By June of that year, the Radish was off and running. The Charmed Radish serves Seattle's Eastside and surrounding areas and specializes in wholesome made from scratch meals. Conni is also a regular instructor at Pacific Culinary Studio in Everett and Kusler's in Snohomish teaching a variety of classes.

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Chef Michelle Huebner
chefmichelle@allaboutthyme.com
All About Thyme, Wapakoneta, OH
http://www.allaboutthyme.com/

During her extensive time working in restaurants and the food service industry, Personal Chef Michelle Huebner began to recognize recurring trends via her daily work and interaction with customers as well as other employees. Pertinent to her life, she understood that a large quantity of people eat quickly, are generally "on the go," and don't take the time to either establish or stick with a more health conscious motivated diet. Michelle understood this problem. Being busy with a day's work and then trying to collect seven kids and a husband in attempt to sit down and have a family meal together was a job in itself. What was the answer to the question produced by these converging factors? "I could cook for them."

With the help of the Personal Chefs Network, and with virtually no working capital, Michelle established and soon found herself the sole proprietor of All About Thyme Personal Chef Service. Through this business Michelle focused personal attention toward customers and their nutritional needs and wants. "Bringing busy people back to the dinner table" was a driving force in the inception of All About Thyme.

Personal Chef Michelle had vast experience in marketing under her belt, and took the initiative to begin marketing her new business in every medium that she could. Michelle became so busy that All About Thyme began operating out of a commercially licensed kitchen, allowing her to cook in one location and deliver to her various clients. Catering services now became an additional business opportunity. The business expanded again as she booked reservation for groups in her historic banquet facility. She opened to the public for Friday night dinners with live entertainment in December of 2005. Today, Chef Michelle also offers Crockpot Tuesdays, cooking classes, chocolate fountains, and Sunday brunch. Just recently Chef Michelle has opened daily for lunch and boxed lunches to go.

Michelle also enjoys taking an active role in the community, having participated in the local Festival of Trees, hosting groups of preschool children for a Halloween Treats kids cooking class, and donating to the West Ohio Food Bank for their "Scrub Away Hunger" event. Michelle Huebner is a proud member of the Lima and Wapakoneta Chambers of Commerce, W.A.S.S., Board member of Downtown Wapakoneta Partnership, and Personal Chefs Network.

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Chef Peg Nelson
jarnoldw@bellsouth.net

Peg Nelson, Private Chef, Islamorada, FL Chef Peg Nelson of the Florida Keys has a motto: "I do what I love, and I love what I do. If you love what you do, you never have to go to work."

Chef Peg has long had a passion for cooking and has delighted in cooking for others since she was young, learning to cook at her mother's knee. Her route to becoming a personal chef, however, was rather circuitous. After leaving a 10 year career as a police officer in a Denver, Colorado suburb, Peg completed her law degree, passed the bar exam, and practiced law in Denver for three years. Realizing that life behind a desk or in a courtroom was not for her, Peg longed for a warm climate. An avid scuba diver and sailor, Peg searched for a place where she could indulge in her passion for cooking along with her love of warm water activities. She headed to Florida and became a chef for Blackbeard's Cruises. She later transferred to the company's upscale sailing catamaran in the Bahamas where she spent four years cheffing three meals a day for sixteen hungry divers!

After returning to the U.S., Peg read about the Personal Chef industry and knew this profession was custom made for her. While researching the industry, she discovered the Personal Chefs Network. Peg immediately knew she had found a group of kindred souls, who mentored her every step of the way. She opened Peg's Pantry Personal Chef Service on September 30, 2001, and within a week had her first weekly client. Peg's Pantry was a successful mix of several types of personal chef services, including traditional personal chef clients, private chef clients, and clients vacationing in the Keys for a week at a time.

Peg became a full-time private chef in 2002. She enjoys preparing two meals a day for her private chef employers, and often travels with them throughout North America. Peg is known for preparing healthy meals using organic ingredients. In her spare time, Peg enjoys diving and sailing in the Keys' tropical paradise. She is a scuba instructor and holds a U.S. Coast Guard 100 ton captain's license.