In a Special Assignment Report, ABC12's Michael Rosenfield served up
the recipe behind the personal chef industry. When Diane Benson walks out
her front door, Jodi Wollitz walks into her kitchen.
"It's not something I necessarily enjoy or I'm good at," Benson said.
"I spend my time differently."
Cooking is what Wollitz does enjoy, and it's how she makes her living.
"It took me about two months to make the transition, and it was the best
thing I ever did," she said.
At 36, Wollitz wanted to turn her flair for food into her own business.
So she jumped online and tasted something new.
"I was amazed," she said. "I'd never heard of it. I didn't know
anything about it. I was excited. Something I like to do happened to be a
way of people are making a great living."
After a lot of research, Delish Dinners was born and Jodi joined the
thousands of others who have become personal chefs. In fact, Entrepreneur
Magazine has designated the personal chef industry as one of the 12
fastest-growing businesses.
Several Web sites dedicated to the craft predict that within four
years, there will be 20,000 personal chefs in the country, serving some
300,000 clients.
They are clients who prefer to spend money on a chef so they can spend
more time out of the kitchen. Benson, a single mom from Fenton, prefers
being with her 8-year-old son Tyler with things like after-school sports
and homework rather than shopping, cooking and cleaning up.
After already discussing a menu and picking up groceries, Wollitz will
cook up some 20 meals -- four servings of five different recipies -- in
Benson's kitchen.
When Benson comes home from work, she'll find her fresh dishes all
wrapped up in her freezer and ready to be heated up whenever she wants.
"Having Jodi and a personal chef service, it's been the best thing I've
ever done," she said.
For Wollitz, who took a slice at a new career, business is sweet. "Be
me coming in and preparing fresh food for other people and their
children," she said. "It also helps support my family, so I think that's a
really neat way to live."
On average, it costs about $80 per person for five meals. That includes
the groceries, the cooking and the cleanup You decide how often you want
the service, the number of meals, and what's on the menu.
To learn more about becoming a personal chef, or to hire one, there are
several Web sites. You can visit them by clicking here, here, here or here.
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