Chef Ninda Letaw

Being awarded the Pacesetter Personal Chef Award™ is a wonderful achievement at Personal Chefs Network, Inc.™ The person that receives this special recognition has been carefully selected by Chefs Sharon and Wendy due to their own personal or business success. Many are chosen due to their successful marketing ideas, their wonderful recipes, their activity in the ~Member's Online Community~,™ networking abilities, leaders in the industry, or willingness to share innovative ideas. We like to think outside of the box at Personal Chefs Network™ and we encourage our members to do the same.

Enjoy reading about this successful startup and hopefully this months pacesetter will inspire YOU to take the first step today and join Personal Chefs Network, Inc!™

"THE Place to be, to be the BEST PC!™"

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THEY WERE ALWAYS COOKING!

To say that Ninda comes from a family that enjoys preparing food is an understatement. She had to fight both of her siblings and her parents for time in the kitchen during her formative years. Sharing the spotlight was not always easy! Once a year her Nova Scotian Grandmother, married to a first generation Italian, would come down and cook her special Lasagne w/mint, pizza, and spaghetti sauce with homemade meatballs, sausage, chicken and pork chops. Since Grandma came down during bluefish season the family also had an opportunity to expand Ninda’s repertoire and teach her how to pan fry fish and make homemade potato chips.

HER TIME TO SHINE

During her teenage years Ninda continued to develop her skills. She and her sister routinely tried recipes from other cuisines- Jewish, Italian, Chinese, Eastern Indian. Her “fifteen minutes of fame” came when she was 13 years old and was a finalist in a cooking contest. That year she was the youngest participant in the DelMarVa Chicken Cooking Contest, representing her home state of Maryland with “Charlotte’s Spicy Poulet”. You can imagine how thrilling it was to have the opportunity to demonstrate her talent in front of hundreds at the Festival in Delaware.

WHAT TO BE WHEN SHE GROWS UP?

Even while pursuing a B.A. in Liberal Arts her extracurricular efforts were focused on preparing food. During her freshman summer, she worked as a prep cook for a local restaurant in downtown Annapolis. Ninda ventured farther from home during her sophomore summer and worked for “The Tyler Place” in upstate Vermont as a Salad Chef. That was the summer that she developed her recipe for Tarragon Split Pea Soup. It was a big hit and it was often on the menu that summer! Her first experience with Personal Cheffing came in her sophomore year when she cooked for a Professor’s family. In her junior year of college she catered her first major event, “Reality Weekend”. She and her kitchen staff prepared 8 meals for 800 guests over three days. It brought home the reality that cooking for others in some capacity was what Ninda needed to do to feel fulfilled. It was the most exhausting and exhilarating “job” that she had ever worked. 

ALL ROADS LEAD TO HER FIRST LOVE

In 1989 Ninda graduated from college and relocated to North Carolina. At that time she decided not to follow a culinary career because her confidence in her cooking talent was overshadowed by her hesitation about being able to manage a catering business. That all changed when she took a catering course through Wake Technical College in Raleigh, North Carolina. To say “money well spent” does not even touch the surface of what she gained from that class. Her instructor was as full of passion for the business side of catering as he was for the preparation side. The first night of class he told his students that if they were not in the class to learn how to sell people good quality food they needed to leave. His motto was “Where people are gathered, they will eat.” In 1993, Charlotte’s Home Cooking was born and through 1998 was a part time venture. Her first break came when she was hired to cater a graduation party for the sister of the graphic designer who created Charlotte’s logo. It was a great honor to cater for her pioneer family annually during the active years of the business. The functions that she catered ranged from an intimate Picnic in the Park for two to a corporation’s Children’s Christmas Party for 500.

FROM DREAM TO REALITY: CHARLOTTE’S HOME COOKING PERSONAL CHEF SERVICE!

It had been 12 years since Ninda catered her first event and during those years she took advantage of numerous opportunities in non-food related arenas. She always wondered how and when her true passion would lead to a culinary career. The “how” is as a Personal Chef and the “when” was in July of 2000. Ninda began by mentoring under Chef Moe of the very successful Chef For You. She began her career as a team member of a well-established and thriving business. In January 2001 she struck out on her own. In the interest of fulfilling personal and professional goals, she looks forward to continue preparing high quality, interesting food that will keep families coming back for more. 

CHARLOTTE’S HOME COOKING- 2002 AND BEYOND

Through the ongoing support of the PCN family, Charlotte’s Home Cooking continues to grow and to stay on the cutting edge of the personal cheffing industry. The opportunities to market the business and the industry through PCN are numerous. They range from Saturday morning cheffing demos at a local Barnes and Noble Booksellers to ongoing alliances with state commodity councils. As a direct result of PCN’s strong internet presence "potential client alerts" come through regularly.Ninda is a member of the NC chapter (PCN’s largest state chapter) and gathers quarterly with colleagues to share ideas and support. She also enjoys bringing newbies on cheffing dates and passing along what she continues to learn from PCN.