Gretchen Ohar loved working as a bedside nurse, but the long hours, weekends, nights, and holidays were beginning to take their toll. She missed having time to spend with her family - all of whom kept "normal" hours. In addition, she was the caregiver for her elderly mother who was ill with Alzheimer's disease. She was finding it increasingly difficult to find aides to stay with her mom who were willing or able to work around her varied and unpredictable schedule.

She began exploring alternative career options, but everything she considered involved a substantial investment of time and/or money; and she didn't have a lot of either. Then after months of searching for her niche, she found a reference to The Personal Chefs Network on-line. Here was a career opportunity where she could work for herself, and choose her own hours. No more leaving the house at 6:00 AM on Christmas only to return at 9:00 PM! No more working the overnight shift on the Saturday of her nephew's wedding! She could work for HERSELF! And start-up costs would be next to nothing! Then the doubts started creeping in. Where would her clients come from? Who in their right mind would hire her with no formal culinary training? What would she charge? She was accustomed to a regular paycheck. It would be a huge leap of faith and serious gamble with her family's financial security to give up a well-paying job and embark on a journey into unknown vocational territory!

She researched the three national personal chef associations and intuitively felt that the Personal Chef's Network was the place for her. After a few e-mail queries and a short phone conversation with Sharon, she KNEW PCN would be her home. "The personalized support that Wendy & Sharon provided was the key", says Gretchen. "Having never even considered being in business for myself before, I need help with EVERYTHING! From the PCN materials and the message boards I learned how to legally start my own business; how to advertise for, recruit, and maintain clients; what type of records to keep; and how to search out professionals to help with these tasks. Although I'd been cooking for MANY years, I took great comfort in knowing that the recipes in the materials and those generously provided by fellow members were freezer tested and tried ∓ true! I've been able to develop my own WOW recipes based on what I found worked for other personal chefs. When I needed guidance, I got it. By the same token, I was booted out of the nest and encouraged to fly when I needed that, too!" Gretchen started "Dinner by Gretchen" and serves western New York.

Over the years since I've joined PCN I've made many new friends and have enjoyed meeting and mentoring new chefs in my area. I received great satisfaction in being a nurse. I get that same sense of satisfaction in personal cheffing. I feel like I'm helping my clients regain their time, I have the opportunity to teach them about nutrition, and I'm doing something I love! I've also learned a great deal about food sensitivities, allergies, and special diets. What's not to love about this job? As a fellow personal chef says: 'A bad day cookin' is better than a good day workin'. That's not to say there haven't been some bad days. My absolute worst included a trip to the upstairs bathroom of a client. Upon flushing, something plugged the toilet (perhaps something placed there by the young boy of the house). The water kept coming and coming - overflowing like Niagara Falls. I used every towel & rug I could find to sop it up! And it STILL kept coming! I even turned off the water valve behind the toilet and I swear it still kept coming! About this time the lady of the house came home to find the kitchen ceiling leaking water like a sieve - unbeknownst to me as I was still upstairs trying to stem the flow! What a mess! Thankfully, and only God knows why, the toilet finally flushed and the overflow stopped. However, downstairs the damage was done! I had several dishes cooling on the counters or in various stages of prep. All had been contaminated and had to be thrown away. I had to go to the market to purchase a whole new set of groceries as well as bleach and rags to clean both the bathroom and kitchen - ceiling to floor!!! I can laugh about this incident now, but at the time, it really made me doubt my sanity in quitting a job that included janitors and housekeepers! And the lady of the house could not have been more gracious! In addition to loving what I do, I have the most wonderful clients in the world!

Chef Gretchen is the proud grandmother of three-year-old Matthew and three-month-old Emily Rose. She has 3 grown children and one loveable son-in-law. She lives with her husband and mother Lockport, NY - a suburb of Buffalo, which is a short distance from Niagara Falls.

Typical Client: Her clients run the gamut from married couples with children, to professional couples, to singles. Some are wealthy, others middle class. "When I prepared my business plan", says Gretchen, "I assumed I'd be doing the majority of my cooking for dual income professionals with children. However, I've found that I actually do more for single retirees and those on medical diets. I specialize in doing exactly what my clients want, and I offer a 100% satisfaction guarantee." She offers meals for those requiring special diets such as gluten free, heart healthy, weight loss, renal, diabetic, and vegetarian.

Favorite Advertising Tool: "The hand down winner is my web-site, maintained by Josh Hart at E-Z Chef", says Chef Gretchen. "The majority of my clients have been secured via this resource. I must also mention Nathan Umstead who designed my logo, brochure, business cards, letterheads, etc. Presenting a professional image has given me a definite advantage!"

I've had very little luck with door hangers/ flyers, a press release in two local newspapers (though people still tell me they remember the article several years later, I've never received a single inquiry from it), or postcard mailings. I became a member of the Chamber of Commerce and participated in many fund raisers - to no avail. I also contributed several gift certificates to charity auctions - none of which resulted in anything more than the gift meal."

Favorite Recipes: Gretchen notes that some of her favorite recipes have come from fellow PCN chefs such as Rivka's Chicken Caesar Salad, Martha's Beouf Bourguignon, Sharon's Chicken Enchilada Soup, Wendy's Chicken Cordon Bleu, Lynn's Black Bean & Goat Cheeses Enchiladas, Ina's Pork Tenderloin in Chipotle Marinade with Confetti Corn Pancakes, Abra's Broccoli Beef, Laura's Raspberry Balsamic Chicken, and her all-time favorite Teriyaki Glazed Salmon by Jim Davis - so quick and easy!