Chef Megan grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and after moving progressively farther and farther away (to Auburn, Alabama for college, and Vermont for law school), she returned to her home town to join a large law firm in 1999. After a few years of practicing regulatory environmental law, she found herself using cooking and baking to relieve the stress associated with the job, and was cheered up by her coworkers’ reactions to the goodies she brought in. Although she never loved her job--she admits she really never liked it--her pastime helped her to discover that she didn’t have to stick with a job that made her unhappy. “I knew I wanted to do something else,” Megan says, “but I had to find out what that ‘else’ was before I could make a change.”

For a long list of reasons, Megan decided that Houston was the best place for her to transition from the law to being a personal chef. She took and passed the Texas Bar Exam, then moved to Houston in June of 2003. She started work as a contract attorney for a large firm while she readied herself for her new career.

My Chef Megan Personal Chef Service officially went into business in February of 2004, after being contacted by a fellow former attorney who was looking for a better way to feed her family. This first client found Megan through the Personal Chefs Network, and picked Megan from the list because her website mentioned that she was an attorney. Megan continued to practice law full time on a contract basis until February of 2005, while managing to fit two weekly clients into her schedule. When the legal work finally (and thankfully) ran out, she knew it was her chance to prove that she could successfully give up the law for something she loved. With help from a stamp-sticking friend, she blanketed surrounding neighborhoods with flyers, and within 6 weeks she had a comfortable--and nearly full--client load.

“I was born to be a personal chef…even if it took a while for me to realize it. I inherited a love of cooking from my parents, a love of baking from a paternal great-grandfather who owned a bakery in New Orleans, and a love of grocery shopping from my maternal grandfather. As a personal chef, I spend a ridiculous amount of time at the grocery store; I’m very thankful to Grandad for passing that love on to me.”

This past February marked Megan’s one year anniversary of--as she likes to say it--“avoiding the practice of law.” She currently provides healthy meals to 12 regular clients (families, couples and singles) on a 4-week schedule, teaches regular cooking lessons to children, and organizes cooking parties where friends gather for an evening of hands-on cooking.

Megan acknowledges that she would never have had the courage to make such an incredible career change if she had not found the Personal Chefs Network. “I can’t imagine what kind of floundering mess I’d be if I didn’t have PCN. I’d probably have resolved myself to going back to the law months ago. I would never be where I am if I didn’t have access to the resources and people who make up the Network.”

In her free time, Megan enjoys cooking for friends, traveling, and reading. She also finds time to update her cooking-related blog,
In Your Kitchen, on the website of Houston’s newspaper, The Chronicle.

Contact Chef Megan Lapari
www.mychefmegan.com
713-408-7667