One day, back in 2004, Jo was sitting at work in her cubicle, dispassionately staring at the computer screen and wishing she could do something more consequential than the marketing and advertising she had been doing for the past twenty some-odd years. It had been a fantastic opportunity and a great adventure, but she still longed to find some way to fulfill her real passion for cooking.

Suddenly an email from her daughter popped up. She opened it and it said, "Mom, look at this link! I think you would be really good at this!"

The link was to an article in Entrepreneur Magazine about the Personal Chef industry and was fascinating. It told of an industry where people who love to cook could start their own business doing so for people who either didn't know how, or just didn't have the time. Amazing! She could do what she loved more than anything else in the world, help make people's lives easier, and get paid for it??!! She was sold! After all, she had always loved to cook for people and to wow them with over-the-top delicious food!

So, she quit her job a few months later and started Chef Jo's Home Cooking. Going from the corporate world to one of chef jackets and clogs was a culture shock, but one she has been thrilled with ever since.

"I have loved to cook since I was a little girl in my mother's and grandmother's kitchens", said Jo. "I would spend hours helping or just watching, absorbing all of the wonderful sights and smells of the perfect home cooked meal." She also saw how food brought people together at the table to share in each other's daily lives.

When in high school, she took every home economics course she could, just to be able to be in the kitchen and create and learn. Her roommates in college were the lucky recipients of many fabulous meals, as she became the main "chef" for the lot of them.

She expanded her repertoire over the years, experimenting on her friends and family with more gourmet cuisine and exotic fare. She enlarged her cookbook collection to well over 200 volumes. Her friends kept telling her that she should open a restaurant, but "this really wasn't a possibility", said Jo. Now, with her newly formed company and all her enthusiasm, her dream of creating wonderful meals for people was going to be realized!

Neither Jo nor her clients has been disappointed! She currently has a full roster of very happy clients, conducts cooking classes and creates fabulous dinner parties.

While her background in marketing turned out to be a tremendous asset, she credits Personal Chefs Network as being the biggest advantage she has in operating a successful personal chef business. The sharing with the other chefs of ideas, experiences and recipes and the support the group has for each other has been integral in making her the success she is today.

Jo's other passions of traveling and dining out mesh perfectly with her Personal Chef business. Her next ventures are to work toward her PhD in Holistic Health, which she plans to have completed within the next five years, and to clean out her closet to donate all those now unworn suits and heels to "Dress for Success".

Contact Chef Jo Gonzales
Chef Jo's Home Cooking
www.chefjo.com