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Personal Chefs Network
2008 Symposium Charleston, South Carolina
It is our great pleasure to cordially invite you to attend the Personal Chefs Network Symposium in Charleston, SC. We will gather October 15 - 18, 2008 for cooking demonstrations, awesome speakers, educational events, to renew old friendships and make new ones, sample local culture, and FOOD!
Making your attendance a business priority is our theme this year and we have made sure you cannot afford to miss anything. Our guest speakers include chefs, cooks, food writers, and inspirational authorities from all sides of the culinary world. It's pure foodie heaven!
Early Bird Registration begins NOW and will continue through May 31, 2008 for the fee of $649.00. After May 31, 2008 the registration fee will be $699.00. There are several optional events from which you can choose. You are welcome to call us if you have any questions. We can't wait to see you there!
Your friends in the kitchen at PCN,
~Brent and Sharon
Brent Evans and Sharon Worster
Proprietors Personal Chefs Network, EZChef, The Jewelry Kitchen 1.877.905.CHEF or 1.888.905.CHEF- Speakers and Instructors
- Michael Ruhlman - Author, Chef, Food Writer
- Denise Vivaldo of Food Fanatics - Chef and Culinary Instructor
- Chef Mike Monahan of ChefsUSA - Chef and Entrepreneur
- Kathleen Purvis - Food Editor, The Charlotte Observer
- Lodging - Holiday Inn Charleston on the Beach
- Anne Willan - Executive Chef La Varenne Cooking School
PCN Keynote Speaker
Michael Ruhlman Author, Chef, Writer
Michael Ruhlman is a freelance journalist and writer, the author of eight books and co-author of four cookbooks. His most recent book is The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef's Craft For Every Kitchen (Scribner: November 2007), an opinionated glossary of cooking terms modeled on the Strunk White classic, Elements of Style.
He is the author of The Making of a Chef, The Soul of a Chef, and The Reach of a Chef, co-author of The French Laundry Cookbook and Bouchon with Thomas Keller and Susie Heller, A Return to Cooking, with Eric Ripert, and Charcuterie: The Craft of Salting, Smoking and Curing with Brian Polcyn. His other non-fiction books include Boys Themselves, about an all-boys school, Wooden Boats, about life at a New England boatyard, Walk On Water about a surgical team specializing in the repair of neonatal and infant hearts, and House: A Memoir, a story about the importance of house and home.
He has been a freelance journalist and writer for nearly fifteen years, his work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Gourmet, Saveur, and Food Arts, and he has received several IACP awards and a James Beard Award. He lives in Cleveland Heights, OH, with his wife and two children.
Michael will speak during our symposium and will be on hand to sign books and enjoy low country food with us on Friday evening. Learn more about him and his food at his amazing blog.
Chef Denise Vivaldo, Food Fanatics
Everything Important to Food Presentation
Optional Day of Advanced Techniques, $225.00
Need help making your food look great for your clients? It cannot get any better than spending a day with Denise learning all about Food Presentation.
Denise is an award-winning food stylist and instructor, is a professionally trained chef with more than eighteen years experience teaching and consulting in all areas of the culinary and hospitality industry. As a food stylist, Denise has worked on nationally televised shows, infomercials, movies, cookbooks, and many cooking series. In her work as a creative consultant she has developed original recipes for cookbooks, many of them New York Times Best Sellers. Denise was awarded the UCLA Extension Outstanding Instructor Award for the Culinary Arts Program two years in a row, and has recently worked on two awarding-winning cookbooks: Eat, Taste, Heal and The Private Chef. Her work also garnered her the IACP's Food Stylist Award for Commercial Art and Food Photography in 2003.
Denise will also be teaching classes for all attendees on Friday as part of the regular agenda. Details of the full agenda will be released soon. Stay tuned!
Chef Mike Monahan, Book it and Cook it!
Our favorite inspirational chef shares more business secrets!
Chef Mike has a passion for food and wine.He has 21 years' experience in retail grocery operations and merchandising, 5 years' experience selling and merchandising wine in retail outlets, and is a self taught Chef.Chef Mike will be speaking on booking clients - and growing your business.
In 1994, while working with a local wine distributor, Chef Mike had the idea to use his extensive knowledge of food and wine to do in-store cooking demonstrations in his top-selling wine accounts.The stores' customers loved it and his wine clients' sales soared.
That led to creating Chefs USA in 1995 to teach consumers the art of preparing simple meal solutions.Chef Mike only partners with Personal Chefs to demonstrate how to make simple dishes, most of which have only five ingredients and can be cooked in about 5 minutes.Nearly all of the recipes include wine.These in-store chef cooking demonstrations provide a way for food and wine companies to introduce new products or boost their current sales by having consumers taste their products in delicious, easy recipes.It was also a great way for his Personal Chef friends to meet potential clients.
Chefs USA now operates in 27 states and has over 700 talented Personal Chefs who do regular cooking demos for retailers such as Albertson's, The Fresh Market, Kroger, Fry's, and Whole Foods.In 2002, Chefs USA opened a video production department and studio to create videos that show consumers how to prepare the recipes that chefs do in the stores.These videos are available on two Chefs USA web sites.Chefs USA also produces training videos for the Personal Chefs that join the organization.Written material is also available to the Chefs who seek to increase their sales and customer retention.
Chef Mike lives in the Atlanta area with his wife Connie and three children. 
Kathleen Purvis
Food Editor of The Charlotte Observer
Working with the Press
Kathleen Purvis has been the editor, writer and columnist of The Charlotte Observer's food section since 1989. She attended Florida State University, where she majored in English before leaving to take a job as a night layout editor at The Observer in 1985.
She approaches food coverage as journalism and looks at food as a way to tell stories about how we live our lives and the things we value. She tries to cover food in way that is meaningful, but also light.
She has written about everything from barbecue to Le Cordon Bleu and believes life is not complete without both sparkling wine and pimento cheese (although not at the same time).
Her motto: "If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right."
She has been a commentator on "The Splendid Table" on Public Radio International and has been a speaker at the Symposium for Professional Food Writers and the Southern Foodways Symposium.
She has received two awards from the Association of Food Journalists.
Kathleen is a member of the Association of Food Journalists, The James Beard Foundation, and the Southern Foodways Alliance.
She has been asked to help you with how best to approach and work with Newspaper Food Editors. Brent has been a fan of her work for 4 years, and we know that you will enjoy and benefit from her help.
Anne Willan ~ Guest Chef
Chef Anne Willan Cooking Demo
Anne Willan has had an extraordinary career in the culinary arts and is recognized as one of the world's preeminent authorities on French cooking. Anne founded Ecole de Cuisine La Varenne in Paris in 1975.Anne has more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, cookbook author, culinary historian and food columnist. She has written more than two dozen books, including the influential La Varenne Pratique and the 17 volume, photo-illustrated Look and Cook series, showcased in her 26-part PBS program. Anne's reach, with books published in two dozen countries and translated in 24 languages, makes her the most internationally renowned of today's cooking authorities. Much in demand as a teacher, Anne has given cooking demonstrations and lectures throughout North America as well as in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and often appears on Martha Stewart's show.Her latest book is The Country Cooking of France (Chronicle Books, October 2007).Other recent works include Quick Fixes and Kitchen Tips (2005) and The Good Cook (2004).Currently, Anne is working on a history of cookbooks specifically based on her and her husband Mark Cherniavsky's antiquarian cookbook collection for University of California Press.
Born in Newcastle, England, Anne received her Masters degree from Cambridge University, then studied and taught cooking in London and Paris before moving to the United States (she has been a U.S. citizen since 1973). Early in her career Anne was an associate editor of Gourmet and food editor of the Washington Star.She currently writes a food column for the Tribune Media Services International food syndicate.Anne was elected to the Who's Who of Food and Beverage in America in 1986 and was honored in 1995 both as Grande Dame of Les Dames d'Escoffier International and with the Silver Spoon Award from Food Arts Magazine. In 1999, The International Association of Culinary Professionals recognized Anne with their prestigious Lifetime Achievement award, while in Australia the World Food Media awards entered her in their Hall of Fame. In 2000, Bon Appétit named Anne Teacher of the Year and in 2001 the Philadelphia Book and Cook Festival honored her with their Toque Award.
Anne is currently an honorary trustee of the Culinary Trust and serves on the Advisory Council of The Julia Child Foundation.She was President of the International Association of Culinary Professionals from 1990-1991 and Treasurer of the IACP Foundation from 1999 to 2003.She has also served on the Corporation of the Culinary Institute of America and was a trustee of COPIA (The American Center for Wine, Food and The Arts) in Napa, California.
She divides her time between Santa Monica, California and Burgundy, France.
For more information about Anne, her books and La Varenne, please visit www.lavarenne.com. Anne will be available for questions and book signings and her latest book, 'The Country Cooking of France,' which you can purchase at the symposium.
Newbie Day
Optional Day for Business Building, $69.00
Spend a day with successful Personal Chefs studying 'The Making of a Personal Chef' and leave with renewed energy and focus for your business.
The Personal Chefs Network Symposium kicks off this year with a day devoted to fine tuning your business, completing important paperwork, getting your website up and running, plus hands on instruction with vacuum sealing, MasterCook software and other specialty information.
This class will be taught by Brent Evans, Sharon Worster, and a host of rock stars in our industry who will share with you the secrets of their success. Hour by hour we will help you unfold ideas and think outside of the box to help you create your own business to make it uniquely yours.
Walking Tour of Charleston with Ed Grimball
Optional Event, $69.00
Two Hour walking tour complete with low country brunch
"Walking is a great and healthy way to see Charleston! We will explore the cracks and crevices of this beautiful, old city, settled over 300 years ago. I love Charleston; I was born and raised here. It would be my pleasure and privilege to show you 'The Holy City'." Ed Grimball
There is so much history to see and hear in this wonderful city. An expertly guided walking tour is the perfect way to experience the grace and charm of Charleston.
Shari and Brent have taken three tours with Ed; the first time they walked with him they met a man who had been on 17 of his tours. Ed has about 18 hours of material so all of his tours are unique. He is a former President of the Charleston Tour Guide Association and seems to know everyone. He promises that his two hour tours will last no longer than three hours!
Charleston tour guides may take no more than 20 guests on their walking tours (this assures a quality experience) so those who sign up later will be walking with the second best guide in Charleston, who Ed claims is even better than he is.
We will finish up this option with a Southern style low country brunch at one of Charleston's finer restaurants. We have not yet chosen from our restaurant options for this brunch but the menus at both look awesome. We will get you back to the hotel by 2 PM.
Welcome Reception and Clambake
Please join us on Wednesday evening for our official kick-off to the Personal Chefs Network Symposium. Our festivities begin at 6:30 pm around the pool by the tiki bar on the Atlantic ocean - Holiday Inn Charleston on the Beach. The Clambake is included for members of Personal Chefs Network and you are welcome to bring guests for $60.00 each.
Each PCN Convention just gets better than the previous one. This year we not only changed the name to Symposium, but we made a quantum leap in both speaker roster and agenda. Not to take anything away from Chicago, but our Charleston gathering will provide more fun and education than all of the previous Conventions rolled into one!
We really listened to what you had to say. We looked at the exit surveys and the Constant Contact survey from last fall. We took to heart your private comments, questions and complaints. We think that we have created a Symposium that will make the entire industry sit up and take notice.
Even if you do not partake of any of the options you will have a great time, meet some fabulous people and learn a lot. The guest speakers are experts in their industries, as are our PCN member presenters. The agenda will appeal to all, whether you are a newbie or a seasoned Personal Chef. We think the options will be fun and educational, but your Symposium experience would be complete without them.
There are several purposes to the Wednesday options. The 'Newbie Day' is designed to give a jump start to those just beginning. Whether you joined recently or joined last year and are just getting it together you should consider it. At $69 it's a bargain. Denise Vivaldo will provide a lot of information during her Friday session but on Wednesday she will concentrate on Food Presentation. This may not be an issue for some, but please consider it if you have the day open. $225 is a fraction of what Denise charges as a rule. Trust me; you will get that much value in entertainment! She is offering PCN members a tremendous deal, and we are so pleased to have her here.
We know that this is a considerable price increase over last year, and we regret that. An agenda of this quality unfortunately carries a big price. If it were just Sharon and Ina and a few others telling you how to start a PC business (shades of New Orleans) it would be a different story. PCN and its members have moved beyond that, though, and we feel that you all deserve the very best we can provide. Please watch for upcoming posts as we finalize the agenda. We have so many great session ideas that it will be difficult to perform triage.
So if you are brand new and don't know where to start, come to Charleston, preferably for Wednesday. If you have been to 5 Conventions and think that there is nothing new for you, come to Charleston. No one has ever regretted coming to a Convention, but many have regretted missing one.
- Symposium Fee Schedule
- Symposium Fee after 5-31-08: $699.00
- Newbie Day: $69.00
- Advanced Techniques: $225.00
- Clam Bake for Guests: $60.00
- Walking Tour of Charleston w/ Low Country Brunch Transportation: $69.00
- Symposium Highlights
- *Newbie Day
- *Advanced Techniques
- Clam Bake Welcome Reception Ocean Side - Thursday, 16 October 2008
- Chef Anne Willan Cooking Demo - Guest Chef
- Chef Mike Monahan - Business Inspiration - Friday, 17 October 2008
- Chef Michael Ruhlman - Keynote Speaker - Saturday, 18 October 2008
- *Walking Tour of Charleston w/ Low Country Brunch
- *indicates optional session with additional fee
Lodging
Holiday Inn Charleston on the Beach
Charleston on the Beach - Holiday Inn
1 Center Street - Folly Beach, SC 29439
Breathtaking ocean views, modern amenities, and true southern hospitality await you at Holiday Inn Charleston on the Beach. The rooms have recently been renovated and each one overlooks the Atlantic ocean and comes with a private balcony.
Personal Chefs Network has negotiated a special group rate of $132.00 per night plus tax. To make your room reservations please call 843.588.6464 and ask for rooms in the Personal Chefs Network Block.
All rooms have two double beds. If you wish to have a roommate please contact our Symposium roommate coordinator, Karla Billdt, and she will arrange it for you. Her email address is donkar801@adelphia.net.
REGISTRATION
All classes and events are for MEMBERS of Personal Chefs Network. Certain events are earmarked for guests for an additional fee. Speakers are confirmed but could change due to unforseen circumstances. Every effort has been made to prevent any changes in the posted agenda.
The Parchment Paper
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