My twenty-plus years in the corporate world working long days, nights and weekends as a senior exec for a Fortune 500 firm was, in a nutshell, both financially rewarding and creatively stifling.

 

During those days I cooked for friends and family and read cookbooks for relaxation. My financial success afforded me the luxury of good tools, lots of travel, high-end restaurant dining experiences and the ability to acquire quality ingredients when I cooked at home.

 

As much as I enjoyed the life that my former career afforded me, there came a point when I knew it was time for me to pursue something more. Something for which I have a true passion.

 

So, naturally, I headed straight for culinary school where I graduated with honors from Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. I launched my Personal Chef business in the summer of 2012 in my hometown of Fergus Falls, MN.

 

I grew up in this small town in west central MN and had returned for a short stint after leaving corporate America. During my early years, our family was very middle class, middle America, very "leave it to beaver". Dinner was on the table at 5:30 during the week and Sunday supper was always something special. I learned to make my way around the kitchen at a very early age, thanks to the patience of my mother who never tired of letting us experiment with recipes. 

 

Today, I live just outside Santa Cruz, CA with my partner and better-half, Chris, who also serves as our company's CTT -- chief taste tester. We are both enjoying the warm weather and sunshine that the Central Coast offers, as well as living in an area where local, organic, fresh ingredients are abundant and in high demand from our clients. 

 

When I'm not at a client's home cooking for their special day, you can find me testing recipes or dabbling in our home kitchen, at my computer doing web design for small business clients, writing and editing for blogs and magazines, handcrafting a lovely piece of jewlery or upcycling a discarded item into something useful. 

 

Creativity abounds, but never in a more expansive way than in the kitchen.  

I would love to share with you my true passion for food thru my services as YOUR Personal Chef.

 

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

 

- Jan