"...everybody has to eat.  But we should also enjoy what we eat.  Food is the experience that we all get to have every single day that helps us connect to our friends, to our family.  It is survival but it's also pleasure."

Erika Lesser, Executive Food Director of Slow Food USA

Cooking has fascinated me for as long as I can remember.  As my mother cooked, I would perch myself nearby watching, smelling and tasting.  I remember as a child the lovely fragrances filling our spotless kitchen.  The smell of sauce in a pan, meatloaf in the oven and the warm flavor of freshly baked cookies are all wonderful memories. 

As I grew older, my mother would let me help with some dishes.  I would roll out crackers for her moist and delicious meatloaf and help her shape the loaf before baking.  My mother’s love of cooking and nurturing her family inspired me.

I learned to cook because I love to eat well and I like to eat that way every day, not just on weekends and special occasions.  I believe so much of what it means to be a family happens in the kitchen. Mealtimes are an opportunity for family and friends to be together.  Many people tell me they love to cook, but don’t have the time.  Satisfying food does not have to be complex.  Often the simpler it is, the better it tastes.  My cooking is about clean flavors, enhancing my dishes with a few fresh ingredients that still taste like they are supposed to.  

Having already worked in a career as an administrative assistant in the Chicago area, the passion for food took over and I enrolled in the College of Lake County’s Culinary Arts program in Grayslake, Illinois.  This curriculum provided a great foundation for my cooking endeavors.  The program covered such subjects as Stocks and Sauces, Baking and Pastry, Regional American Cooking, Nutrition and Sanitation. 

Now, I have turned my life's passion into a life's mission. I have always felt the deepest sense of joy and accomplishment when feeding people.   

As a member of the American Personal Chef Association, I am excited to be able to offer Lake, McHenry and Kenosha Counties an opportunity to recapture the "family dinner hour" and get families back around the dinner table. My goal is to help people take better care of themselves with healthy, wholesome meals that the whole family can enjoy. 

I will come into your home and stock your refrigerator and freezer with delicious, customized, homemade meals for you and your family.  A personal chef service is not just for the rich and famous.  My clients come from many backgrounds from busy professionals and singles to senior citizens and families with hectic lifestyles. I provide a simple answer to people who are busy, stressed out and in need of more quality time, but want to eat healthy food.