Planet X Cafe Blog

I know…..  It sounds unaffordable, even unrealistic. I mean who has personal chefs? Rock Stars? CEO’s of large corporations? Yes, but not exclusively. I know it seems like a luxury item. Your own professional chef that will meet with you, custom design a menu for you, your guests, perhaps your family and then prepare delicious  restaurant quality meals that meet your criteria for health and quality? Now that sounds like a luxury. Believe it or not, it not so uncommon these days to have a part time personal chef and even in this economy, it is becoming more affordable and, in many respects, much more valued.

“An army travels on its belly”. I heard this remark countless times in the 15 years that I cooked for rock bands and it is true. You are only truly at your best when you are healthy and happy. And while eating a healthy diet is not all that is required to be healthy, it is very hard without it. People tend to think that the behavior backstage at a huge rock show is indulgent. And while that happens occasionally, I can guarantee you that there is work, hard work and insane hours that go into these huge extravaganzas. It brings me to the next phrase that is used again and again when multi-million dollar rock concerts go on the road…”Time is money”. And again, true, very true. It is a mad rush sometimes for 18 hours straight, some times for days for larger shows. Every person is getting paid and therefore the most must be made of each person’s time. Schedules are streamlined and choreographed down to the minute. Priorities are established to ensure that the most important duties are carried out.

Our lives are really no different. We want to live full and healthy lives. To enjoy not only the time we have now but our time later in life…when we can hopefully enjoy our time and health to its fullest. That requires that we establish healthy eating habits and time for exercise. We try to carve time for family and friends, partners and ourselves. We prioritize. We pick and choose the things we do and do not have time for and unfortunately healthful and enjoyable meals are often the first items sacrificed. But think about it. What do we really want from life? What defines quality of life? How much do we ultimately pay for eating fast food or rushing about with our kids eating a sugary toasted pastry in the car? We sacrifice health for sure but we also sacrifice the time, quality time of sitting down to and enjoying a meal. You may argue that you don’t have the time to plan, shop for and then cook meals much less sit down.

Let your chef prepare your healthy menu

This is where personal chefs come in. They should offer a free consultation where they will sit down and determine your needs. You can discuss days that are convenient for your chef to shop and cook for you. On these days many chefs prepare and few days worth of fresh meals. These are stored and ready for you or your children to take to work or school for instance for lunch. They can be as simple fruit or whole grain pancakes for breakfasts or snacks, family dinners to simply reheat or more complex dinners for entertaining. The beauty is that your chef works with you to determine how simple or complicated your needs are.

The beauty of all of this is that for the cost of eating a few lunches and dinners out a week combined with the take-away, you can have your own chef prepare amazing meals that are not only healthful and delicious but that allow you and your family to spend quality time together. I have found that many of my music performance and celebrity clients appreciated simply having home cooked food using local fresh ingredients that were not mass produced or heavily sauced and salted. Not to mention the fact that everyone wants to look good. Especially rock stars. Any person who has ever traveled extensively will tell you that eating in restaurants and eating fast food will do nothing for your looks or your waistline. Again, this is where your chef comes in. A personal chef of any caliber will know how to cook according to your needs. I have had clients that ate extremely healthy 6 days a week with all meals being prepared by me according to a Mediterranean diet so that they could go out one night a week and totally indulge in a lovely restaurant for a date. I have had clients that wanted to loose weight for a big vacation or wedding. And of course clients that wanted to indulge…Those are fun too. The bottom line, with the help of a personal chef,  you can decide what you and your mate or family eats. You will have more time, better health, and look better. That translates to a better quality of life.

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Justine Zegna has cooked for celebrities that include Sting, Oasis, Harry Connick, Jr., Erykah Badu, and is the owner of Planet X Cafe.

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