I’ve spent 15 years cooking inside private homes. I’ve worked alongside house managers and housekeepers, adjusted when the entire day changed without warning, and hired people to work in a household myself. You learn that being a wonderful cook doesn’t automatically make someone right for every home.
Along the way, families began asking if I knew a chef. Chefs began calling me about menus, rates, and situations they weren’t sure how to handle. I started making placements, learned a few things the hard way, and put real work into building a business model before I was ready to announce it. I’ll tell you about some of those lessons another day.
I’ve also been the chef working through an agency. I know how lonely it can feel when someone makes the introduction and then you’re on your own.
Some of my happiest years have been with families who let me do great work and still be myself. I want more chefs to find that, and I want households to feel equally good about the person coming into their home.
I’ve been on WhatsApp at 2 a.m. with a prospective client in the UAE, up at 3 a.m. talking to chefs in Ibiza and France, and answering my own clients who sometimes text as early as 4 a.m.
That’s part of VIP concierge service. I’m often available around the clock, but it took me a long time to learn how to do that and still have a personal life. I built a team I trust, learned to hand things off, and stopped believing I had to control every detail myself. It works, and I want the chefs I place to find a way of working that works for them, too.
**While building Sky High Talent Network, I continue to work directly with private clients as a personal chef. I’m available for extended travel assignments and long-term engagements, providing personalized culinary services wherever my clients’ lifestyles take them. My private chef services start at $1,200 per day, with arrangements tailored to each household’s needs and travel requirements.**
That’s why Sky High Talent Network will stay small enough for me to pay attention to the people in it.
