Western PA Personal Chefs Win Chapter Of The Year Award At National Convention

Aug. 9, 2010 - PRLog -- Throughout the US and Canada, USPCA personal chefs in a given area assemble and create a local chapter to help other chefs with community service, awareness campaigns and overall business development.  Each of the 35+ chapters runs as a stand alone organization with guidance from the USPCA.  Web sites, trade shows, community education programs and volunteer duties are all examined and evaluated to determine which chapter truly went above and beyond during the year.  “The Western Pennsylvania Chapter had outstanding efforts in every category” stated USPCA President Chef Gail Kenagy.  “Our chapter is like a well oiled machine with each member dedicated to industry excellence with a sincere desire to insure each chef is operating at peak proficiency” stated Chef Hering, President of the Western PA Chapter (http://www.westpachefs.com).

Judges for this annual competition consisted of professional members within the USPCA.  

Several hundred personal chefs from throughout the United States and Canada converged on Denver this July to participate in educational workshops, business seminars and to hear from industry experts on a wide variety of subjects of importance to independent culinary business operators. “The annual convention is primarily a business building and educational event designed to help independent personal chefs strengthen their business and expand their service” stated USPCA President Chef Gail Kenagy. She continued, “Each of our chapters represent dedicated working professional personal chefs.  Judges spend countless hours examining each chapter’s accomplishments and growth, which is a daunting task at times seeing as how each chapter is unique and really becomes one within their community.”

Personal chefs prepare custom delicious, nutritious meals daily for a wide range of clients in all 50 states and throughout Canada.  Clients using this special service represent active households, affluent seniors and individuals with restrictive dietary needs.  Unlike a private chef who works for one household in an employer-employee relationship, personal chefs own and operate their own independent business and will service 12-20 unique clients each month.  The direct tangible benefits to each client will be the time saved in the actual meal preparation and the associated shopping, while still enjoying exactly what they’ve requested at a cost no greater than a comparable restaurant.  “The coveted dinner hour which has eroded over the years as career and outside influences demand more and more time of individuals is being reinstated thanks to personal chefs who allow families to unite with minimal effort to enjoy healthful custom prepared meals” Kenagy stated.

Locating a personal chef can be accomplished through http://www.hireachef.com, the largest and most widely used search site for personal chefs.

The Culinary Business Academy is the educational division of the USPCA, providing world class culinary business education to individuals having the expertise and desire to create excellent meals.  The Culinary Business Academy is the only provider of personal chef business education to be licensed by a Private Post-Secondary Commission on Higher Education.

The USPCA also monitors and administers the only federally recognized certification program for personal chefs.  Through demonstrated abilities and the acquisition of industry related education and business development courses, the designation of Certified Personal Chef (CPC) is bestowed.  Continued efforts and ongoing educational advancement are requirements to maintain this highly sought after designation.  All USPCA personal chefs are required to demonstrate a standard level of proficiency, evaluated through a testing series.  Only the USPCA requires testing of each member, and each USPCA personal chef is provided with general liability insurance.

“For a service concept that is 20 years old, the industry has just begun to emerge.  Busy active households and the demand for quality nutritional meals will certainly help shape the landscape of this industry for years to come” Ellison stated.  The USPCA remains ever vigilant to stay ahead of demand by developing new educational opportunities, providing business leadership and recognizing trends in consumer needs.

For a no-obligation consultation to determine if a personal chef can fill your ‘What’s for Dinner’ dilemma, contact a personal chef at www.hireachef.com

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The United States Personal Chef Association (http://uspca.com)is the oldest and largest personal chef association. It provides training and support for the majority of the over 5, 000 personal chefs currently working throughout the United States and Canada.