Meals from this personal chef might fit your gift giving needs

BY JA STROM —
If you are looking for a gift idea for a senior family member in the Twin Cities, a visit by a personal chef could be just the thing.

With her own elderly parents and elderly parents-in-law, Cheryl Francke knows that older people who live alone don’t always eat as well as they should. Shopping can be a burden and cooking a chore. And having friends over for dinner becomes a challenge many cannot manage.

Enter the personal chef. Francke’s Choice Cuisine Personal Chef Service involves a one on one consultation in the client’s home to discuss the menu and any dietary health concerns, shopping for the meal’s ingredients, meal preparation (in the home), packaging and clean up.

And you don’t have to be a Wall Street CEO to use the service. The most economical approach is for Francke to do several entrees with multiple servings at one time. Francke packages the meals with reheating instructions so they can be used at the client’s convenience.

Francke says her favorite place to be is in the kitchen. “I have always loved to cook,” she explains, putting the emphasis on “love.” She and her husband owned a bagel shop for awhile but Francke said it was her real love is cooking entire meals and hearing the “mmm’s” as her food is tasted.

To her, nutrition and wholesome meals and great tastes are not conflicting goals. “I like to make healthy food that tastes good, using fresh ingredients, so you are healthy from the start.”

Besides main meals, Francke also does small catered affairs for such events as dinner parties, birthdays, or anniversaries.

Could be a lot for fun for a senior than another bottles of perfume, a robe or a tie!

(Posted November 13, 2008)