Dinners at Your Leisure is a personal chef service in Katy, Texas that prepares restaurant quality meals for individuals and families to enjoy at their own leisure. Each meal plan will be prepared and packaged in the client’s home with specific heating instructions, saving their clients the hassle of planning, shopping, cooking and cleaning.
We had a chance to talk to their chef and owner, Chef Stephanie Bell, who shared with us a few tidbits about their food, concept, and business philosophy. Here’s what we learned:
FriendsEAT: Describe the cuisine served at your business.
Chef Stephanie Bell: Whatever the client wants to eat!
FE: What makes your business special?
Chef Stephanie: We are a personal chef service, so we prepare meals customized to the client’s tastes and preferences in their home.
FE: Where did you get your training?
Chef Stephanie: The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Houston
Chef Stephanie Bell from Katy, Texas, won Food Photograph of the Year at a contest from the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA)
FE: Did you grow up cooking or did cooking come to you later in life?
Chef Stephanie: Both. I cooked with my grandparents a lot when I was younger, but when I was a teen, I decided to be vegetarian. My mom told me I would have to fend for myself, so that’s when I really learned to cook!
FE: Who in your life influenced your cooking the most?
Chef Stephanie: My grandparents. They were from the UK but lived in Singapore for many years, so I learned traditional British dishes from them, as well as Asian flavors. Also, my sister. She taught me that recipes didn’t need to be followed verbatim and that it was more to take a recipe and ad lib!
FE: What made you decide to become a chef?
Chef Stephanie: Cooking is pretty much the only thing I’ve ever been excited and passionate about. It was a no brainer.
FE: What misconceptions do people have when they first enter the culinary field?
Chef Stephanie: That it’s easy work! They think it’s like a cooking show. In reality, it’s long hot hours on your feet. And you have to hustle – you can’t be leisurely like you would at home with a glass of wine. Sense of urgency is imperative!
FE: What is the best cooking tip you can share for a novice?
Chef Stephanie: Learn to season well. Don’t be afraid to overseason your foods. Perfect seasoning is that fine line between under seasoned and over seasoned. You will never know where that line is if you don’t ever cross it.
FE: What are your three favorite cooking tools?
Chef Stephanie: Chef’s knife and a pressure cooker
FE: What is your favorite ingredient to cook with and why?
Chef Stephanie: Ginger. I love it in everything.
FE: When you’re home, what is your guilty food pleasure?
Chef Stephanie: French fries
FE: What is your Favorite cookbook?
Chef Stephanie: “The New American Woman’s Cookbook” published in the 50s. It was grandmother’s – obviously purchased to learn how to cook “American” food to entertain for guests when they visited the States. It was the start to my vintage cookbook collection.
FE: Anything we should know that should be added to this spotlight?
Chef Stephanie: A personal chef is a necessity for any busy individual or families or those with special dietary concerns. We prepare meals to your needs and palettes. The money spent on groceries, dining out, and wasted groceries could be much better spent on a personal chef!
Dinners at Your Leisure is located at 2910 Commercial Center Blvd. Suite 103-117, Katy, Texas 77493
[mappress mapid=”246″]E-mail: [email protected]
Phone Number: (346) 213-0757