SMALL POTATOES PERSONAL CHEF SERVICE

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ABOUT GENE



I was born in the Carolinas where I started cooking at a seafood restaurant at 15. My love and knowledge of food has grown in the twenty-five plus years since then working as a personal chef, in restaurants and while catering in Greenville, South Carolina, Charleston, South Carolina and Galveston, Texas among other places. Along the way I learned that real food, the food that tastes like time and effort went into it, is the food I want to make.  I love the smells of the kitchen such as roasted garlic, toasted spices and simmering soups and sauces. Hearty all-in-one meals, roasted vegetables, fresh and local ingredients are some of the things that I love to cook! 


I'm a family man, and after moving from Texas to the Carolinas in 2009, I stayed home and helped raise my three amazing kids with my beautiful wife. Being a chef and a stay at home dad meant that dinner was easy. (haha!). No but really, going to work, raising kids and having very little time to cook means that most families cut corners with a very important thing: dinner! Takeout, dining out and grocery store prepared food replaces real, hearty food.  I prepare food the way it is meant to be made:  from scratch and not cutting corners with ingredients or taste. My dishes are cooked with love in clients' kitchens and are tailored to each individual family's likes. This is an individualized service after all, I want to make food that will please the client first and foremost. Cooking in your home to me is a wonderful opportunity for me to do what I love to do and for you and your family to not do what they do not like to do or don’t have time to do. I believe the portions in most places are out of control and so is calorie counting.  I don't believe dieting is good for individuals long term. What is important for short term and long term health is to eat a diet with healthy vegetables, fruits, meats and beverages(mostly water) without all the processed food and long confusing ingredient lists.  I think you crowd out all the food you probably shouldn't be eating by eating the food you should be eating.


Food has long been an interest of mine.  With parents that raised me with the belief that fresh ingredients have no equal and that home cooking is better than eating out, I was prepared for this career.  With a BSBA in business(2001), seven years experience as a personal chef(2015-2022), and a culinary degree(2007), I am excited to bring my services to your home in North Texas. Along my journey I have learned the important role that food plays in the health and happiness of people. To supplement my knowledge and skills I have received a Cornell Plant Based Nutrition Certification(2017) and Emory University Health and Wellness Coach Certification(2022).  I have a Food Handlers Certificate and am licensed and insured.  Please send me a text at 864-643-9309 or email at heelswon@yahoo.com if you are interested in discussing a weekly or biweekly arrangement for me to cook for you.  Thanks! Gene Thornton


Free Initial Consultation

We meet in person at your house at a mutually convenient time and discuss how I can be of best service to you and your family.  We discuss the food questionnaire, likes and dislikes and hopefully agree to a specific cook date.

MENU DEVELOPMENT

I spend the time to develop individualized menu plans that will work for you.  If there are special requests or dietary restrictions I incorporate those into the planning process.  On the cook date I shop for the groceries and take into consideration if there is a preference for Central Market, Trader Joe's, Kroger or other store.  We want the highest quality and freshest ingredients!  I shop for the groceries and arrive at your house with some of my equipment while also using some of your equipment while cooking.  I spend the next several hours cooking your delicious food and then package, store and label everything and place in your refrigerator for the next several days.  I make sure the kitchen is as clean as when I arrived and leave a menu with instructions.  

What does Chef Gene like to Cook and Eat?

As a Chef and Dad of three, family meals are very important. We make an effort to try and sit down every evening and share our day together over a nice meal.  So what do we like to eat?  Well we really like to eat everything, and everyone has different tastes that inform what is on the menu.  We eat veggie heavy with quality proteins, delicious and seasonal fresh ingredients balanced with a mindful awareness of good health.  For this reason we limit our dairy and beef. If we do use those ingredients it is used minimally and we try and use grass fed or grass finished dairy.  We eat raw vegetables every week like carrots, bell peppers, cucumbers, lettuces, spinach, zucchini and onion.  We get lots of fresh fruit in with an emphasis on berries which have a lot of health benefits and everyone loves!  Stir-fry and roasted vegetables are also a staple of our diet, with the cabbage family (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, purple and green cabbage) playing an important role.   Seafood is eaten typically twice a week. Healthy fats that are common including extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, canola oil, all nuts, avocados and yes grass fed butter! Seasonings that are common are ginger, garlic, liquid aminos, turmeric, cumin, paprika and hot sauce. 
Anyone that knows me well knows I absolutely love to make and eat soups. I could and do eat soups all year even in the hot Texas summer! Do we eat dessert, bread, potatoes, pasta and rice?  Absolutely, but again they don't take center stage and we just monitor their intake a little more and treat them similar to processed foods, just not what we want to be consuming everyday. I feel like we are reasonable in our food decisions,  we are a family of five with individual tastes and I don't believe in being too restrictive with eating but instead with the idea of surrounding yourself with such great food that it will crowd out the "bad" stuff by having so many of the "good" whole foods around.  Food is an important part of life and our food environment in America makes it difficult for individuals and families to eat healthy delicious food.  So I am here to help other individuals and families eating situation by making food that is personalized to your tastes.  I like to eat and cook a certain way at my home but my business is about coming to your home as a personal chef and cooking the types of meals you will eat!  Give me a call and we can discuss in further detail what your likes and dislikes are and how I can understand how I can best serve you! Thanks, Gene 864-643-9309
heelswon@yahoo.com

What sets me apart?

I understand the stress that can come from being busy with a business and family and worrying about getting good food on the dinner table.  Not everyone is going to have time to eat at the same time and sit down together.  Having a personal chef service customized to you cuts out some of the weekly grocery shopping, meal planning and prepping and cleanup.  I understand the time commitment this presents and the skill level needed to continuously cook at home.  Restaurants are nice to go to occasionally but not leaving the house and being in more control of what ingredients are going into your food is increasingly valuable.  Many years of chef experience, culinary, nutrition and health coaching education along with just raising a family allow me to have a background that can please many different palates.  Time is still the most precious commodity which is why I place such an emphasis on its value in my business.  Sure the food is delicious, but the potential extra time opened up by using my service can be an immediate benefit.  
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Please give me a call at 864-643-9309 or heelswon@yahoo.com. Thank you!
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