Written by Shirley Parker
Feelings exist in some quarters that personal chef networks may have already maxed out as far as attracting new members. It makes a person wonder how many networks are too many? Does competition eventually sink an idea because consumers (chefs, in this instance) have too many choices?
The newcomer may well be a little bewildered and wonder which group is best to join. A personal chef, just beginning the budget process for this adventure, won't want to waste money on membership fees that bring nothing substantial in return. Nor will the seasoned chef want to join several personal chef networks, if there's too much overlap in advice, services, and so forth. That said, there are benefits to belonging to a local independent network that a large national network might not provide, and vice versa.
Some of the best personal chef networks have local chapters, but not everywhere in the United States and Canada. Even so, most networks accept members-at-large, as well as associate members. The bigger networks hold well-attended national and regional conferences. Such events can be so intense and exhausting, for any industry, that one may last you two or three years.
What Services Do Personal Chef Networks Offer?
The fast way to check out chef networks is to visit their websites and request whatever information packets they offer. Do you also see pages about training, insurance needs, certification, work opportunities, personal chef software? There should be member forums for posting questions and getting answers from other personal chefs. Most groups will quite reasonably require you to join before you access the forums. It wouldn't hurt to check out their refund policy, just in case forum activity turns out to be slow or cliquish. Not very likely, but better to have no regrets.
