First Person Singular

Catherine Guerard, Owner of What's for Dinner, a personal chef company, Falls Church

After 11 years in direct-mail marketing, I was through. I didn't want to work for anyone else or sit at a desk all day. When I quit five years ago, I thought about being a massage therapist or maybe a pastry chef, something with my hands. Cooking makes me happy, so if I could make other people happy with what I was giving them, that would be a change from direct mail. I was flipping through one of my cooking magazines, thinking about going to culinary school, and there was this little tiny blurb that said, "Be a Personal Chef. Find Out How." I was amazed that people could do this for a living. I thought I'd be cooking for senior citizens. But it's not people who can no longer cook for themselves -- it's middle-class professionals, families with both the mom and dad working, who are just tired of eating out.

Most of the time I'm there alone, which I like. I bring my own things -- no one would ever have all the utensils, the spices, the sauce I need, especially people who don't cook much. I like having my own things -- it helps me get situated in an unfamiliar kitchen. I have a big menu -- all kinds of food on it. I give people a chance to actually enjoy their food. I don't think people really enjoy food much anymore. When you're busy, you're not tasting as much as you're just wolfing something down. It is a bummer that I don't [always] get to see their faces or hear their reactions. But I know what they're tasting because their dinners are my dinners.

Food is a very personal thing, and people come to it with issues. I have this one woman. Super critical. She was constantly fussing at me: It's too dry. It's overcooked. And then she'd hire me again. This one time, she called and was just yelling. She was so angry, so, so over-angry over chicken thighs. She says, "How many times do I have to tell you I don't like white meat?" I say as calmly as I can, "It's my understanding that you like dark meat and your husband likes white meat. That's why the dish has thighs and breasts." She insists there are no thighs. What can I do? I put extra thighs in there to make her happy. So I promised her that the dish had thighs. Finally she says, "Well, they're too dry." That night, I was happy to be eating my dinner at home, alone.

Interview by Amanda Long