Busy Chef caters to diet-specific menus
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Chef Troy Moore provides two weeks' worth of meals, catered to customers' likes and dislikes.
He caters to just about any diet, and any taste.
Troy Moore has cooked for diabetics. He’s cooked for folks on low-carb diets. And, of course, he’s cooked for his share of finicky eaters.
“We go into great detail about what you like or don’t like,” he said.
Moore — or “The Busy Chef” as he’s known professionally — is a personal chef. He’s devoted his time and talents to going into the homes of his customers to cook two or more weeks’ worth of dinners for families large and small.
“I like to meet them at their home and go over any food questions,” he said. “We go over all kinds of things.”
If they want a chicken dish, he said, he finds out if they prefer breast pieces or wings. He finds out if they’ve got any food allergies. If they request certain vegetables, he asks if they prefer organic.
Once he gets a general idea of what they like and don’t like, he prepares menus based on the more than 1,000 recipes in his repertoire. If customers request diet-specific foods, he’s got it covered.
Then, he lays out the ground rules.
“I look at their kitchen and freezer space,” he said. “Most of the food will go in the freezer. The kitchen must be clean when I get there. … We set up a cooking time and on that day, I go to the store that morning and get all fresh ingredients.”
He brings his own pots and pans, knives and utensils and even his own garbage can.
“I use special recipe software,” he said. “I enter all their dislikes and plan the menu. If they don’t want garlic, the software lets me know if a recipe has garlic in it and asks me if I’d still like to add it, so I don’t have to scan each menu.”
He creates a menu and sends it to the customer. They go over it, and make any changes.
He cooks the whole menu in one day, in their kitchen, and packages it in special containers that can be used in the oven, microwave, freezer and refrigerator. He leaves reheating instructions for everything, so that each item has its own label.
“It’s got what it is, the date and instructions,” Moore said. “Then I clean the kitchen and leave.”
One day in a customer’s kitchen provides two five-day weeks’ worth of dinners. He’s prepared food for couples and families. He travels a wide path in and around the metro area, from Gluckstadt to McComb.
“The prices are comparable to going to the grocery store and doing it yourself,” he said.
For a family of four, Moore charges $395 for two weeks’ worth of meals. For a family of three, it’s $365, and for two, it’s $335. With the rising cost of groceries, he said, that’s not a bad price.
“Most folks can stretch it out up to four weeks,” he said. “You don’t eat at home every week night usually, and they can save that meal for another night.”
For more information about The Busy Chef, call (601) 454-3228 or visit http://www.thebusychef.biz/index.html.
