Chef With No Work in 6 Months: What Would You Do?

I am sorry this has happened to you and so many others. 

Try marketing to seniors or family caregivers. Nutrition and meal prep is a challenge many families caring for a family member face. 

I would market your services locally to care providers like caregiving services. 

Make a video of yourself preparing meals in your kitchen. I would also try to use a commercial space for meal prep. 

I hope this helps!

I would switch to preparing meals in a commercial kitchen or in my own kitchen and deliver meals to clients homes. Maybe try something virtual like walking clients through meal prep themselves via Zoom...or providing written recipes and meal plans by email. Good luck...hope things pick back up soon!

Have you thought about starting a YouTube channel? You could create your own cooking channel. 

Another option would be to offer weekly online cooking classes through Zoom and list them on Eventbrite. 

You could also create a membership program or a digital course centered around cooking, whether it be for beginners, gourmet, or certain types of food. 

If there's anything I can do to help you in expanding your services in the online space, please feel free to reach out. 

I see your issues.  Sometimes, we have to change our business model. My family is in the real estate (not as much now) and we own insurance agencies.  Normally being involved in community, winning friends and influencing people is how we found prospects for our insurance agencies.  But like your business, we have had to change.  Actually we changed and the businesses are doing well, which has led us to think, we may merge the old method with the new method once the chines germ attack has passed. I have been in business for over four decades and gone through a lot. 

There may be a way for you to provide your services in a different way.  Going into people's homes to cook for them with their needs in mind as you create the menus is an exciting and great service.  You have most likely already thought of getting a commercial kitchen or creating one and cooking the meals there and delivering them to the clients home. That might require an investment you aren't prepared to make.  

Churches, have kitchens in them for the most part, every Masonic lodge has a kitchen.  There are restaurants all around that are out of business because they can't allow people to eat in.  So, I don't see finding a kitchen all that difficult. You are  used to interviewing people and figuring out what their issues are and how your menus can help them.  Using your computer, with a phone line or cell phone, and your client using their computer and cell phone, you may be able to go high tech. Your reaction to this may be that your clients are not all computer literate and you may even have some issues with that.  I would not go hire a computer nick to get you going because most of those out there are actually not qualified to to do that sort of stuff and all you will get is a sales pitch.  You can do this yourself.  The phone and computers or just your phone might be enough. 

If you find an out-of-business restaurant, you might turn the seating area into cubicles and have your new clients stop by for an interview and keep the space clean. You could set up a telecommunication system whereby you are not with them in the cubicle. There are ways to use a cell phone and your clients use their cell phone.  Now, licensing and insurance is an issue that is different from what you are used to.  Pizza places prepare food and deliver it. You license and insurance would be similar, you would just have a different food product.  Uber is now delivering food to homes for some of the food prep businesses that are going delivery.  

In my business, I have come up with new ideas of how a homeowner's policy best serves the home owner.  Instead of just selling insurance, we now have moved to a method of interviewing prospects to find out their individual needs.  Most agents just get some basic information and offer the same old cookie cut coverage that everyone ends up with. I is actually a lot more complicated than that but the homeowner doesn't know it until they have a problem.  Property and casualty insurance isn't as simple as most people believe.  So, you see there are similarities in businesses whether or not they are exactly the same business, in other words, your business is designing meals to fit your client's needs. Our insurance business is designing insurance coverage to prevent financial losses when our clients have a problem, home burns, they have an auto accident, someone in the family passes away, just about anything can send a family into bankruptcy and most people never think about it. Your business is somewhat the same in that people go through life, not really watching their diet.  The old add-age, "if I knew I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself". 

My thinking, from what I know about what you do, is you need to change your business model.  Do the same thing, just in a different way. Form a Charity, raise money to feed the elderly, poor, homeless.  Or just change to a food delivery service, using the same system you have of creating menus for people who need your service. I think, if you learn, if you don't already know, how to use the camera on your phone and show your clients how to use the camera on their phone, you can do the same thing.  But you will need a kitchen, licensing and insurance.  Reading some of the comments of others, they seem to be thinking along the same lines.

Hope what I have said helps you think through your situation.

Dallas Johnson, ADC Insurance and the Alpharetta Agency.  

Your expertise in nutritionally rich meals across a spectrum of illnesses and conditions makes you medically significant.  Have you aligned your services with other health care practitioners in a manner that they could and would make their patients or the families of their patients aware of your services?  In turn, you will give those practices broader recognition because they are addressing more than just the chemical and surgical solutions.  This is a very large group of businesses that can and should refer clients to you.  Your service cannot be duplicated by a health food store.

I am not versed in the rules and regulations of cooking in your own home, but continually here of people cooking in their homes and selling to customers. I would check it out further.

I do however know you can rent a commercial kitchen do your cooking for your clients and have them pick the food up in front of your home. You should be covered by insurance since you home is only a pick up area. I see this from people that go to bazaars, craft shows and many other place. They sell their foods  at these places and prepare all foods in these commercial kitchens.

I sell cheesecakes that I make in a registered bakery and have people pick or I can deliver.

I wish you the best

I have heard of so many people who businesses have been interrupted or completely shut down during the pandemic.  A local coffee roaster/shop in my town appears to have perfectly pivoted.  They have stations set up outside for pick up.  Customers order via an app and walk up to the station for pick up.  They also expanded their baked offerings and started taking orders  online  for pick up on Saturday mornings.  I wonder if Johanna could take orders, cook at her home and deliver with very little personal contact.  Perhaps people would be more comfortable with that arrangement. I bet there are many people who are stressed with working at home and balancing children and school that would welcome the help.  Best wishes Johanna!

Consider changing your insurance, explore options available to cook from your kitchen or find a commercial kitchen that is already inspected / health department approved that would allow you to rent during their off / closed time.  You would need refrigerator / freezer storage space but what I’ve watched be very successful throughout Covid has been “home cooked” fresh or frozen casseroles that people can pickup curbside, take home and eat if ordered warm or heat up at home.  

You may have to do porch delivery since you do not have a commercial location where they can pickup. Another option would be to work a deal with some stores that already have freezer space and let them sell your products retail.   Various options but this can be a very successful business model.  It sounds like your have been focused on high end and the experience more so than the product.  It may be time to push some standardized products while still and experience but unfortunately not as personalized / customized as going into the client homes.

I am so sorry to hear about your situation, but I can assure you , you are one of thousands that are in the same situation. 

As a travel agent to the Caribbean specializing in accommodation, we have no business either since march 2020 . When Covid 19 hit, we had to just be more pro active and spending more on advertising and contacting our previous clients via emails or social media, so they remember us, when time come to go on a vacation. Unfortunately, until everyone will obey by the rules of wearing a mask and keeping social distancing, this will be here forever . 

We are coming into a busy season in Florida and now more than ever we have to be cautious of the situation. Try to cater to some of the communities and advertise more . Contact your previous clients offering them some kind of a discount or FREE apps with order. 

I have been a personal chef in the past, I understand  how difficult it can be. I know the USPCA insurance doesn’t cover cooking from your own home but that is really the only other way to keep your business going if you’re just going to cook.  However, there may be other services she could offer right now. Like offering to do their shopping and meal planning for them for the time being. It keeps her in front of the client, they don’t have to go out in public to the stores, and she can still offer a service that is viable and showcases her talent.