Providence Caterers Providence, RI

Providence personal chefs discuss their services

What services do you offer?

Thomas Carrig: "My services are different than most personal chefs because I do it part time. I do small dinner parties."

Marcy Kaminski: "I offer standard personal chef service, in-home cooking classes and parties."

Anne Mason: "Aside from weekly and biweekly chef service, I also offer romantic dinners for two, dinner parties and cooking lessons."

How do you charge for your services, and what's the cost?

Carrig: "I'm usually about $100 per person. That's a full five-course dinner cooked in your house. If it were eight to ten people, it would cost less."

Kaminski: "For five meals with four servings each, the standard price is $325 and groceries are additional."

Mason: "I charge my fee plus the cost of groceries. It can range from $325 and up. That's with groceries."

What's your experience in the industry?

Carrig: "I'm a student at Johnson and Wales. I've been a research scientist for 20 years. I've worked in the cooking business for four years."

Kaminski: "I had my own catering business from the '70s to the '80s. I was certified at Boston University to be a private chef."

Mason: "I've been doing this for two years professionally, but I've been cooking since I was 4 with my mother."

What types of food do you make?

Carrig: "Everything. All kinds of international cuisines."

Kaminski: "I pretty much do a spa cuisine, where it's heart healthy and kind of international."

Mason: "I'd like to say I focus on Italian, but I serve my clients whatever they like."

What dish is your specialty?

Carrig: "Vegetables Wellington."

Kaminski: "I'd say my Thai shrimp with vegetables, noodles and peanut sauce."

Mason: "Shrimp scampi."

What sets you apart from your competition?

Carrig: "My focus is on the small dinner party. A lot of personal chefs don't like to do those."

Kaminski: "Definitely my food. I've created 99 percent of the food on my menu. I do a lot of test cooking for 'Cooks Illustrated.'"

Mason: "I want people to be happy and to have a really nice experience when they come home."

What's one spice or ingredient you couldn't live without and why?

Carrig: "I really love my dried, minced onion flake. They add a complex flavor without being too overwhelming."

Kaminski: "I couldn't live without basil. It really is so conducive to every cuisine. It's in everything."

Mason: "Garlic. I'm Italian. We put it in pretty much everything."