Chef Monica Thomas
I learned a long time ago the word “Restaurant” comes from restaure (French word for restore)… food restores a body. I kinda love that.
From USPCA Personal Chef of the Year, to the cover and featured member of Personal Chef Magazine, as well as a member of Les Dames d’Escoffier and Women Chefs and Restaurateurs, I continue to help people restore their bodies with food (and fun)!
That’s my food philosophy – enjoy great food and feel better.
But, I haven’t always been a chef.
I was a school teacher. Though I love teaching, I saw a different path.
I worked with one of the largest and most prominent caterers in St. Louis, MO, as well as spent many years in the event planning business working with hotels, caterers, florists, and other service industry providers.
Then on to becoming a Personal Chef.
Back in 2004, I thought I should give this personal chef business a shot.
With a milestone birthday clearly in sight, I decided I didn’t want to go to my grave wondering if I could have made a go of doing what I loved – cooking.
Could I truly start a business that allowed me to pick and choose exactly what I wanted to do for a living and when I wanted to do it? I had to find out.
So I quit the lucrative full-time event planning job, attended the Culinary Business Academy (no longer in existence), and set sail on this great journey of running my business my way.
Food is fun. It fuels your body. And it brings people together.
I’m a personal chef who loves:
- Reading
- Appetizers
- Creating a meal from what’s in the fridge
- Teaching
- Editing
- Dogs (partial to Huskies)
- Knowing people enjoy my food
My final meal would include:
- potato chips
- Veuve Clicquot
- bacon-wrapped dates
- runny fried eggs
- something lemon for dessert
Oh, and I wouldn’t be the one to cook it.
Accomplishments & Accolades:
Certified Personal Chef and Owner Monica Thomas is a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy, a premier member of the United States Personal Chef Association, and a ServSafe© certified food manager.- Member Les Dames d’Escoffier
- Named Personal Chef of the Year at the USPCA national conference in August 2012.
- Two-time cover story on Personal Chef Magazine with multi-page story inside – the first chef to be honored more than once.
- Contributed numerous articles published in Personal Chef Magazine and produce a monthly newsletter, Tailored Taste Tidbits, for clients and other interested folks. Click HERE to get on the list!
- Taught public cooking classes at Williams-Sonoma and still teach private classes in clients’ homes as well as online classes for folks wherever they might be!
- Former Chef instructor at the Art Institute of Washington and Stratford University teaching culinary students the fine art of becoming a personal chef and the practicalities of catering management.
- Adopted an elementary school for the Chefs Move to Schools program. Beginning with 30 children in 2010 and capping the 6th (and final year) at 60 kids, Chef Monica inspired many 4th-8th graders to master some basic culinary skills and explore new tastes. In the six years of the club, no recipes were ever repeated resulting in over 150 delicious child-created masterpieces.