For many people the term “personal chef” conjures up images of formal dinner parties or of “rich people” being served their dinner on fine china with crystal stemware and great –Aunt Martha’s silver.

And while a personal chef surely can cater to those needs that is not all they are about.

Actually, one of the fastest growing reasons (and quite possibly the most important) is for healthy living. Many personal chef services offer a registered dietician or nutritionist as part of the package, or the actual chef has had courses in preparing meals according to dietary needs.

According to the APPCA (American Personal & Private Chef Association), people are hiring personal chefs to assist not only with dieting for weight loss, but also with food allergies, pregnancy, and adopting new lifestyles such as vegetarianism or low carb.

In this day of food allergies, it is not uncommon to hear of a person allergic to peanuts, wheat, and dairy – all at the same time. For the majority of us regular, everyday cooks mealtime could get a little boring for fear of causing an allergic reaction. But let’s face it, we’re talking about chefs here. These are the people who can look at a potato and a piece of chicken, and come up with 25 recipes off the top of their head.

The same goes for low-carb diets and vegetarians. One of the main reasons people give up on these lifestyles is out of boredom. “I can only eat steak so many times in one week.” But a personal chef will just look at this as a challenge, and help keep you on track.

For the pregnant (especially those who are restricted to bed-rest), those recuperating from surgery, or for the elderly a personal chef can be an invaluable extra pair of hands. Healthy meals can be made up on a weekly or sometimes even monthly basis, then frozen or refrigerated and reheated as needed. According to an article written by Health Magazine, one personal chef even prepared a month’s worth of gluten-free snacks for a young girl going to summer camp that suffered from celiac disease.

Personal chefs can be hired long-term or short-term. Some can even be hired to teach you how to do shopping and cooking yourself to stay healthy. It’s just like hiring a personal trainer – except this is your personal nutritionist.

Most chefs will have you fill out a questionnaire. You can state your goals, food preferences, dislikes, and restrictions. Then you will meet with your personal chef to go over your questions and design a menu plan, how often (weekly or monthly) and cost.

To find a personal chef in the US, just click on PersonalChefSearch.Com