Here's a Career That's Really Cooking

By Marty Nemko

The United States Personal Chefs Association estimates that 25,000 personal chefs can find jobs in the U.S., yet only 4,000 are active in the entire world. Typical worklife: The personal chef spends a day at each client's home, cooking a week's dinners and then freezing them. Personal cheffing is usually better than restaurant cheffing: no long nights and weekends, no hot, crowded, institutional kitchen. And unlike when starting out in restaurant cheffing, you get to design all the menus--you're a veritable executive chef.