If you have a Chef that works 6 hours a day Monday through Friday, who does the cooking Saturday and Sunday? Will that person need to follow a menu? Will that person need to be able to cook to order?
Hi Christy,
In any regular home it’s the caregivers who do all the cooking, cleaning and caregiving. So if the chef doesn’t work on the weekend per say, the caregivers would be responsible to do all the cooking and cleaning if necessary. They would follow the menu laid out by the chef, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it could be a pancake breakfast, a soup and salad lunch and a chicken and veggies and potato dinner for example. Anyone with basic kitchen skills can do this.
Note that in homes with a chef, they typically have a chef working every day not just some days, there is a weekday chef and a weekend chef. Also this allows room for someone to call off sick, and you have a stand in worker there ready to go.
Hi, I have an additional question regarding the chef in the nicer homes. It may be a matter of semantics, but during the video it was mentioned that the chef would prep the dinner, but you also mentioned we shouldn’t serve left-overs. Is it ok when the food’s been prepared earlier in the day and served later the same day, but not ok if kept over night and served the next day? Thanks.
Talibah,
the main reasons you wouldn’t want to serve left overs is
1. there is a menu that legally must be posted and if you serve something different than what is scheduled you will get in trouble with the state if they are over for a visitation, so you really stick with the schedule and the menu you already planned
2. it could have gone bad or be spoiled if it wasn’t stored properly and then you’d be responsible for those residents getting sick
3. the chef should be preparing just the right amount of food and there shouldn’t be much leftovers anyways
Yes, they can cook the food earlier and serve it later. Typically their day looks like this, cook hot breakfast for everyone first thing upon arriving, prep dinner, then make lunch, then go grocery shopping then home. They may only work from 6am to noon or 1pm. The caregivers will heat dinner later based on the instructions the chef leaves for them.
Diane,
The residents can eat whatever and whenever they like, just like they are in their own home. With help from a caregiver they can have snacks or grab something from the fridge whenever they like. We do provide breakfast, lunch, a afternoon snack and dinner and dessert each day for the residents. The caregivers on shift usually eat some of the food as well, there’s almost always a little bit leftover.
Gene
Thanks Gene. I also have seen in some of the big box asst livings that the residents can have alcohol like wine or drink with dinner etc. Do you do that?
Diane,
Yes. Our residents can have alcohol as long as they have a doctors note, most doctors will allow them too and if so, we are happy to serve it to them. No problem at all. The reason for a medical note is because of mixing medications with alcohol, so some residents will not be allowed to because of that issue. Gene
Tony,
Our highest level home has a private chef, they come in the morning and cook made to order breakfast, then cook dinner that can be pre-heated again later, then they make lunch and end the day with grocery shopping. In our middle to lower level homes, the caregivers do the cooking, that is most common in RAL’s.
Isabelle
Edgar, You can absolutely do that. But each state has a rule on how far apart RAL’s must be, so check your state regulations on that distance rule, even if they are a mile or so apart you could share chef or staff in general. Think, most caregivers will only work 3-4 days in your home, so if you don’t have a second home/business for them to work in, they will probably pick up shifts at another home nearby. If you have two homes near each other, they will definitely want to work at both, you can share the staff.
Isabelle
How do you typically reimburse members of your team when they go shopping? Mileage driving to from
Store, time spent shopping etc,, and does staff have a company credit card?
Tony,
Only your administrator/manager would be doing an errands not caregivers, most things can be delivered to the house via amazon, Walmart or grocery stores. You can give them (admin/manager) a company card with a spending limit and keep an eye on it. We don’t reimburse milage, but you could if that’s important to the team member.
Isabelle
Hi Gene
About how much should be budgeted for a chef/chefs, and how much premium should be charged for that amenity? I know it will be different by location but could you provide a benchmark? The cost/revenue ratio would be helpful. Thanks
Warren
Warren,
We don’t charge any extra for a chef. It would only be appropriate for a high-end luxury home where the rates are already higher than usual if that makes sense. The chef usually gets paid $10-15/hour depending on minimum wage in your area.
Isabelle
When you were talking about having the nutrition book available or online.. is that any nutrition & health book in general or like cookbook? .. also, do you provide options on the menu like chicken or fish with baked rosemary potato & green beans or do you typically cook the same thing for everyone? .. I guess my concern is around people with special diets like low sodium, diabetics, or even vegetarians.. how to stick to a strict menu when there could be special diets?
Tuprena,
It’s your home, so you can do whatever you like. You’ll get to know your residents and their likes and dislikes and eating preferences, so you can build your menu around them. There is a state recommended health and food guidelines so you must follow those and post your menu and stick with it.
Isabelle
Gene,
Maybe I missed it, could you tell me what you pay the chef to cook? I see that food cost $5-$6 per person per day (you budget $7-$8). How much do you pay a chef? Additionally, where do you look for chefs?
Myranda, You can put an ad out for a chef in the area on craigslist or indeed or visit local culinary schools and get a list of the newest graduates etc. Chefs usually make $12-15/hr depending on where you live.
Isabelle
The further I move into the actual costs I am concerned that Southern Ca might not be my best choice. I am finding that with California employee taxes & Real Estate prices, the business side is not penciling out with much profit margin.
Do you know of success in Ca? If so do they have/need more than 5 homes to pencil out? Do You have people do it in a state they do not live in?
Pegie,
We have both. Successful students in Southern CA and all over CA. There are 1000’s of these homes in CA, it’s a very popular option and can be quite successful due to the fact that you are usually limited to 6 residents in a home, so a “normal” 4 bed / 4 bath home can work quite nicely for this, no re-construction or renovation needed many times.
We also have plenty of students who operate out of state and that is also a great way to keep yourself hands off in this business, one of our staff members even operates out of state. It’s totally possible, no matter what you choose.
Isabelle
Hello Gene,
Just wanted clarification regarding special diets i.e. gluten free or diabetic meals. Any recommendation to deal special diets i.e. diabetic menus.
Question #2. the Nutrition book. where do we get this book?
Thank you
Sherry
Sherry,
When someone moves in with you, you can ask them those dietary questions and make adjustments for them as needed. Most of this current generation do not have restrictions the way other generations do. You will create monthly menus for the house and you’ll have the caregivers do the cooking or you’ll hire a chef depending on what you want. Not sure what nutrition book you’re referring to exactly? But there are companies like “grove menus” who you can buy menus from. And your state will have 1-2 policies about what you must provide – aka a protein, carb, fat, a complete meal. Of course this is just what you provide, it does not mean they must eat it, it’s just like public schools, they have to show the menu to the state, if asked and the kids choose what they want. Very similar concept.
Isabelle
If you have a Chef that works 6 hours a day Monday through Friday, who does the cooking Saturday and Sunday? Will that person need to follow a menu? Will that person need to be able to cook to order?
Hi Christy,
In any regular home it’s the caregivers who do all the cooking, cleaning and caregiving. So if the chef doesn’t work on the weekend per say, the caregivers would be responsible to do all the cooking and cleaning if necessary. They would follow the menu laid out by the chef, it doesn’t have to be complicated, it could be a pancake breakfast, a soup and salad lunch and a chicken and veggies and potato dinner for example. Anyone with basic kitchen skills can do this.
Note that in homes with a chef, they typically have a chef working every day not just some days, there is a weekday chef and a weekend chef. Also this allows room for someone to call off sick, and you have a stand in worker there ready to go.
Thanks,
Gene Guarino
Hi, I have an additional question regarding the chef in the nicer homes. It may be a matter of semantics, but during the video it was mentioned that the chef would prep the dinner, but you also mentioned we shouldn’t serve left-overs. Is it ok when the food’s been prepared earlier in the day and served later the same day, but not ok if kept over night and served the next day? Thanks.
Talibah,
the main reasons you wouldn’t want to serve left overs is
1. there is a menu that legally must be posted and if you serve something different than what is scheduled you will get in trouble with the state if they are over for a visitation, so you really stick with the schedule and the menu you already planned
2. it could have gone bad or be spoiled if it wasn’t stored properly and then you’d be responsible for those residents getting sick
3. the chef should be preparing just the right amount of food and there shouldn’t be much leftovers anyways
Yes, they can cook the food earlier and serve it later. Typically their day looks like this, cook hot breakfast for everyone first thing upon arriving, prep dinner, then make lunch, then go grocery shopping then home. They may only work from 6am to noon or 1pm. The caregivers will heat dinner later based on the instructions the chef leaves for them.
Gene Guarino
Do you offer snacks?
Does the staff eat the same meals?
Diane,
The residents can eat whatever and whenever they like, just like they are in their own home. With help from a caregiver they can have snacks or grab something from the fridge whenever they like. We do provide breakfast, lunch, a afternoon snack and dinner and dessert each day for the residents. The caregivers on shift usually eat some of the food as well, there’s almost always a little bit leftover.
Gene
Thanks Gene. I also have seen in some of the big box asst livings that the residents can have alcohol like wine or drink with dinner etc. Do you do that?
Diane,
Yes. Our residents can have alcohol as long as they have a doctors note, most doctors will allow them too and if so, we are happy to serve it to them. No problem at all. The reason for a medical note is because of mixing medications with alcohol, so some residents will not be allowed to because of that issue. Gene
I see there are a few different food handlers certifications you can get. Do you prefer using one over the others?
Zachary,
Unless you’re planning on being the chef, no need for you to get one. But I’m sure any of them are just fine.
Gene
Hi for your homes do you hire one personal chef per home or is it possible for a personal chef to prep meals for more than one home? Thanks
Tony,
Our highest level home has a private chef, they come in the morning and cook made to order breakfast, then cook dinner that can be pre-heated again later, then they make lunch and end the day with grocery shopping. In our middle to lower level homes, the caregivers do the cooking, that is most common in RAL’s.
Isabelle
What if your homes were across the street from each other. Would you leverage the chef to prepare food for both homes?
Edgar, You can absolutely do that. But each state has a rule on how far apart RAL’s must be, so check your state regulations on that distance rule, even if they are a mile or so apart you could share chef or staff in general. Think, most caregivers will only work 3-4 days in your home, so if you don’t have a second home/business for them to work in, they will probably pick up shifts at another home nearby. If you have two homes near each other, they will definitely want to work at both, you can share the staff.
Isabelle
How do you typically reimburse members of your team when they go shopping? Mileage driving to from
Store, time spent shopping etc,, and does staff have a company credit card?
Tony,
Only your administrator/manager would be doing an errands not caregivers, most things can be delivered to the house via amazon, Walmart or grocery stores. You can give them (admin/manager) a company card with a spending limit and keep an eye on it. We don’t reimburse milage, but you could if that’s important to the team member.
Isabelle
Hi Gene
About how much should be budgeted for a chef/chefs, and how much premium should be charged for that amenity? I know it will be different by location but could you provide a benchmark? The cost/revenue ratio would be helpful. Thanks
Warren
Warren,
We don’t charge any extra for a chef. It would only be appropriate for a high-end luxury home where the rates are already higher than usual if that makes sense. The chef usually gets paid $10-15/hour depending on minimum wage in your area.
Isabelle
What’s your opinion on using services such as Blue Apron for the meals?
Elisama,
That could get very expensive.
Isabelle
Hi Gene,
When you were talking about having the nutrition book available or online.. is that any nutrition & health book in general or like cookbook? .. also, do you provide options on the menu like chicken or fish with baked rosemary potato & green beans or do you typically cook the same thing for everyone? .. I guess my concern is around people with special diets like low sodium, diabetics, or even vegetarians.. how to stick to a strict menu when there could be special diets?
Tuprena,
It’s your home, so you can do whatever you like. You’ll get to know your residents and their likes and dislikes and eating preferences, so you can build your menu around them. There is a state recommended health and food guidelines so you must follow those and post your menu and stick with it.
Isabelle
Gene,
Maybe I missed it, could you tell me what you pay the chef to cook? I see that food cost $5-$6 per person per day (you budget $7-$8). How much do you pay a chef? Additionally, where do you look for chefs?
Thanks,
Myranda
Myranda, You can put an ad out for a chef in the area on craigslist or indeed or visit local culinary schools and get a list of the newest graduates etc. Chefs usually make $12-15/hr depending on where you live.
Isabelle
The further I move into the actual costs I am concerned that Southern Ca might not be my best choice. I am finding that with California employee taxes & Real Estate prices, the business side is not penciling out with much profit margin.
Do you know of success in Ca? If so do they have/need more than 5 homes to pencil out? Do You have people do it in a state they do not live in?
Pegie,
We have both. Successful students in Southern CA and all over CA. There are 1000’s of these homes in CA, it’s a very popular option and can be quite successful due to the fact that you are usually limited to 6 residents in a home, so a “normal” 4 bed / 4 bath home can work quite nicely for this, no re-construction or renovation needed many times.
We also have plenty of students who operate out of state and that is also a great way to keep yourself hands off in this business, one of our staff members even operates out of state. It’s totally possible, no matter what you choose.
Isabelle
Hello Gene,
Just wanted clarification regarding special diets i.e. gluten free or diabetic meals. Any recommendation to deal special diets i.e. diabetic menus.
Question #2. the Nutrition book. where do we get this book?
Thank you
Sherry
Sherry,
When someone moves in with you, you can ask them those dietary questions and make adjustments for them as needed. Most of this current generation do not have restrictions the way other generations do. You will create monthly menus for the house and you’ll have the caregivers do the cooking or you’ll hire a chef depending on what you want. Not sure what nutrition book you’re referring to exactly? But there are companies like “grove menus” who you can buy menus from. And your state will have 1-2 policies about what you must provide – aka a protein, carb, fat, a complete meal. Of course this is just what you provide, it does not mean they must eat it, it’s just like public schools, they have to show the menu to the state, if asked and the kids choose what they want. Very similar concept.
Isabelle