Personal chef Marina Staver's blog

The parrot almost gave away the secret of the private chef

Reading time: 5 min
Allow me to transport you again from the bright city of Miami to the stunning International Women's Day in Minsk, Belarus.

On that day, a client was searching for the best private chef near them, and his search led to the culinary artistry of Personal Chef Marina Staver.

Join me now on this culinary journey filled with passion, skill, flavor, and a sly parrot.
Minsk, Belarus
On holidays, friends and family gather together, and on such days, you especially want to treat yourself to delicious things.

In America, there is Mother's Day, and in Eastern Europe, they have Women's Day. On this day men congratulate mothers, grandmothers, and girls.

Traditionally, it takes place on March 8, and men give their women flowers and gifts. Ladies receive attention and warm congratulations. And I had to become a secret personal chef for hire again.
My secret mission was almost ruined by a parrot. 😉🦜️👩‍🍳

A few days before the holiday

It usually snows in Belarus in March, but the flowers that are sold before the holiday are heartwarming and pleasing to the eye. I was just about to buy a bouquet of tulips to take home, and then I got a phone call.
The National Library in the shape of a diamond. Minsk, Belarus. 2019
Good afternoon, my name is Denis, and I need personal chef services for the 8th of March. Are you free that day? My friends gave me your number and said that I can hire a chef near my home” said a man’s voice.

Good afternoon. My name is Marina and I would love to be your personal chef. How many people will be at the dinner and do you have a preference for the dish?

You know, this is an awkward situation. I told my wife and mother-in-law that I was going to make them a birthday dinner on March 8th. Cooking and I are like chalk and cheese” he continued. “My highest culinary achievement is an egg scramble. That's why I want to hire a personal chef for a dinner party, so I can't mess up in front of my beloved women”.

I smiled and softly replied: “Of course, I understand the ambush you're in. So, we'll cook dinner for two lovely ladies”.

Tell me how much a private chef is for a day and the average cost of a private chef for this dinner party. And I also want to make it clear that my wife is pregnant. So, nothing spicy, please”.

As a pro home cook, I always take into account such conditions. I told him about the cost of a private chef and that the difference depends on the number of dishes and the cost of products.”

Great. That's a fair private chef price. Then can you help me decide what kind of dishes I can surprise my women with?

We quickly decided with Denis what to make for the holiday dinner and went to write a list of products to buy.

Grocery Day and a few words

about private chef cost

I love grocery shopping days, it's like buying Christmas gifts for my loved ones. I choose each product with special care and prefer seasonal ingredients, I always read the ingredients carefully. The table setting is an integral part of the whole meal. Therefore, along with the products, I look for table decorations. I prefer live decorations instead of reusable plastic ones.
When a customer orders my private chef service near their location, they get a full-service caterer. Full-service caterers near your location, have become an integral part of our lives. The client makes one phone call and says what he expects to get, and the rest is up to the catering company.

If the cost of a personal chef is low, then the client should be wary, because the chef not only prepares meals. His duties include many other things which are not visible to the client: the chef thinks through the menu, buys products, and delivers them at the right time. A table setting with meal planning is also part of that evening, and only then does the cooking follow.

There's no chance for mistakes. If something gets burnt or over-salted, it will spoil the whole catered event and the mood of the guests. We know that the first impression cannot be made a second time.
Then everything needs to be cleaned up quickly so that guests can continue to enjoy the evening. When you hire a chef, you can always ask what is included in his service personal chef cost. It is better to know in advance, so as not to be upset on the day of the dinner, that you have to pay extra for something.

It's time to set the table

Denis sends his beloved wife to his brother on the pretext that she does not disturb him with the surprise. After all, he will cook all day and he does not need the extra stress. He left a 7-year-old son to help beside me.

I immediately started decorating the table. There were spring flowers in a vase, and I also put little pink bouquets on the table. The table smelled of spring freshness.

Denis was looking at all this with round eyes. He came over to the table and said:

“Marina, do you know that men only know two kinds of flowers?”

“And what are they?” I asked with interest.

“Roses and "Excuse me, but what are they called" he answered playfully.

I laughed.
The customer is delighted by the look of the table alone, the aromas in the kitchen, and the beautifully laid out dishes on the plates.

Delight ...... a minute of silence and then a thin child's voice comes out “Daddy we need to drill something on the plates, it's very beautiful, grandmother and mother will not believe that we cooked it all with you.”

Drill... drill...” the parrot from the cage began to repeat after the boy.

Father and son glanced at the parrot; they were surprised.

In the big cage in the kitchen lived a giant white parrot, a Cockatoo.

He had never said anything until now, said the owner of the apartment. We even tried to train him” the father quickly muttered.

A secret mission in danger

The cockatoo is the most advanced bird in terms of intelligence.

A white cockatoo can memorize words and perform some circus tricks, it learns well, but is rather shouty.

We were watching him during the day, as he attentively listens to every word, and more than once it occurred to me that his vocabulary can be enlarged. After watching and listening to various speeches today, understandable or not, he can give away our secret in the evening: at that very inopportune moment, when his beloved women will come.

After cooking, the men thanked me again, gave me a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers, and congratulated me on March 8.
Of course, before leaving I asked the parrot to keep our secret, but Denis had already forgotten about the surprise and was happy his bird had spoken. And this joyful occasion was already the main thing.

The probability that the surprise would not work and the parrot would tell everything was high, but we would find it out only in the evening.

The women guessed about the secret chief, but the real men kept it to the end without revealing the secret.

And the parrot, like a real feathered man, also did not give away the secret.

At Christmas, a secret Santa usually works, and on March 8, a secret chef makes your beloved happy