The Wholesome Table- Your Personal Cook!

So who uses a personal cook, you ask? Many folks just plain hate to cook — the planning, shopping, storing, preparing, and cleaning up. I do all of that for my clients. For busy, active people, those who work or are new parents, my service can prevent some stress. It’s also a way to make sure older folks are eating right.  Hiring a personal cook is a wonderful way to eat better, save money on unnecessary grocery purchases or restaurant meals, and gain valuable time to do the things you enjoy………Read on!

As a woman of a certain age, I’ve reinvented myself or shifted gears almost too many times to count. I’ve experienced successful and fulfilling careers from teaching high school English, to owning a plant store, to becoming development director at a national HIV / AIDS organization, to writing two books with coauthors, to working as an international communications consultant on HIV and polio.  

When the 2009 economic crash impacted my business to the point of zero income, I looked for another outlet for my energy, creativity, and for a new source of income. I even tried to find a job. When a friend on Anna Maria Island asked me to cook her dinners several times a week and said that she would pay me, saying “yes” led to another shift in my life.

It wasn’t long before I realized that I liked what I was doing and my friend loved my cooking, but I was thinking all the while that cooking was a stopgap until I resumed my consulting work. After a few months of cooking and no communications contracts materializing, the light bulb went on: why not expand my cooking to other clients? So I gave what I was doing a name, got some business cards, and promoted my business as The Wholesome Table.  That was three years ago.

As the oldest of seven children, I started cooking when I was six years old to help my mother. I loved baking cakes for my siblings’ birthdays and learned how to make delicious soups with whatever was in the refrigerator. Now whenever I visit a sister, brother, or my children, I still cook for them. I enjoy cooking when it is for others’ enjoyment; throughout my life, I’ve associated cooking with giving to family and friends, and that makes it fun for me.

I take care of your menu planning, shop for groceries for your selected menu, prepare your customized meals, and clean up your kitchen.  You set the table and eat!  Or meals can be packaged and labeled with instructions for consumption whenever needed. For example, I deliver prepackaged meals that last two weeks for a client in Clearwater.

The Wholesome Table provides many options so that you can come home to delicious meals prepared in your kitchen, ready to eat. Recipes may be family favorites, comfort food, or whatever suits your taste and dietary needs. You choose the menu. My services help when you need extra time and don’t want to worry about meals. They free up time for you when you’re especially busy, such as holidays, new addition to the family, new diet restrictions, and when you have guests, or give a party.

So even if you don’t need my service, think about giving a gift certificate for a dinner or dinner party at home.  It’s a unique gift and one that is always appreciated. Consider giving a gift certificate as a holiday gift, a house or apartment warming, baby shower, anniversary, employee reward, or bridal or wedding gift.  A friend who’s a Realtor gives a gift to home purchasers on their move-in day.

One of my satisfied clients from Anna Maria says, “I hired Joyce to cook meals for me because the way I was eating was contributing to weight gain, low energy, and various health issues.  She cooked dinner for me four nights a week.  I was expecting the meals to be healthy, but I wasn’t expecting that they would taste so good.  Joyce is a skilled, inventive cook, and I love the way she uses spices.  I highly recommend Joyce if you want nutritious meals, but also if you just want a fabulous dinner party.  She’s great.  I wish she could cook for me forever.”  

MyWholesomeTable@aol.com
Joyce Kramer, Personal Chef
941-896-4002 or 703-599-8232
References upon request

Joyce Kramer began her fourth career incarnation as a self-employed consultant on global HIV/ AIDS and health broadcasting in Washington, DC. She traveled to East Africa to research and write case studies on anti-vaccination rumors in three countries, as well as many other adventures.  In a bit of bad timing she got her real estate license in Maryland in 2009 which could have been her sixth or seventh career, but by that point she lost count. Then she made a brilliant decision to move to Anna Maria Island in Florida where she hopes to live and cook happily ever after. Joyce is the co-author of two books with Renee Fisher and Jean Peelen, Invisible No More: The Secret Lives of Women Over 50 and Saving the Best for Last: Creating Our Lives After 50.