Meet Chef Plum, Emmy-Nominated Master of Food

Aaahhh, the dream of many a busy person … to have a personal chef. Someone to cater to your every culinary whim, and clean up afterward. But, what is it like to be a personal chef … in the Hamptons? Chef Plum knows, because he has been a personal chef for years.

“I’ve been a personal chef since 2006,” say Chef Plum, who follows the culinary tradition of going by one name. “I ran hotels and restaurants before becoming a personal chef. As a personal chef, I have my own schedule that works around the family.”

He spends most of the week with the same family, but does pick up gigs with other households when the family isn’t in the Hamptons. Married with three daughters ages 17 and 14, he met his wife in the restaurant business while working 80 to 90 hours a week. He chose the personal chef route to have more time with family.

“When I met my wife, Kelly, she was in college working part-time as a waitress and I was a long-haired chef,” Plum says with a laugh, adding that being a personal chef pays three to four times what he made in the restaurant business. “There really is no money in working in a restaurant. When you’re a private chef, you make more money and have a better schedule. I’ve had terrible clients and cool clients, but at least money is not an issue.

Plum, 47, whose clients are in The Hamptons, has a home in Montauk. He adds that being in The Hamptons with great produce and seafood makes his job easier.

“Just like in the restaurant, I do whatever it takes to get the job done,” Plum says of cultivating relationships with farmers, fishermen and other purveyors. “There is more creativity in being a private chef. I’m not locked into one cuisine or style of food. You’re kind of a master in many cuisines but an expert in none. I will also plan fun events for the family, like bocce ball or a fish fry. My clients are pretty open to trying something new, which is nice for me.”

Plum says that feeding his clients’ children is a lot like feeding his own.

“When it comes to food, never lie to them and don’t try to sneak things in,” Plum admonishes. “It is different when you have adult clients. Four of my regulars have children. I have to build trust with them. You start with something they like and build on that, just like with my youngest.

“If they have odd eating habits or parent in ways I wouldn’t, none of my business,” Plum says. “Some parents do want you to say something about their eating habits. I’ve been lucky so far. It is not about making perfect pastry or making thing look like something out of a magazine, unless that is what they want. It is about putting good food on the table at the time they want it. Taste matters first and then what it looks like. I tell people that cooking is a science. Plating is an art.”

Plum says he does have clients who scroll Instagram and then come back to him and want a particular dish. They sometimes want things that are out of season, and he’ll explain that to them. He says that one difficult part of the job was understanding that being personable is part of the job.

“I will say that you get what you pay for, as in any business,” Plum says of the average cost of a personal chef, which takeachef.com estimates as between $90 and $175 per person, or about $90,000 per year.

“Maybe you low ball it and get someone who leaves your kitchen a mess,” says Plum, who has six Emmy nominations and has appeared on The Food Network and PBS. “There are no shortcuts to quality of the chef or the ingredients. If you mess things up, you won’t be back in the private chef world. You also have to develop your relationships, where you’re getting your ingredients.

He says the job can be demanding. You’ll have last-minute tweaks thrown at you, large parties and schedule changes. You just have to learn to roll with it, he says.

“You have to have a conversation with your employer,” Plum says. “What kind of party is it? What is the vibe? Any allergies? Whatever it is, you make it work. And, I clean up afterward. I usually leave it cleaner than when I got there.”

He says being chef to a family is more the norm and currently works Thursday through Sunday with one family and takes individual gigs Monday through Wednesday. He often takes referrals from fellow chefs in the area.

He does have advice for those who love to cook and want to up their game.

“Vendors are one of the most important groups of people to get to know,” Plum says. “I have one fisherman from whom I get scallops. He gets them to me right after they come out of the ocean. Talk to the person behind the counter. Next thing you know, they’ll be telling you what is the best thing that day. So, whether it is a fisherman, farmer or cheese monger, treat them with respect. Treat them in a way that they’ll want you to come back.”

He starred on the pop-up restaurant series “Dinner Underground,” has won Food Network’s “Chopped” and “Guy’s Grocery Games” and appeared on ABC’s “Taste.” He also hosts and executive produces  “Edible Magazine’s” “On The Road” and “Restaurant Road Trip” on PBS. He is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America. Want to see more of Chef Plum? Check him out on Instagram at instagram.com/chef_plum/?hl=ennsta. You can hear Chef Plum every Saturday from 3-5 p.m. on his WICC Plumluvfoods on 95.9 FM and at 6 a.m. and wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.