BellaOnline Forums Food and Wine Personal Chef Pasta/rice question from new PC and new poster.

Hi everyone,

I'm just starting out with my new PC business, and have a question for all you experts out there. When cooking a dish with pasta/risotto/rice, what do you like best? Do you leave the client to boil the water for the pasta, so it doesn't get soggy/sticky? Do you undercook the rice/risotto so they just have to add water/broth when heating, to finish the cooking? Many of my favorite dishes have rice in them, and I want to be sure my clients are getting the best I can possibly give them.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

ESG, Just want to welcome you to the forum, and hope that you enjoy your stay. I'm sure someone will come along to help you with your question!
Rosie

With Rice it is fairly simple to reheat. They can just throw it in a pan with just a touch more liquid and "stirfry" it until it comes up to temperature. It doesn't take very long for rice to reheat.

Risotto is also easy. Since you want that gooey cheesy consistency anyway, have them out it in a frying pan and add 1/4 chicken broth to it, stirring until it come up to temperature.

Pasta - that's the tricky one. Parboiling it is one way to do it (that's pretty much the way they do it in those Bertolli frozen dinners). But the family has to really keep ane eye on it. Perhaps it would be best for you to experiment with it at hime yourslef to decide which way is best, before you send it out to your clients.

Also, there is a website:
American Personal & Private Chef Association

I did an interview with the woman who runs it a looooong time ago. I think you have to join it to get all the perks, but they have tips on how to prepare things. Most of their stuff is business oriented though. There are many persaonl chef sites on line that might have good advice for yout, too.

Good Luck!

Hi ESG,

Welcome to the forum.

Depending on if your clients like their pasta al dente [with a slight chew] or cooked to softness will determine how you deliver your pasta.

What I've found when cheffing for clients is that I concentrate on the seasonings and doneness of the dishes and then vacuum seal the items so all they have to do is drop the bag in boiling water to reheat.

Do you want to leave your pasta fairly bland to play off of the other components or do you want it to have a lot of flavor to it?

Hopes this helps.

P.S. I cook and season my rice completely as well as the risotto & pasta so all they have to do is reheat. Include some fresh herbs in the end product. This way when they have to reheat the herbs will give up their moisture and flavor to help reconstitute your client's food.