Hi chefs of Rouxbe,

A colleague and her husband, who are tired of commercial frozen dinners have offered to hire me as a personal chef responsible for 3-4 dinners a night for 2 people. I would be responsible for purchasing the ingredients, cooking the food, delivering the food (if not cooked at my colleague's house) and leaving detailed heating instructions for them. I am quite confident about being able to cook presentable dinners. However, I am not confident about storing, freezing and re-heating the meals I cook as I do not have much experience doing it (I cook every night).

Would anyone be able to point me toward resources - books, websites, DVDs or anything else - that would teach me how to go about freezing and re-heating meals that involve sauces, meats, fish/shellfish etc. Being able to take this project on would help me supplement my paltry graduate student stipend by a significant amount and I do not want to let this pass. Please help me.

this is a fairly big topic Swati, as some things freeze and reheat better than others.

I did a quick search and found a few books that you might find helpful (I have not read them myself but they all deal with frozen food).

http://www.amazon.com/Fabulous-Freezer-Meals-Ahlstrom-Stanger/dp/1935217380/ref=pd_sim_b_14

http://www.amazon.com/Frozen-Assets-Cook-Day-Month/dp/1891400614/ref=pd_sim_b_11

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Panic-Dinners-Freezer-Great-Tasting/dp/0800730550/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1277077295&sr=1-2-fkmr2

http://www.amazon.com/Fix-Freeze-Feast-Prepare-Serving/dp/1580176828/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1277077295&sr=1-1-fkmr2

http://www.amazon.com/Freezer-Cooking-Manual-Day-Gourmet/dp/0966446755/ref=pd_sim_b_7

I also found these links for a few books that might give you more guidance in how to become or start a personal chef business.

http://www.amazon.com/Start-Home-Based-Personal-Chef-Business/dp/0762741546/ref=pd_sim_b_27

http://www.amazon.com/Its-Just-Personal-Essential-Shopping/dp/1600375391/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277077927&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Professional-Personal-Chef-Business-Doing/dp/0471752193/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277077927&sr=1-3

http://www.amazon.com/Operate-Financially-Successful-Personal-Business/dp/1601381417/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1277077927&sr=1-2

I will let you know if I find anymore interesting or helpful resources. Good luck!

Hi Dawn,

Thanks for the help. I looked into those books and ordered the book "Don't Panic, Dinner's in the Freezer". Thanks to Rouxbe, my mother (for a world of advice, tips and recipes) and just having lived in several different countries, I might just be able to make a little money using my cooking skills. I am so thrilled. Thank you Dawn.. and thank you Rouxbe!