Borchardt Honored As Appca Chef Of The Year

Candy Wallace, founder and executive director of the American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA), is pleased to announce Carol Borchardt, chef and proprietor of A Thought for Food serving the greater Memphis, Tenn., area as the association's 2010 Chef of the Year.

Wallace presented the award to Borchardt during the APPCA's 2010 annual conference hosted by Kendall College's School of Culinary Arts in Chicago, Feb. 20-21.

"We are delighted to recognize a chef with as much experience, professionalism, skill and charisma as Carol for this year's Chef of the Year Award," Wallace says. "She is the epitome of today's culinary entrepreneur and a shining example of everything a personal chef can achieve, even in the midst of economic downturn. She's an inspiration to all who aspire to become successful chefs and business owners."

Active in the APPCA for many years, Borchardt helped write the Personal Chef International Code of Ethics and has served on the organization's Executive Advisory Committee.

Cooking was Borchardt's creative outlet while living and working in various businesses in Wisconsin for more than 20 years. Her background in the culinary arts began with instruction from her mother, a prize-winning cook who had a large family to feed. Borchardt honed her skills through a combination of cooking classes, practical experience with a local caterer and self-instruction. Her passion for travel abroad, which afforded her training in Italian gastronomy in Parma, is reflected in much of her cooking.

Borchardt moved to the Memphis area in 1995, and after receiving business training through the APPCA's education arm, the American Personal Chef Institute, she opened A Thought for Food in 2002. Most of her business involves cooking in clients' homes in Germantown, Collierville and East Memphis.

Through highly personalized service, Borchardt seeks to bring time-starved people back to the dinner table with thought and care toward home-cooked meals. She shops according to the tastes of each client, cooks and prepares meals in the client's kitchen, then stores dishes with instructions on reheating at meal times. Her specialties include vegetarian and ethnic cuisines; options for those with diabetes, gluten intolerance or sodium restrictions; and fun, healthy dishes that appeal to children.

"Without a doubt, what I love most about being a personal chef is having a client tell me what a positive difference I have made in his or her life," Borchardt says. "Second on the list is being in control of my own time."

Among her achievements, Borchardt has published a compilation of recipes from four generations of her family in A Recipe Portrait, The Ramczyk-Platta Collection of Recipes. Her Smokin' Chipotle Chili won an award in a recent local chili cook-off, and five of her original recipes are included in The Fresh Market and Friends 25th Anniversary Cookbook published by The Fresh Market, a regional grocery chain.

"I really enjoy doing soups and low, slow braising," Borchardt says. "Soup is therapeutic, and it's definitely something my busy clientele won't make for themselves." For inspiration for new dishes, Borchardt consults her 700-strong cookbook collection, and "I also use the Internet and food magazines a lot. I put my own touches to a recipe, and by the time it's finished, it's entirely new. I have a lot of fun creating simply by opening the pantry or refrigerator/freezer and using what's available."

Despite the hurting economy, Borchardt's business thrived last year, and she expects it to grow this year. "Anyone who has difficulty getting quality meals on the table should hire a person