Carol Borchardt is a long-time passionate cook whose background in the culinary arts began with instruction from her mother, a prize-winning cook who developed original recipes while feeding their large family.

Cooking was Carol’s creative outlet while living in Wisconsin and working in various areas of business there for over 20 years.  She honed her skills through self-instruction, classes for the home chef at Jill Prescott’s Ecole de Cuisine in Mequon and practical experience working for Shully Catering in Thiensville on weekends.

Carol moved to the Memphis area in 1995 and opened A Thought For Food Personal Chef Service in April of 2002.  Through this highly personalized service, Carol seeks to bring thought and care back to the home meals of our time-starved society and bring people back to the dinner table.  Her passion for travel--especially European and the heart-healthy Mediterranean region--is reflected in much of her cooking, including training in Italian Gastronomy at the Academia Barilla in Parma, Italy.  Her specialties include vegetarian and ethnic cuisine, and her menu also has fun, healthy items designed to appeal specifically to children.

Carol is a member of the American Personal and Private Chef Association (APPCA) and was trained in the personal chef business by the American Personal Chef Institute.  In 2006, she was nominated by her peers to be APPCA Chef of the Year.  Carol helped write the Personal Chef International Code of Ethics and served on the APPCA Executive Advisory Committee in 2007.  She is certified as a Food Protection Manager through ServSafe™ and the Shelby County Health Department (the same certification required of restaurant managers).  She is licensed and insured.

Carol has now followed in another of her mother’s footsteps with award-winning recipes.  She was the only APPCA chef to place in two categories in a 2005 APPCA recipe contest in New Orleans.  Her End-of-The-Week Vegetable Barley Soup won 1st Place in the Soup Category and her Orzo and Black Bean Salad with Spinach and Roasted Yellow Squash won Honorable Mention in the Vegetarian Category.  Her Smokin’ Chipotle Chili recently won an award in a local community chili cook-off.  Five of Carol’s original recipes are included in The Fresh Market and Friends 25th Anniversary Cookbook.

Carol also realized a life-long goal recently by completing a self-published cookbook, a compilation of recipes from four generations of her family in A Recipe Portrait, The Ramczyk-Platta Collection of Recipes.

Testimonials from clients are available at www.athoughtforfood.com with additional references available upon request.