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.  The farm-to-table concept was a way of life growing up on a central Wisconsin farm.

Cooking was Carol’s creative outlet while living in Wisconsin and working in the business field there for over 20 years.  She honed her culinary skills through self-instruction, classes for the home chef at Jill Prescott’s Ecole de Cuisine in Mequon and practical experience working for a local caterer 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.  Carol is the only personal chef in the Memphis area with ten years of experience providing allergy and diet-specific cuisine, including a wide range of specialized diets such as gluten-free, weight loss and low glycemic plans.

Her passion for travel--especially European and Mediterranean regions--is reflected in much of her cooking.  When traveling, Carol immerses herself with education in the local cuisine that includes week-long training in Italian Gastronomy at the Academia Barilla in Parma, Italy and classes at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris and the Culinary Institute of America’s Greystone campus in Napa Valley.

Carol is a member of the American Personal and Private Chef Association (APPCA) based in San Diego and was trained in the personal chef field by their education arm, the APPCA Institute.  She helped write the Personal Chef International Code of Ethics, served on the APPCA Executive Advisory Committee and was the 2010 APPCA CHEF OF THE YEAR.  She is licensed, insured and certified as a Food Protection Manager through ServSafe™ (the same certification required of restaurant managers).

Carol continues to follow in her mother’s footsteps with award-winning and published recipes.  She was the only APPCA chef to place in two categories in the 2005 APPCA recipe contest in New Orleans.  Five of Carol’s original recipes are in The Fresh Market and Friends 25th Anniversary Cookbook.  She recently accomplished a life-long goal with a self-published compilation of recipes from four generations of her family in a cookbook entitled A Recipe Portrait, The Ramczyk-Platta Collection of Recipes.  Her column “Dinner For Two,” can be seen on a biweekly basis in The Commercial Appeal’s Food Section; it includes a recipe and her photography.

“Without a doubt, what I love most about being a personal chef is when my clients tell me they can feel the love and care that went into what I prepared for them and what a positive difference I make in their lives,” Carol says.  Testimonials from clients are available at www.athoughtforfood.com with additional references available upon request.