Sachem Resident Teaches Gourmet Cooking

It's a birthday celebration that screams intimate and a noisy restaurant just won't cut it. Or an extra special anniversary in need of a new spark. Gourmet cooking can happen in your very own home. Tonight. Just ask Chef Giovanni.

At $50 an hour, plus sales tax, Giovanni gives cooking lessons to individuals or small groups up to six people.  The process of cooking in a residential home includes developing a menu to the customer's liking and determining how much food will be needed for the amount of people he will be cooking for. To avoid confusion, Giovanni works out the content of the lessons with the customer ahead of time over the phone or through the Internet.

"Since I charge by the hour, I work as efficiently as possible, and avoid wasting time.  I can often prepare a meal for two or three within one hour, " said Giovnni.

After arriving at the customer's home, the first thing Giovanni does is to let the customer show him where the food and cooking items are. The conditions of his permit limit him to using food that was purchased by the customer and preparing it with their personal equipment. Depending on how elaborate the meal is, Giovanni may bring out the dishes as separate courses: soup, salad, pasta, main meal and sides. 

"Sometimes, someone will help with cleaning, while I am in the middle of cooking, or even after, " said Giovanni. "Once, I prepared a meal for a large party (25 attendees) and after I finished cooking, the host insisted I join them."

Giovanni got his start cooking for family, working out of a cookbook by Marcella Hazan. His introduction to professional cooking came when he volunteered to help prepare the monthly men's dinner at the church he was then attending.  With the head chef having moved out of state, it became Giovanni's responsibility to prepare the menu, figure out the quantities of all items, buy it and prepare the meal in time.

"My meals were healthier and had a more Italian style than did his," said Giovanni. "That was also when people began asking for lessons and recipes for their wives and when I decided to go into business as a personal chef."

Giovanni gives discounts to new customers, LIVA members, police, fire, active military, students, teachers and discounts to classes of two or more. He specializes in healthy Italian cooking that is generally simple to prepare, lightly seasoned and lets the flavors of the ingredients come out. He has also had Suffolk County certification as a Food Manager since 2007 and has been in business since 2009, with an advanced degree in Medical Microbiology from C.W. Post and is insured.

In his quest to perfect his cooking, Giovanni has expanded his talents to create a line of all natural, crushed-pepper hot sauces.  These all-natural hot sauces have no glutens, extracts, preservatives or artificial colors. Ranging from mildest to hottest, Giovanni offers: Garlic Habanero, Jalapeno, Chipotle, Original Habanero, Habanero XXX, and Red Savina.  The hot sauces are available on his website for $8 plus tax, with free delivery in the Holbrook area.  Sachem Patch readers can get theirs for $7 plus tax.

"I have one customer who only wanted to try the mildest-flavored sauce, the Garlic Habanero," said Giovanni. " He liked it so much he tried the Jalapeno next, now he's ordering bottles of Jalapeno four at a time."

For more information on hiring Chef Giovanni or acquiring a bottle of his hot sauce, visit his Website.