Meet The Chef

Chef/Owner Richard Sost, CPC

My Personal Chef business was launched in the fall of 2001 after completing the Undergraduate Program at the United States Personal Chef Institute (now the Culinary Business Academy). Prior to entering the culinary arts field, I enjoyed a thirty-year career as a secondary school administrator in the Medford, NJ area.

Cooking for well over thirty-five years for family and friends, and dabbling in the restaurant and catering field part-time since the age of fifteen, the personal chef industry became a perfect opportunity as a new post-retirement career, allowing me to pursue my passion for cooking, teaching and involvement with the food industry.

In 1985 I earned a diploma in "Catering and Gourmet Cooking" from International Correspondence School, Scranton, PA.

 

Classes and Courses have been taken at the following locations:

1999 New Orleans Cooking School, New Orleans, LA
2001 Undergraduate Program (USPCA) - Personal Chef Training
2001-2002 Undergraduate Classes in: Serv/Safe Food Safety Management; Nutrition For Foodservice and Culinary Professionals; Athletic Nutrition, Burlington County College, NJ
2002 Le Cordon Bleu, Ottawa, Canada
2006 Cozumel Cocina con Alma "Mexican Cooking Classes, Cozumel, Mexico
2007 Kie-Balm Spanish School, Guatemala Cuisine, Quetzaltenango (Xela)Guatemala
2007 New Orleans Cooking Experience, New Orleans, LA

National Restaurant Association: Serv-Safe Certification, and Nutrition for Foodservice and Culinary Professionals Certification

United States Personal Chef Association:

• Premier Member and Certified Personal Chef, USPCA
• Member of the National Advisory Council, USPCA
• President of the South Jersey Chapter or the USPCA

Honored as the 2007 "Personal Chef of the Year" by the USPCA

I am on the staff at Valenzano's Winery, Shamong, NJ as a Chef/Consultant and a cooking instructor at Southern Regional Adult High School in Manahawkin, NJ.

I have a passion for cooking and I enjoy the opportunity to provide healthy, nutritious and quality meals for individuals and families that appreciate both home style and fine foods. I also enjoy cooking for senior citizens and individuals with special dietary needs.

I service both Ocean and Burlington Counties and other Coastal NJ communities.

Rick and Tony Valenzano At Memorial Day Wine Festival

Jill and Rick Sost

Rick and Chef Josefina after completing Mexican Cooking Class in Cozumel, Mexico	Rick and friends at New Orleans School of Cooking
Rick and Chef Chiqui Collier, New Orleans Cooking Experience, New Orleans, LA	Rick and Chef Frank Brigtsen of Brigtsen's Restaurant class at New Orleans Cooking Experience
Marinated Pork Tenderloin with a Red Pepper Glaze	New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp
New Orleans Style BBQ Shrimp	Crab Cakes
Apricot Glazed Duck Breast	Voo Doo Chicken Wings
Pan Seared Snapper	Filet Mignon with a Red Wine Mushroom Sauce