Where I’m Eating: The Kitchen at Blue Creek Lounge

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFoodLLC

Some (one) would say I have all these grooming services:  the masseuse, the wax specialist, the nail technician, the housekeeper and the personal trainer.  True story indeed, I do have an extensive list of people who help keep things tight around these parts but it had never dawned on me I was missing one person in the mix:  the personal chef.  A recent visit to Chef Gregory Booth’s home for an evening of personal chef services is what prompted these thoughts.  Now do not misunderstand, I know how to cook and love doing it when time allows for my kitchen, but my schedule is bananas.  Like most city slickers, the time spent in my house is generally for showering and sleeping.  The rest of my life consists of researching the next new food trend, restaurant or etiquette tip.  Cooking simply is not feasible most days.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFoodLLC

Chef Booth’s calm, welcoming presence into a space filled with my favorite things was my version of Disney World for an adult.  Aromas of tomatoes, garlic and crisp fruity wines circled the room throughout the evening as I watched him prepare every course with the ease and skill of an artist like Alicia Keys on the piano.  I did not have to do a thing but sit and enjoy the end of a day that had become progressively more exigent as the evening grew closer.  Imagine that?  I could come home, not have the daunting task of visiting the grocery store, have my food prepared, have food I actually like and not have to do the dishes.  This is something I like.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFoodLLC

Chef Booth’s background as a chef is home-grown with many of his skills attributed to time spent watching and practicing.  Homemade pasta is his favorite in the kitchen, which he prepared on this evening with his Kitchen Aid propped on the counter as he told me more about his new venture.  The Kitchen at Blue Creek Lounge, the name of Chef Booth’s home oasis and newest venture, will offer full service catering and personal chef services.  Based on his penchant for fresh, local ingredients and whimsical dishes, true Epicureans will not get bored with the creations at Blue Creek Lounge.

©JohnnaKnowsGoodFoodLLC

Hiring a personal chef used to seem so out of reach or unnecessary until I started thinking about all the time I either spend at restaurants or the grocery store and then over the stove after a long day.  Having a personal chef come into my home from time to time for girls night, date night with Him or even just for a week where I know I’m going to be running around like a chicken with my head cut off, is not a bad idea.  Long gone are the days where personal chefs had to be salaried to come to your home, a la carte services are the new way of having a night of this type of pampering.

The night ended with me longingly waving goodbye to Blue Creek Lounge.  Despite my wanting to spend the next year the night there, I somehow knew this would not be the last of my personal chef days.  This looks like the newest addition to Johnna’s pampering list…a girls gotta eat, yes?

*Website here.

Tags: catering services, Chef Gregory Booth, personal chef, The Kitchen at Blue Creek Lounge, Washington DC area

Category: Various Cooking Styles, Washington D.C.