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Local Chef adjusts to a Temporary New Normal

It was absolutely part of Brandy Williamson’s plan. Spend more time at home with her toddler, ease the stress load and cut back on the long hours. In any other situation, two out of three wouldn’t be bad. She’s got her hours back. She’s spending all of her time with her 1 year old, but the stress level? Yeah, not so much.

“I’m making the most of my time at home with our daughter.” Williamson says, and there is certainly every reason to enjoy time at home with your child. The rub comes in that Brandy is now at home because her opportunities as a private chef have all but dried up in the face of the Covid-19 related shut downs in the area.

Things had been going well since she quit the day job, too.

That day job was Executive Chef with Daniel Reed Hospitality. Owners of Local 11ten, Public Kitchen and Bar (Savannah and Atlanta) and SOHO South Cafe. Her job? Oversee all chefs and menus in the group. More than a full time job. Especially when one of your locations is a 4 hour drive away.

“I’d been thinking about it for a solid year or so before I actually made the move.” She says. “I gave it a lot of thought. Is this the time to open my own restaurant? I have my business management degree, should I go work in an office?”

She knew she wanted to be in the kitchen, no question.

Brandy, an NC State grad, came to Savannah once upon a time and landed a job at the now closed Sapphire Grill. “I was there for about 5 years until I moved over to Daniel Reed, which at the time was only Local11ten.” she says.

In December she made the leap. “I thought I’d stay at home a little bit then do the private chef thing. Then this CoronaVirus thing hit.”

Things had been going well. Brandy tells me she’d been hired to prepare meals for families, she’d been hired by some bachelorette parties to do some meals, she’d even been asked to do a cooking demo. A few months in to the new gig, there were no complaints about the growth. That is, until there was none.

“There’s been a lot of figuring out how to adapt to that.” she says “What’s best for me, the family. That’s where we are now.”

The reality of where she is now hasn’t changed all that much. She’s still eager to work. She’s still available for hire to prepare meals for anyone who is interested. “As long as the grocery stores stay open, I can cook for you.”

And there may just be opportunity during these difficult times. It can work the same way for a chef as it does for a restaurant. If you are interested in hiring a chef for an event later this year, now might be a good time to discuss those services. If, of course, you are willing to either pay in advance or offer a deposit of some kind. Brandy is open to any of it.

A lot of people are concerned about putting on pounds during this isolation, but it could be a chance to get your diet in order. And Brandy is prepared for that as well.

“Absolutely. I’ve been catering to people’s specific diets for years. If you’re on the Paleo kick or Keto kick or Vegan or vegetarian, I can pretty much do everything.”

“I saw a meme the other day that said we are going to come out of this thing either 200 pounds heavier or an alcoholic.” she says.

At the rate we are going, it might just be both.

You can find Chef Brandy Williamson on social media (Facebook and Instagram) or via email at chefwilliamson@gmail.com to inquire about any of the services she is able to provide.

Meanwhile, to hear our entire conversation with Chef Brandy, click here for our podcast. Shuck It!

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