Exhausted? Done with meal prep? Want something simple, fast, & reasonably affordable? This pasta is for you. It’s butter and beer-smothered ravioli topped with crispy pancetta. I ran out of wine and parmesan one night and resorted to what I hand on hand: beer and butter. And it worked! What’s not to like? …

Read more

Picking out the “best” watermelon is overwhelming, and it’s a common household experience to have your avocados go bad as soon as you get them home; your berries mold once you turn your back to them; your bananas are too ripe; and your peaches turn mealy. But what if I told you there’s a way to eliminate most of the disappointment that comes from picking the wrong piece of fruit?

The “Do’s” —

1. Melons: Knock or tap on the melon. Pick out the watermelon, cantaloupe or honeydew that sounds the most hollow. Bring it home. If it’s a watermelon, place it directly in the fridge. If it’s a cantaloupe or honeydew, let it sit on the counter for 2 to 5 days or until you can smell it from the bottom.

2. Avocados: Pluck the stem end out of the tip of the avocado and be sure the flesh underneath is bright green, neither brown nor speckled. Trust, it’ll will give you a perfectly good avocado with no brown spots inside. The avocado should be firm to the touch (but not hard) and will become ripe on the counter after 2 or 3 days (and then store in the fridge uncut for up to a week).

3. Citrus, dragon fruit, & pomegranates: Pick out the heaviest one you can find. The heavier the fruit, the more ripe, fresh, and fully hydrated the fruit is. A light lemon will be hard to squeeze. A light pomegranate will have shriveled on the inside with dry, opaque seeds. A heavy pomegranate will have ruby red seeds on the inside that burst with flavor and juice. This principle can be applied to all produce, including onions and potatoes — the heavier, the better.

4. Bananas: Buy bananas that are still slightly green, unless you are hoping to make banana bread. If you buy already ripe bananas, they will be past their prime within no time (less than a day at times). But if this does happen to you often, peel and freeze any overly ripened bananas for smoothies and bread.

   ---

The “Do Not’s” —

1. Berries: If berries look questionable at the store, don’t buy them. They’ll go bad as soon as they’re home. Do not wash them more than a day in advance or else they will mold quickly.

2. Tomatoes: If tomatoes are not coming off of the vine easily at the grocery store, they are not ripe and will need several days to grow ripe on your counter top. Most tomatoes are picked green so they can be transported without going bad. It’s very hard to find locally grown tomatoes, but when you do find them, you can tell the difference immediately. They will fall off of the stem with a gentle tug.

3. Pineapple: Don’t buy a pineapple if you’re hoping to enjoy it immediately unless you can smell its sweet aroma when you sniff the stem end.

4. Stone fruit: You will want to let stone fruit ripen on your counter for a couple of days. If your stone fruit is already ripe when you buy it, it’s more likely than not going to be mealy and only great for a pie or cobbler. Same goes for pears.

Was this helpful? Share how below!

With joy,

Amanda H.

xoxo & bon appétit

POSTSCRIPT

Hi there! If you’re new here, my name is Amanda, and I’ve been a private chef for the past seven years. I share stories from the cheffing industry as well as whole-foods based recipes, travel logs, and insider scoops on how to run your kitchen more effectively and efficiently. Come follow along. 💫

I've made many peach salads this summer, but this chopped "Mediterranean"-like salad is for sure my favorite. My husband's friend came over to enjoy dinner with us and as he dug into his plate, he mumbled, "yup, yup, that's good."1

Read more

Summer resonates with our inner child; that feeling of being as free as we please, doing whatever we’d like to do, and the potential of even perhaps finding a moment of boredom.

I sit in the sun as I write this knowing myself that boredom is so rare as an adult. Between the endless lists of to-dos, our social obligations and the obnoxious amounts of noise from the “outside” world, we seem to never even come close to finding ourselves near that blessed state of feeling bored.

That’s why summer is so special. The days are long and the sun sets slowly. I do not feel rushed when it’s six o’clock and there are still three hours of sunlight. Because of this beautiful sunlight, my back porch has become the most frequented space by my husband. We throw together a spread of charcuterie, open a bottle of wine, grab anything we have lying around that will supplement our cheese and crackers, head outside, pop our feet up on the ottoman, and enjoy the persistent and yet slowly fading light. It’s a lazy, but peaceful dinner. And it reminds me of the slowness of childhood.

COMPONENTS TO A FINE CHARCUTERIE —

1. Grab cheese! Whatever you have on hand. Ideally a hard cheese and a soft cheese (for example, a Manchego and a port salute), but really anything works. I like to stock a variety in my fridge at all times: goat’s cheese, smoked gouda, dill havarti, brie, etc…

2. Crackers or bread are a must. The “vessel” can be as simple as a baguette, leftover toast, flat bread, pita, pretzels, taralli, really whatever.

3. Now supplement with fruit, veggies, dips, whatever you have around. Again it can anything on hand including hummus, carrots, cucumber, sliced apples, berries, kiwis, truly whatever.

4. For a more satisfying platter, add something salty (Olives, pickles, nuts) and something sweet (dried fruit, leftover chocolate morsels, honey, jam). These two contrasting elements will elevate any charcuterie.

5. And if you want to be “fancy”, fill in the visual gaps with any available herbs. The bright green will make everything on your platter pop in a wonderful, radiant contrast.

GOT QUESTIONS, ASK BELOW…

With joy,

Amanda H.

xoxo & bon appétit

POSTSCRIPT

Hi there! My name is Amanda, and I’ve been a private chef for the past seven years. I share stories from the cheffing industry as well as whole-foods based recipes, travel logs, and insider scoops on how to run your kitchen more effectively and efficiently. Come follow along. 💫

It’s been too long since I wrote and I can’t help but become quite frustrated with the lack of room in my schedule for such endeavors as sharing new recipes, thoughts, and stories here on Substack.

To be quite frank the year started really calm and peaceful — a whole two months in the San Juan mountains with nowhere to go, and just time.

Time to organize my new home, time to cook, time to go on luxurious long walks, time to work out, time to meet new friends, and time to be attentive to all the glorious awes and wonders of life.

And then I started traveling again. I travelled for friends’ weddings, nanny gigs, cheffing, and for my own leisure. And with all this travel, my life is speeding up. Less time to be present, less time to enjoy every day for itself; more time worrying about what I need to accomplish before I go to bed so that I am ready for whatever my calendar tells me is next on my schedule.

Most of my career has consisted of travel, only ever spending ten or less months in any one place for most of it. It’s been an incredible joy and gift of private cheffing. Life on the road was great. I got to see so much of the world and it was very easy to abide by Jesus’s words: “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”. My life consisted of the road: two suitcases, a passport and someone else’s itinerary. It was easy to follow along.

But then I met someone very special to me, my husband. We met, dated and got married within seven months and suddenly I had a sense of home. To further solidify the deal, we bought an actual house in Southwest Colorado and now I have a real home, a place to come back to when not on the road.

With all of my travels this spring, and all of this speed, I have only longed for is being in the mountains again, being home. Maybe this is what they call growing up? But I look forward to the quiet, the lengthy days of summer where the sun is quick to rise and slow to set, where peace is easily found and home is permanent.

We all know the world is busy. It’s hectic, loud and demanding (even in its beauty), but it is our responsibility, especially as women, to know where our limits lie, to know what we have capacity for, and to know when we have capacity for it. And I think a part of becoming a bigger and better woman for me right now will include a few more moments of extending my vocabulary to “thank you, but no thank you”.

I’m choosing to be home.

With joy,

Amanda H.

xoxo & bon appétit

Post Script

Hi there! If you’re new here, my name is Amanda, and I’ve been a private chef for the past seven years. I love to share stories from the cheffing industry, whole-foods based recipes, travel logs, and insider scoops on how I run my kitchen effectively and efficiently. Come follow along. 💫

Subscribe now

Initially I was intimidated. I questioned myself, “How hungry are they going to be? Will they enjoy a salad as an appetizer? What if I didn’t buy enough meat?”.

And yet, this was no…

Read more

If you enjoy Confessions of a Private Chef, it would mean the world to me if you invited a friend to subscribe and read with us.

How to participate

1. Share Confessions of a Private Chef. When you use the referral link below…

Read more

Read more

I am hesitant to share this recipe with you because I have a dream of one day writing my own cookbook! And this is certainly going to be in that cookbook.

But! I can’t properly withhold this from you anyways because the original recipe isn’t mine - it was a handout from the Culinary Institute of America, which was given to me when I toured the campus way back in 2015.More on that later!

Till then, please go ahead and make this for yourself the next time you have an excuse to celebrate something beautiful in your life.

Perhaps one day I will indeed have my own cookbook, but it’ll only be due to your wonderful support. To those who have followed alongside me thus far, thank you!! I’ve perfected this recipe for you; it is forever yours.

Read more

It’s a great question! And I used to ask myself the same thing, but I only ever found out the answer because I was writing a recipe on homemade bone broth and the fact that I did NOT know the purpo…

Read more

A one-pot dinner for you, your family and/or guests…

It’s creamy, tastes bomb and can be made ahead of time. Place it in a casserole dish, store it in the fridge, and reheat it in the oven at 325ºF for 35 minutes.

If dairy isn’t your best friend, altogether substitute the cream for coconut (or organic soy) milk and the parmesan cheese for one tablespoon of nutritional yeast.

Read more

Read more

Do you believe in comfort food? I do!

This soothing curry is designed to be poured over steamed rice and it’s the perfect meal for a cold winter night.

It’s full of whole foods that are not only high in antioxidants, but also promote healthy digestion, such as garlic and ginger.

You can easily add cooked chicken if you’d like extra protein, but know that if you serve it over rice the combination of the chickpeas and the rice will provide all nine essential amino acids, creating a vegan

Read more

Read more

Wishing you, your family and all of your loved ones a very merry Christmas! 2025 has passed so swiftly and yet I am in awe of all that I have to be thankful for — many meals cooked, dinner parties shared with friends, travels to both the East coast and West coast, and a move to the San Juan Mountains.

Amidst all of the many blessings of this year, I am …

Read more

Bolognese-Stuffed Delicata Squash (serves 4)

It’s winter! Clearly! We’re so close to Christmas I could scream in excitement. But if you’re like me and already in need of some healthier food to break up the Christmas party binge sessions and late night movie popcorn and eggnog, this recipe is yours for the keeper. It’s a whole-foods version of a casserole or pasta dish and a seasonal substitute for my own stuffed zucchini boats and aubergine.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 delicata squash, cut lengthwise and deseeded

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided

• 1/4 cup onion, minced

• 1 tsp. salt, divided

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1/2 lb. ground beef

• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste

Read more

Greetings and happy advent season to all of you! To any returning readers, thank you for supporting my Substack; and to anyone who is new, a very big welcome.

We’ve moved! My husband and I spent the past weekend loading a 15’ U-haul truck in Houston, Texas and driving it all the way to the small and beautiful town of Pagosa Springs. Pagosa is nestled in South-West Colorado and surrounded by the San Juan mountains.

If anyone knows me personally, they know I am very well affiliated with moving. I’ve lived a bit of a nomadic decade and the longest I’ve stayed anywhere up until this past year was 10 months. My job as a private chef took me all over the states and Europe which naturally meant I ended up signing a lot of leases in a lot of cities.

So basically moves are not daunting for me in the slightest. Change excites me and so do new opportunities! I definitely (to a fault) pride myself in being adaptable to becoming acclimated to a new city, apartment or place in a very short amount of time. (Every single day I arrived to a new place, I forced myself to unpack my suitcase(s) immediately and go walk around the town that night.)

But this particular move was even easier than the others! My husband and I fell in love with Pagosa Springs back in February when we rented a cabin for the whole month. We invited our friends and family to come join us and we jokingly looked at homes as if we were going to “move” here. Our joke turned into reality.

We’ve decided together to lay some roots. My husband, Brock, is an avid and talented snow boarder and I have had a deep desire to live somewhere again with proper seasons. I grew up on the East coast and ever since moving to California back in 2015, I have always longed for the natural rhythm of life that comes alongside seasons. And oh do we have seasons here!

And beyond all, I am thankful for a new life season with the one I love, Brock. And I am so eager to see where this move takes us! I have no idea what will be next for me and my career, but I am beyond confident that God will continue to provide as He always has. Cheers to new seasons!

xoxo & bon appétit

Amanda Hedgecoke

Pumpkin-Spiced Cheesecake

Read more

A little bit about me —

I’m a chef who has worked in private homes for almost five years. I love just about anything to do with the pastry arts and am particularly obsessed with baking cheesecake (more on that another time). As you may (or may not) have noticed, I’ve been missing in action for the past four weeks and here’s why…

I’ve been diagnosed with early onset varicose veins! While this is a hereditary disease, my doctor noted, “your vocation certainly hasn’t helped!”. The long hours standing on hard floors has caught up to me.

I first noticed symptoms in my legs about two years ago; I was traveling between Detroit, the Hamptons and Palm Beach for a client the entire fall of 2023 and every night I’d crawl into bed after a long day of work or a jettison across cities and my legs would start to ache. It almost felt like they were throbbing on the inside and there was something causing pressure around the circumference of each leg.

I kind of brushed off the pain, pretending it was just a temporary thing. A year later I shared my pain with my general practitioner and he referred me to a cardiologist. The cardiologist very simply ordered an ultrasound and diagnosed me with very deep varicose veins (not the superficial spider type that you can see on the back of your grandmother’s legs).

My doctor explained, “what’s going on here is that your veins are not contracting hard enough and the blood is beginning to pool in your legs, causing you discomfort. What we can do is simply shut down the bad veins and redirect the blood flow.”

Once again, I brushed off the pain! It sounded too unnatural to do anything of the sort. And instead of helping them internally, I bought a lot of compression socks and started wearing them to work so that I could “start taking care of my legs more seriously.”

But a whole another year later, I couldn’t ignore the pain any longer! I got home from a long two-week work trip and my legs THROBBED. Reluctantly, I called my cardiologist to finally book a procedure.

The procedure definitely went as well as it could and for that I’m thankful! It’s almost been two weeks since the last one and my legs certainty still feel very funny. But hey! Hoping to less pain in the near future. And thankful to all those ladies out there that encouraged me to get this out of the way. I applaud you!

And to any of you who are needing to do something to take care of yourself and are too scared to do so or don’t think you have the time or the resources, I encourage you to do the thing and get it behind you! You, your health, and your life are more than worth it!

xoxo & bon appétit

Pumpkin Bread (makes 2 whole loaves)

Read more