Personal chef carves out creative culinary niche

Torrence O'Haire does not think he would have been able to make a go of being a personal chef in West Michigan five years ago. But now?

"Without a doubt, the food scene is changing," explains O'Haire. "The exciting thing is that the awareness of good food is developing."

O'Haire, The Starving Artist, points to the recent popularity of underground dinner experiences and new restaurants sourcing many of their ingredients locally through small farms such as Crane Dance, Dancing Goat and Mud Lake as evidence of the emerging food scenes.

As a personal chef, O'Haire's career trajectory and day-to-day work is much more varied than a traditional chef or caterer. As an example, he cites a customer who recently hired him to provide cooking lesson for her husband and then had him co-cook dinner with him for the couple's anniversary.

"Cooking for social groups is another one of my services," he says. "Six couples that get together [call me] instead of going out to restaurants."

The Starving Artist is not only the name of O'Haire's business, but also personal philosophy. "The term is recognizable and food is my art. Starving refers to a constant search. Where can I go with my art?"

Besides his personal chef business, O'Haire is the driving force behind the underground supper club, Full Moon Supper Club, and an active food blogger.

To learn more about The Starving Artist, you can visit his website here or his Facebook page here.

Source: Torrence R. O'Haire, The Starving Artist
Writer: John Rumery, Innovations and Jobs News Editor