My name is Jennifer and I have been married to a chef for 25 years.

I blog about my life as a chef wife and how we combine restaurant and family life each day.

If you are new to my site, start here.

Recent Posts:

Surviving on the One Income of a Chef

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A family of 5 living on one income, the income of a chef . . . I would guess you’re either thinking, “How in the world do you do that? You must be crazy!” Or ,“We’re doing that too and I know you’re crazy!” (Or I guess you could be thinking, “Wow! Her chef/husband must be a Food Network star.” He’s not.)

I say that jokingly, but really, I do feel like we are a bit crazy.

In the series, A Chef, a Wife and a Child, one of the questions I asked was, “What has been the hardest part for you and your chef/husband with the addition of a little one to your family?”

The #1 thing for us, without a doubt, was adjusting to living on one income. This is by far too big of an issue to get buried in another post. So here we are! read more…

Meet Jennifer – A Chef, a Wife and a Child

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Tonight, we’ve come to the end of the series, A Chef, a Wife and a Child. Thank you for all the emails and comments as you’ve shared with me and my readers your joys and struggles about raising a family with a chef.

Tonight, it’s my turn to answer the 5 questions. . .

Tell me a little about yourself and your spouse.

My name is Jennifer and I’ve been married to my chef/husband for 19 years. My husband started working in a professional kitchen about 6 months after we got married. He is now an Executive Chef/Culinary Directory for a restaurant group in Seattle and I stay home full time with our girls. I do a little website development and blogging from home as I have the time.

How many children do you have?

Meet Rups – A Chef, a Wife and a Child

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I was originally thinking this week I would be sharing my answers to these questions and ending this series, but I had a last minute volunteer so how can I say no to that???

I’d like to introduce you to Rups. She’s from India, but currently lives in the United Kingdom. (I love that technology can connect us from all over the world) and she’s sharing her answers to my 5 questions. 🙂 Yeah!

Tell me a little about yourself and your spouse. (Please include how long you have been married and what your job is (in addition to being a wife and mom.))

My husband and I have been married for 8.5 years. We met online – we are both from India where arranged marriages are common, and since neither of us were too keen on the prospective spouses our parents had lined up, we both went online where we found each other. He was working in France at the time (having just finished his Master’s degree in Hospitality as a mature student). I was working in my home town of Delhi. After a year of online and phone courtship (and a fleeting week together in Delhi), we got married. During that year he moved to the UK – partly because work opportunities for me in France were nil and partly because it is very difficult to succeed as a chef in France if you are not French. I moved to the UK to be with him and we have been here ever since. I work full time in an IT company as a technical writer and he has held the position of Executive Chef in a series of hotels. (He’s a serial job hopper!). read more…

Back to School for the Chef’s Kids

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It’s that time of year again . . . time for the kids to head back to school. I’m full of mixed emotions this year as the kids started back. My first emotion is WOOHOO! I love routine and our family seems to operate better when we have things to do. The house will also be less messy, so less housework and with all 3 kids in school this year, I’ll have a few hours a couple times a week to myself.

While the kids are away the moms will play!

Then I start to think about how that routine means less time as a family and especially with my chef/husband. And there goes my excitement! (Although taking the picture above to “celebrate” the start of school will always bring a smile to my face.)

This past week my chef/husband was able to move his schedule around so he could take the girls to the bus stop and to school on the first day. He also happened to be off on Thursday and was able to go with us to Kindergarten orientation in the middle of the day which was nice.

Ready for work, but at the bus stop!!

The reality of combining a traditional school schedule and the job of a chef is not a pretty picture. They don’t go very well together. They don’t emulsify very well. (Sorry . . . I couldn’t resist.) We try really hard to make it work, but sometimes there are tears and there are many conversations about the hours daddy works to provide for us. 2 of our girls are now in school full day and our youngest goes for half the day. Unless my chef/husband has a weekend day off, they don’t get to see him much. I’m not ready for that part of the routine. There’s still hope something might be different with his new position, but I’ve learned to not get my hopes up. If better days off or different hours happen, that would be great! If not, we’ll keep working around the schedules. What else can we do? read more…

40 Things You Might Not Know About Me on My 40th Birthday

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Today is my 40th birthday. I think that officially makes me old. I’m not sure how I feel about that. I’ll have to get back to you . . .

This is where I’d like to be today as I celebrate my birthday – on a cruise, sitting next to my husband, watching the kids swim while enjoying a movie and a drink. Instead I’ll be at home, taking kids to school, saying goodbye to my husband as he goes off to a long day at the restaurant. Just another day . . . except now I’m officially old. Yeah!

Today as I celebrate, here are 40 random things about myself that you might not know.

Only 2 people have ever called me by the name “Jen.” Everyone else has called me Jennifer. (Thank goodness!!)
I’m 6’ 1” tall and my last name is Small. Fortunately this was not my last name until I was 20 so I didn’t have to go through junior high and high school hearing jokes about this. Now I love it and it makes for a fun conversation in the grocery store.
I don’t really enjoy reading. (Don’t tell any of my past students.)
I don’t really enjoy cooking that much either. Thank goodness I am married to a chef and never have to cook for myself. (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!)
I wanted to be a Mom and a teacher ever since the 3^rd grade. I became a teacher in 1996 and a Mom in 2004.
I love Butterscotch Krimpet TastyKakes, but live on the west coast and they do not sell them here. Boo! If you live on the east coast, eat an extra one for me today in honor of my birthday!
I love all things Disney.
I miss living near In-N-Out.
I started dating my chef/husband when I was 15.
My chef/husband is the only boyfriend I ever had.
I am a Christian. You can find my testimony here.
I LOVE homemade Greek yogurt sweetened with maple syrup.
I am addicted to chapstick and have it with me at all times.
When we started dating, I played the piano better than my chef/husband. I stopped practicing and he practiced a lot. He can now play whatever he wants and I have to practice just to play something easy.
We’ve moved 7 times in our 19 years of marriage.
I have a small website development business that I do in the peace and quiet of our home.
I hate to exercise but love to eat and love the results so I endure the torture 2 times a week.
I have a BA from Azusa Pacific University in Liberal Studies with a minor in Spanish.
I really have no athletic ability at all which is unfortunate because of point #2 above.
I went to a private Christian school all the way through college.
We got married on the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA.
When someone asks me my favorite food, I usually say pizza. Not sure it’s really my favorite, but it’s usually what comes to mind first.
My favorite place to shop is Nordstrom. Unfortunately it’s usually just window shopping . . .
I care too much about what people think.
I struggle with worrying about the future.
My Mom died when I was 27. I really miss her a lot.
I am a morning person.
I am not a night person.
I love to sleep.
My current favorite song is “Blessings” by Laura Story.
I started working out last year to make new friends. I ended up losing a few pounds, 2 sizes and gaining many new friendships.
Every Thursday and Sunday morning I wake up really sore and wonder why I went to workout class the day before. (See #31)
I used to use coupons but gave up because they don’t make coupons for the food we eat.
We had NO MONEY when we first got married and because of this we ate a lot of Top Ramen. My husband still loves the stuff, but I refuse to eat it. I really hate it!
I have been to 4 different countries. (5 if you count the one I live in.)
I am a horrible decorator. Anything that looks nice in our home was chosen by my chef/husband.
Over half of my wardrobe is black. My last Stitch Fix box almost killed me with all the different colors and patterns. This might change in the future thanks to my new love of Stitch Fix.
My favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:6, “Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (See #25.)
It would take me 19 hours of driving nonstop to get my Dad’s house. This is too far. 🙁
I would love to own a motorhome and travel around the United States as a family.