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:

Please Don’t Yell Daddy Across the Restaurant

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Please stop laughing.

Really.

I know you think it’s cute and funny, but every time we head into my chef/husband’s restaurant (well, it’s not actually his, but you know what I mean) we have to have a conversation about not yelling, “Daddy” across the restaurant!

It’s stressful enough just worrying about the behavior of the girls when we go to a fine dining restaurant, but the thought of them calling out to him across a fine dining restaurant . . . oh my . . . that’s a negative comment card or email from someone just waiting to happen. (Well, hopefully not, but you never know.)

Let me set the scene for you in case you’re having trouble picturing it in your head. read more…

If I am Living my Dream Life, Why am I so Depressed?

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Before I start getting phone calls and frantic e-mails from family and friends, let me just say that I am fine. No need to check on me. (Although I’m always happy to receive phone calls, emails, text messages and even a surprise vanilla latte, Tastykake Butterscotch Krimpets in the mail or even a Vitamix from people, just to say they are thinking about me.) I’m fine. Really.

However, this question was word for word what came out of my chef/husband’s mouth one day a few years ago and I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately as I’ve been struggling with a few things here at home. read more…

Text Messages from a Chef

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I don’t know about other chef’s wives and significant others, but I am so thankful text messaging was invented.

Before this fabulous technology (yes, I’m old enough to remember before) once my husband left for work, our communication was done for the day. If there was an emergency, there was always the main phone number to the restaurant or to the back office, but calling the restaurant because you have a question about cooking dinner . . . not really an option.

In the past, random questions I had during the day had to wait. And most of them still do. But if I really have a pressing question or want to check in and see how his day is going, I can just shoot him a text (or email) and most of the time get a response within a reasonable time frame.

Looking through our recent texts there are many similar ones, probably not unlike many conversations between another husband and wife during a work day.

“How is your day going?”

“Any idea what time you are coming home?”

“Love You.”

“The kids won’t stop talking! Hurry home and save me!” (OK, that one was not really in there, but it could be sent at any moment.) read more…

The Glamorous . . . and not-so-Glamorous Life of a Chef and his Family

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The other day I was thinking about how truly amazing and glamorous it is to be married to a chef… all those fabulous meals he prepares for us at home each night, the romantic date nights visiting local restaurants with friends, our children being exposed to so many different types of food that they happily eat anything we place before them, the wonderful recipes and cookbooks I have access to, never having to pay for a meal when we go out to eat, owning the top of the line cookware and kitchen appliances… the list could go on and on…

But I’ll stop there.

I’ll stop there because it’s not true. There might be some truth behind a few of those statements, but for the most part, for the majority of chefs and their families, they are pure fantasy.

I guess there is a part of me that understands this glamorous life of a chef that has somehow been portrayed to our society as truth. The fact that someone can create something so wonderful out of food, and do so for a large amount of people in a short period of time, is truly amazing. I get that. For some reason there just seems to be something glamorous, intriguing and mysterious about a man (or woman) in a chef coat. read more…

Putting the Long Hours of a Chef in Perspective

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My cousin was 5 years old when we got married 18 years ago. She was an adorable flower girl in our wedding. Most of our lives we have lived a few states away from each other, but when we moved up to the Seattle area, I got to know her a little bit better. She no longer lives nearby, but I think and pray for her often.

It’s usually on the days when I’m really lonely and struggling with the long hours of a chef that I think of her and pray for her. Her husband is not a chef (although he cooks very well), but is deployed in the Army. So while I sit at home, lonely and depressed about my husband who is working long hours an hour away from our house, I am reminded of her and many others, who have husbands on the other side of the world who will not be home for months. read more…