Atlanta Personal Chef Service boasts an ever-growing team of in-home chefs. Our team is made up of highly skilled personal chefs who have a passion for cooking quality meals and providing excellent service. Our hand-selected chefs all have culinary degrees and several years of professional cooking experience, many having worked in fine-dining restaurants or five star hotels. Once hired to work for Atlanta Personal Chef Service, all chefs are required to undergo training with a lead chef before working solo. We are very careful to match our chefs to your needs, for service we guarantee you’ll love.

Amy grew up in Washington, D.C. and moved to Atlanta in 2004. Growing up, her family ate dinner together every evening, and as the owner and founder of Atlanta Personal Chef Service, Amy is focused on bringing families back to the dinner table through healthy, home-cooked meals. Amy has grown Atlanta Personal Chef Service’s operations since 2011 to include plated dinner parties and full-service catered in-home and off-site events. Amy has served as an adjunct faculty member at the Art Institute of Atlanta’s culinary program and is currently an active board member of Atlanta’s EO Accelerator program. Amy’s corporate background is in both finance and healthcare, and she holds a bachelor degree from Emory’s Goizueta Business School and an MBA from Georgia Tech’s Scheller College of Business. Family dinners are still a tradition in her household, and she carries fond memories of dinner as a time to relax, unwind and reconnect.

Chef Gizzy is a passionate chef that is native to Atlanta, Georgia. She has been cooking in professional, fine dining kitchens for the past 10 years after graduating from Le Cordon Blue College of Culinary Arts. While developing her craft she formed valuable relationships with many chefs in Atlanta. She worked for Kevin Rathbun, Linton Hopkins, and under the various talented chefs at Fifth Group Restaurants. She was on Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen Season 18. While Ramsay’s name carries a lot of clout, she is most inspired by Chef Mossimo Bottura’s take on classic Italian cuisine.

Chef Gizzy joined the team mid-pandemic and immediately stepped in to organize their budding delivery service. Her leadership and kitchen operation experience quickly earned the trust of the chef team and she worked to keep client’s needs met as they pivoted operations in a major way. As in-home and events picked back up in 2021, and with a deeper understanding of the mission and purpose of APCS, Gizzy continued to evolve all three lines of business and pour into the chef team. “If you’ve ever met or worked with Chef Gizzy, you know she is an extremely talented chef—delightful to work with and passionate about what she does. I invited her to join me as an owner in the business to support long term growth and future success for Atlanta Personal Chef Service,” Amy Patricio shares.

In her free time, you can find Gizzy tending her garden. While not a natural green thumb, she is getting better each season with the help of her father. She grows a variety of different herbs and vegetables such as; heirloom tomatoes, zephyr squash, and bell peppers. Gizzy is a fun-loving and versatile chef who loves spreading joy through her food.

Deborah was born and raised in Atlanta. She stayed in town for college, majoring in Hospitality Administration at Georgia State University, but after graduating, she moved to New York City. Her first job after college was at Le Parker Meridien Hotel as Room Service Assistant Manager. She moved on to Event Manager with Starr Restaurants, and then worked for Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse in New York for six years.

In 2015, Deborah and her husband moved back to Atlanta to be closer to family. Before joining our team at Atlanta Personal Chef Service, she worked with Fifth Group Restaurants, overseeing their group dining sales team and eight Atlanta locations.

Deborah’s love of food informs her choice of career. “I love to eat everything!” she shares. “I like to be very open-minded and exploratory in my dining experiences. I think living in NYC for a decade definitely helped feed that desire.” Since moving back to Atlanta, Deborah’s favorite restaurant dish she’s had is the curry soup with tossed noodle at Food Terminal.

Deborah spends her free time with her husband and two children, usually somewhere outside, like the park, pool or mountains. She also has her Level 1 certification from the Court of Masters Sommeliers, so she enjoys learning about new wines and drinking it.

Sarah grew up in Atlanta, and was a Business and Hospitality Administration major at Georgia State University. She has worked in fine dining in Atlanta as a server, bartender, and front of house manager. Before coming to APCS, she spent 10 years working in the healthcare industry. “I am excited to get back into hospitality,” she shares.

Sarah’s favorite Atlanta restaurants are Redbird, Kimball House, St. Cecilia and El Tesoro, and she loves to eat any kind of sushi, the Italian Grinder from Staplehouse, or a big plate of pasta.

Sarah and her husband James love to explore Atlanta restaurants and travel. They have a dog, Huey Lewis, and Sarah loves to walk the dog and exercise, as well as manage her rooftop vegetable garden in the summer. Sarah and her husband are on a fun quest to visit every state and national park in the U.S. “So far we’ve been to 36 states and 22 parks,” she reports.

Chef Carolyn is the rare soul who was born, raised, and still lives in Atlanta. She grew up cooking with her family every week, and food has always been a big part of her life. Julia Child was an important inspiration for Chef Carolyn. “My mom and I would watch the PBS show she had with Jacques Pépin,” she remembers. “The love that she had for food was so inspiring. Knowing that it’s all trial and error—that no one is perfect at everything, and that’s okay!”

Carolyn got her start in the food industry as an apprentice at a country club in upstate New York. She attended Le Cordon Bleu, and worked for W Hotels for six years, working her way up from a dishwasher and line cook to a pastry chef for the entire hotel. She also worked her way around Fifth Group Restaurants for almost nine years, starting at Lure as a line cook. She worked at two South City Kitchen locations as sous chef and graduated to executive chef at The Original El Taco.

Chef Carolyn has a hard time picking her favorite foods to cook, but Asian is definitely at the top. “I just love to cook food that people will enjoy,” she enthuses. “I like to whip something together with whatever I have in the fridge and make it taste good!” When it comes to her personal eating preferences though, it’s all about the snacks, and especially anything with cheese. But she also loves sushi, Korean bbq, and the Shrimp a la Plancha at The Optimist.

Carolyn has three dogs that she confesses she probably loves too much. She likes to spend time with friends and family, which usually revolves around some sort of food. She loves movies—nerding out on all things Marvel and Harry Potter. True crime podcasts fill up all her time while driving, cooking and cleaning, with My Favorite Murder being her all-time favorite.

Chef Marty was born and raised in central Los Angeles in the middle of the city’s head-spinning culinary diversity, which inspired and informed his palate from a young age. An amazing dinner at chef Nancy Silverton’s seminal LA restaurant Campanile was the fuse that lit his passion to create wonderful culinary experiences and pursue a career in the field.

He began his career at Joachim Splichal’s Patina Catering Group, working on both private parties and major events such as the Oscars and the Emmys. He then became cheese monger at Joan’s On Third in LA, followed by four years with Lulu Powers Food to Flowers as Event Coordinator. After relocating to South Florida, Marty worked as head chef at Someone’s In The Kitchen Catering in Palm Beach, creating and implementing menus for both high profile events and private parties.

After two close shaves with major hurricanes, he decided to move to Atlanta in the fall of 2017, where since arrival he’s been the Chef/Kitchen Manager at Atlanta caterer Post Exchange Catering.
Marty’s favorite chefs are Louisville’s Edward Lee, who fuses his Korean roots with a New Southern sensibility, and LA’s Roy Choi, famous for his Korean/Mexican combinations.

He’s very excited to have settled in the Atlanta area, loving its mixture of big city bustle and sophistication and Southern charm and kindness. He finds the food scene here inspiring and revelatory, loving everything from Ramen at Umaido in Buford to a wonderful, creative meal at chic in town spots such as 8ARM. In addition to the Atlanta food scene, he enjoys Piedmont Park, the High Museum, and long walks with his three dogs on the Beltline.

Marty’s greatest happiness comes from providing people a consistently special dining experience. He’s truly grateful to be one of the fortunate people whose passion in life aligns with their profession. He greatly looks forward to sharing that passion with the clients of Atlanta Personal Chef Service.

Chef Jason was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, but when he was seven years old, his
family moved to Alpharetta, Georgia, where he grew up. After graduating high school, he went
to work as a food runner at P. F. Chang’s, which inspired Jason to take a three-month
introductory culinary course at Clayton University. As he was taking the culinary course, he
discovered how natural it felt to create dishes and cook. His love and passion for cooking grew,
so after obtaining his certification from Clayton University in 2002, he went on to Le Cordon
Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Atlanta. He has also received his NASM Nutrition certification.

Chef Jason started his culinary career at Canoe Restaurant, working his way up every line
position. He eventually went on to stage at Cherokee Country Club and then was off to Chicago
to stage for Charlie Trotter (who is one of his greatest inspirations). Jason eventually returned to
Atlanta, continuing his career at The Ritz Carlton as a Chef De Partie, receiving a 5-star award
for his performance in the kitchen. After taking a break from cooking to venture into sports
nutrition and bodybuilding, in 2020, Chef Jason found his way back into cooking as head chef of
SAA Meal Prep Co., where he developed, created and prepared weekly menus.

Any type of pasta dish tops Chef Jason’s list of favorite foods to make. He shares how
much he enjoys “the detail and delicate steps you must put into making the pasta, the sauces, and
the proteins that come together to create an amazing well-rounded dish.” When it comes to his
favorite foods to eat, Jason loves any type of contemporary American fusion and addition to any
style of Asian cuisine, Italian cuisine and Korean BBQ. In particular, the Squid Ink Malfadini
(charred calamari, native shrimp and mussels) at St Cecilia is a favorite dish of his.

Chef Jason enjoys experimenting with a variety of ingredients, transforming them with
different techniques and creating new flavor combinations. Outside of the kitchen, Jason loves to
visit farmers markets and attend concerts, and he takes time to maintain a healthy lifestyle by
working out, hiking and playing disc golf.

Chef Annalie was born in Boston but her family moved to Lawrenceville, Georgia when she was five years old, where she grew up helping her mom cook. When she was a senior in high school, Annalie started her cooking her own food, as she wanted to venture into a healthier diet. While beginning to make her own meals, she truly fell in love with cooking, so she decided to change her college major to the thing she loved. She’s been in the restaurant industry ever since.

Annalie’s first “Back of House” experience was at First Watch Restaurants. Then she moved to Seasons 52, where she worked under Chef Kyle, who always encouraged her in the kitchen with this simple mantra of  “go for it.” Another chef who greatly inspired Annalie was Chef Mia Castro Chef—a Hispanic chef who cooks with fresh, nutritious ingredients, which is Chef Annalie’s wheelhouse. “The food she makes reminds me of home while still adding a very creative twist to things,” Annalie explains.

Annalie’s favorite dishes to cook are pastelitos, stuffed peppers, and moro de guandules con pollo, and she enjoys eating rice dishes, beef, and “any and every pastry on earth.” Her favorite restaurant in Atlanta is Flower Child.

In her free time, Annalie likes to journal, exercise, listen to podcasts, and read articles. She lives by the adage, When you tell yourself “you can’t,” you won’t. When you tell yourself “you will,” you’ll try.

Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Carly got her start in the culinary industry at a young
age. She began working, absorbing, and falling in love with food as a twelve-year-old in a local
bakery. As the years passed, her passion for the culinary world grew. She pursued a Baking and
Pastry Degree at The Culinary Institute of America, went to Ireland for a Culinary Certificate
from Ballymaloe Cookery School, and rounded out her education with a Culinary Management
degree from Southern New Hampshire University.

One of Carly’s favorite things about the industry is that learning never ceases. Carly’s
career has led her to many different locations learning from many different people. Her
adventures include discovering the ins and outs of managing a vegan café, churning ice cream at
an ice cream shop, leading a team at a Middle Eastern Café, plating desserts at a fine dining
restaurant, and beyond. One of the most influential chefs Carly had the privilege to work with
was Ana Sortun. Ana’s perspective on Middle Eastern cuisine, spices, and vegetable cookery
was eye opening to Carly and completely changed the way she approached cooking. Carly loves
cooking from a wide range of cuisines, but finds the most enjoyment when discovering a dish or
cuisine unfamiliar to her.

A new transplant to Atlanta, Carly is looking forward to uncovering all that the culinary
scene in Atlanta has to offer. As someone with a major sweet tooth, she’s especially looking
forward to finding the best ice cream in the city. When she’s not exploring new restaurants, you
can find Carly obsessing over her twelve-year-old toy poodle, Ike. Carly and Ike love long walks
with beautiful scenery, snuggling up with a good book, or working on a new crochet project.
Carly has also recently discovered a love of the gym, growing stronger, and making healthy
meals taste their best. Carly is beyond excited to bring her love and passion for food into your
home and onto your plates.

Chef David was born in Illinois, but he grew up in Kennesaw, Georgia where he lived for
most of his life until moving to Atlanta over a decade ago. David got into cooking from helping
his mom in the kitchen and continued during his time in Scouting. He eventually started working
in kitchens to pay for his music ambitions and activities. Over the years working in different
restaurants, he fell in love with the atmosphere and culture. “I found another creative outlet that I
enjoyed and was good at,” Chef David shares. “I loved connecting to people through the food
and service.”

David went to college for music education before switching to hotel/restaurant
management.Then after figuring out that he wanted to be a chef, he went to culinary school and
graduated in 2009 from Le Cordon Bleu. While in culinary school, David started working in chef
driven-kitchens, working at the Hilton in downtown Atlanta, Rathbun’s, Krog Bar, and KR
SteakBar. He was also a chef at Top Flr and 1Kept, and his latest role was as lead sous chef at
South City Kitchen in Midtown for the past six years.

David has read a lot of cookbooks and loves to learn something new or a different
perspective on a cuisine or dish. Some of his favorite books are from Yotam Ottolenghi for his
take on vegetables and how to get creative with them. Chef David will eat “pretty much
anything,” but he loves trying to cook new dishes or something he’s been reading about. His
favorite cuisines are Southern, Italian, and Mediterranean, and he enjoys grilling out and
smoking various meats, as well as baking and making pastries and pasta.

David is a self-proclaimed “big nerd” who loves all things Marvel, comics, and sci-fi. He
reads a lot, from cookbooks to fiction. “I enjoy learning and try to learn something new every
day if I can,” he explains. David enjoys live music and comedy, as well as going to see movies,
visiting a new brewery, or going to watch sports, especially Atlanta United.

Chef Kimberli was born and raised in Trinidad and Tobago, where as a child, she was
always in the kitchen cooking something—experimenting and trying everything out on her
friends and cousins. After high school, she embraced her love for cooking and went to Trinidad
and Tobago Hospitality Institute in Trinidad, where she studied baking and pastry arts for one
year, then culinary arts management.

At the age of 19, Kimberli decided to move to Atlanta to further her culinary education,
where she attended the International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Atlanta. She went on
to work in several restaurants throughout Trinidad and Atlanta, including as a sous chef for
Concentrics Restaurant Group, working at TAP, Parish and Two Urban Licks. She also worked
at fine dining restaurants like Abattoir and Woodfire Grill, where they specialized in seven-
course tasting menus.

Chef Kimberli learned much working under Chef Tyler Williams at Abattoir. “He taught
me proper time management skills and how to prioritize and plan for the next step,” she reflects
with gratitude. “He inspired me with how he played with different flavors and types of cuisines.”
While she loves making Caribbean and Indian food, her favorite foods to eat are sushi,
Mexican and Indian, and her favorite Atlanta restaurants are Eight Sushi, Bar Taco for a nice
upbeat environment, or Tacos La Villa for a more traditional experience. “And I must have
dessert!” she adds.

When she’s not cooking, Kimberli enjoys going to different restaurants and experiencing
all different cultures through their cuisine. “I also love working out and traveling the world,” she
shares. “Spending quality time with friends and family also holds a special place in my heart!”

Chef La’Davione was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. His first job in the culinary world was as a pizza cook in 2015 at Monza Pizza in Charleston. “That’s where I began to find my passion for creativity. It wasn’t much but pizzas, but it allowed me to see the fun side of cooking,” he reminisces.

La’Davione graduated from the Art Institute of Charleston with a bachelor’s degree in culinary business management. For five years prior to joining the APCS team, Chef La’Davione worked for the Indigo Road Hospitality Group, starting out at the Macintosh in Charleston, working under Chef Jeremiah Bacon and Chef Jacob Huder. “Chef Bacon has always been a great teacher to me,” La’Davione shares. “He’s someone I call anytime have a question or an idea about cuisine.”

In 2018, Chef La’Davione moved to Atlanta and began working at Oak Steakhouse in Avalon, being promoted to sous chef within a few months.
Chef Harley Hazel was one of the most influential mentors for La’Davione. “He taught me a lot of things that I still use today,” La’Davione explains. “Patience, expanding my thoughts more, and just overall the love of what I do. But I have been inspired in some way by all the chefs I have worked with. I take a little piece of knowledge from each of them.”

Chef La’Davione likes to cook just about anything, but his family loves it when he makes spaghetti from scratch, barbecue ribs, or shrimp and grits. While his specialty is southern cuisine, his style of cooking at home can be described as “winging it.” His favorite foods to eat are wings, sushi, and chocolate chip cookies. He and his wife love the brunch at Toast on Lennox.

La’Davione is a married father of two, with a nine-year-old son Aidex, and a two-year-old daughter Harper. They also have a very active pit bull, Jinx. La’Davione and his family love traveling and trying new restaurants. In his free time, La’Davione likes to hang out with his family, work out, play video games, and watch whatever show he is binge-watching at the time.

Helen Saile began cooking at a young age for her large family. Watching her mother and grandmother, she learned about the power of a well cooked meal, and spent many Saturday afternoons watching classic PBS cooking shows, also learning from Justin Wilson, Martin Yan, Jacques Pepin, and of course Julia Child. Growing up in a military family, she developed an appreciation for local ingredients and cuisines and how to incorporate them to her own personal cooking style. After deciding to switch careers, Chef Helen attended Le Cordon Bleu in Atlanta, earning an Associate’s Degree in Culinary Arts and a Certificate in Patisserie in 2013. She started working for one the nation’s best caterers, Bold Catering and Design, rising to the title of Event Chef, where she executed parties of all kinds, from high-end weddings to large corporate events and intimate soirees. She left Bold Catering to become sous chef at Hey Saige, a personal concierge meal delivery system. After returning to Bold, she left to become the production manager at the Dairies Coffeehouse and Cold Brew Bar before coming on to lead the kitchen at Sealed Meals, a small UDSA manufacturing plant.

Chef Helen has worked with notable chefs in the southeast, including several James Beard nominees and winners, Food & Wine’s Best New Chef winners, and notable Atlanta restaurateurs. She credits her executive chef from Bold, Todd Annis, for teaching her that the most important part is the food, because it brings people together.

Helen enjoys going to restaurants off the beaten path, especially if she’s the only English speaker there. Her last meal menu reflects her culinary heritage: low country boil, naeng myun (a Korean cold noodle dish), her grandfather’s pork and sauerkraut, fresh tomatoes from the garden, and guava chiffon cake. She is an avid dog mom to her Shar Pei Kirby, and spends her free time catering to his needs, reading, puttering in her small garden, and watching college football.

Our intern Chef Zach was born in Sumter, South Carolina, although he moved overseas at a young age and grew up mostly in Baumholder, Germany. Zach considers Germany his home, but most of his family is from the South. In fact, it was visiting his southern family that got Zach started on his culinary journey. “Every summer when we came to visit, I most looked forward to cooking with my mother and grandmother,” Zach remembers. But it was Zach’s older brother—who competed in high school cooking competitions and ultimately pursued a culinary education—who inspired Zach to pursue a culinary career professionally.

In addition to earning his culinary degree with honors from Wiregrass Technical College, Zach was a line cook for two years at the Bleu Pub in Valdosta, Georgia. He also worked a full year doing large-scale meal prep at SAA Meal Prep Co. Most of Zach’s other experience has been in the realm of catering and catering logistics. He also won the local SkillsUSA competition and competed in the statewide SkillsUSA competition.

If Zach had to pick one favorite dish to cook, it would be Filipino Chicken Adobo. “This dish has been in our family for as long as I can remember and really just reminds me of home,” Zach reflects. “Asian cuisine and Asian fusion are my favorite to cook and eat in general.”

Being fairly new to Atlanta, Zach hasn’t experienced a lot of the local restaurant scene, but so far, his favorite place is Umaido in Suwanee. “Umaido is a cool little ramen spot that has wonderful rice bowls as well,” he explains.

Zach likes to spend most of his free time hanging out with his roommates. “When we feel like getting out of the house, we love to go play disc golf or bowling,” Zach shares. “We love to cook together and play video games when we are just hanging around the house.”