Personal Chef Beth Arnold
Owner and Head Chef
Beth’s Culinary Delights Personal Chef Service

Chef Beth Arnold has loved food and cooking since she was a little girl living in northeast Arkansas. On Saturday mornings, she and her mom would watch the cooking shows that aired on a local public TV. station. Julia Child and Justin Wilson were her two favorites. She began to learn basic cooking skills and recipes from her two celebrity heroes and her mother and grandmothers. She remembers going to her grandparent’s houses and helping prepare the meal. “I grew up watching food be lovingly prepared. Both sets of my grandparent’s lived through the Depression, so they found creative ways to feed their family and that was done out of love. My grandmothers’ taught me about “food of love” way before Emeril became popular.” This concept of “food of love” was reinforced at home by her parents and sister. 

Beth first realized that food would be a lifelong passion when cooking with her granny. “We were baking cookies and I remember being happily surprised at how these basic and mundane ingredients could become something so mouth-watering delicious! I think we might have eaten the whole batch!” Beth continued to add to her growing knowledge of food and cooking while growing up. When she was in high school, she and her best friend did a project for a class. “We did a cooking show, and my best friend did all the work, and I had all the fun! We made Snicker doodles and I think there was more flour on us than in the cookies. That experience made me dream of having my own cooking show one day!” laughs the Chef. 

According to the Chef, families’ dining together for dinner every night is a lost art. She remembers sitting down to many family dinners and adds that those dinners brought to her a sense of comfort and peace that cannot be duplicated. “There is a great feeling when you sit down with your family and loved ones over a lovingly prepared, home cooked dinner. But, it’s just not the norm any longer. Both parents are working, which is even harder in single-parent homes, and there are so many activities in which everyone is involved. So, shopping and preparing the meal, then cleaning up just seems like a daunting task at the end of a work day.” 

Chef Beth first realized she would like to pursue a career as a chef after marrying her high school sweetheart in 1996. In her very first kitchen, she tried and perfected many family recipes that she now prepares for her clients. Beth loved to entertain and feed her family and friends.

While still honing her cooking skills, Beth was pursuing a BA and a BSE in History at Arkansas State University. At that time, she thought that cooking would always just be a hobby. However in 1999, a tragedy occurred that forced her to reevaluate her life plan. On August 2nd, her husband was killed in a car accident on his way to work. His death and other traumatic events in the next two years forced Beth to realize that she wanted to help families spend more time together. “I had no idea how I wanted to do that exactly and combine it with my passion for cooking, but I knew that is what I was meant to do.” After a long and tough battle with depression, Beth was fortunate enough to fall in love with a wonderful and supportive friend, Jason. In December of 2000, Beth and Jason were married and after six months of marriage, they moved to Dallas, TX with their four furry kitty children. Once they were settled in their new home, Beth was delighted to find that Food TV was available. “When my husband and I first moved to Dallas, I watched Food TV every minute I could. I learned so much and was able to transfer that knowledge to my own kitchen and then eventually to my clients’ kitchens. From watching all the different chefs on Food TV, I have added recipes and techniques to my repertoire that I use everyday.” One night, as a special program, Food TV aired a show about personal chefs and something clicked for Beth. She knew the minute the show was over that being a personal chef was how she wanted to help families. “My service gives my clients the gift of time.” Once that show was over, Chef Beth went straight to the computer to research personal chefs and found Personal Chefs Network. Within an hour, she had received a phone call from one of the co-founders of the organization. “Sharon (Worster) and I chatted like we were old friends. I joined PCN not long after. The members of PCN are just amazing! We are all like a big family and it’s wonderful to have that level of support and help from other personal chefs across the country who sincerely wants you and your business to succeed. My business would not exist if not for the members of PCN.” 

Chef Beth opened Beth’s Culinary Delights Personal Chef Service in September of 2002 and she now chefs for many hungry clients in the North Dallas and Collin County areas. Beth offers many different standard services, but will be glad to custom design services for her clients. She also offers small dinner parties services and gift certificates. She focuses mainly on families with children at home and her menu reflects that with many different child-approved meals. She stays current on personal chef trends and continues her culinary education by taking classes. “My service has allowed my clients to spend more time with their families and they are able to sit down over a lovingly prepared home-cooked meal every night, without stressing over shopping, cooking or cleanup because I do it all, even take out the trash.”

Chef Beth volunteers as a facilitator at a grief support center in Plano called Journey of Hope. She, along with many other dedicated facilitators and volunteers, help guide heartbroken families through the difficult process of grief.

In her spare time, Beth enjoys reading, playing piano, watching Food TV and learning about food. She adores being with her family and loves to spend time with her 13 nieces and nephews. Most of her family lives in NE Arkansas and SE Missouri, and her sister and family live in Tennessee. Chef Beth and her husband, Jason, live in Far North Dallas with their four cats and they plan on adopting a baby very soon.