Stacey DiVerde found herself drawn to the kitchen at an early age watching and helping her mom and grandmother make the family’s meals. Soaking up all the knowledge you can’t find from reading a recipe. As a teenager when most of her friends were out, she was home cooking up a storm making multi-course dinner parties for her boyfriend (now husband) and friends. She would buy special tableware just for the evening and always had a printed menu with each dish named Ala Stacey after it - hence how she came up with her business name!

Stacey spent five years working at a country club that taught her the fundamentals of the culinary world. Still she decided to enter the corporate world and spent 10 years there before deciding to stay-at-home after her first child was born.

During that time, Stacey dabbled her feet in the entrepreneurial world. Spending a few years soul searching trying to figure out her purpose, her passion! It wasn’t until she saw an article in the newspaper about a personal chef that a light bulb went off. She wished that was her - or rather that should be her! She immediately started researching the internet and came across the Personal Chefs Network (PCN) website. Stacey immersed herself in all the information she could from PCN.

As she started to put the word out about this idea, she got a referral from a friend to do a dinner party - for 25 no less. Stacey was also 4.5 months pregnant with her son. She decided to go for it with the help of a local PCN member to help assist her with serving. Stacey can vividly remember barely being able to walk at the end of the night with the extensive menu she had set. Yet, she had the most amazing feeling of accomplishment and purpose that she ever felt - but to get paid for something she loved was the icing on the cake!

On her 35th birthday in January of 2002, she officially opened Ala Stacey Personal Chef Service. Although her business had a few interruptions - two more children, it is still strong and continues to grow. Stacey thanks PCN for her success because it is from them that she has learned the most over any culinary or business course she has taken.

Her marriage to a 1st generation Sicilian taught her lost treasures of canning, making olives and wine! She still enjoys doing the old world riches and is probably the only one left of her generation still doing this today!

She was shocked to be given the title of PCN Pacesetter for December 2006. She is extremely grateful to be recognized among her peers. PCN is like family to her and some have developed into long lasting friendships across the nation - for that she is most thankful.

Check out her new website at www.alastacey.com or you can contact her at sdiverde@optonline.net or her office at 631.224.7277.