You want a retirement plan that alleviates your fears about the future so you know your money will last as a chartered financial consultant Al Smith will help you find a balance between the risk and reward of the market and the safety of your retirement income and now here’s your host Al Smith
SPEAKER 02 :
Welcome to another program of Retirement Unpacked. I want to thank you for tuning in. I’m sure there’s other things you could be doing, but you’re listening to Retirement Unpacked. I genuinely appreciate that. And going forward, I know a lot of you listeners are planning for retirement and getting closer to retirement. But a lot of times that brings up questions and things of that nature. And for that reason, people contact my office and we sit down and have a conversation because often there are things that we didn’t think about ahead of time that we can talk about in that conversation. And if you want to come into my office, you can reach my office at 303-744-1128. Most of the people I have that conversation with have been good savers and so forth, but we can put some structure to that to make certain that your retirement will last and that it will also cover things that you weren’t thinking about, unforeseen events, things that can make your retirement a little bit more difficult, but less so if they are planned for it. This afternoon we’re in for a really special treat because I have a guest her name is Kimberly Beaver and she for many years has been a personal chef and she has a lot of exciting and humorous stories about that but mostly I think a lot of us think in terms of a personal chef oh that’s really cool for a special occasion it’s convenient and everything like that but Kimberly, what are some other really good reasons where people could take advantage of your skills as a personal chef?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, I have some customers that will call me if they have a bunco game at their house and they don’t have time to do their bunco food. So I do that for them. I have some clients that have me come and do their put together all their kids snacks for the week. So when they get home, they can reach in the refrigerator and grab snacks, whether it’s fresh cut vegetables or fruit. Little snacky sandwiches, that kind of thing. Little things. It doesn’t have to be big. A lot of people think that personal chef means a lot of money.
SPEAKER 02 :
I always thought of it as you’re sitting down with your wife or your girlfriend or something, and then rather than going out, we have someone create like a masterpiece. But I never thought of the wonderful advantages of just doing things for convenience. And I can only imagine a child in school wanting to trade lunch of a PB&J for something that you have made instead.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, some kids are pretty basic. They don’t want anything fancy, but other kids can be pretty fancy. So it just really depends what they are. I’ll do whatever the parents ask me to do as far as food. So a lot of the times we have to hide the nutritious stuff to make it look like it’s junk food that kids like. But a lot of kids like even things like little sushi rolls or something.
SPEAKER 02 :
As long as it’s not broccoli.
SPEAKER 04 :
Some kids like broccoli.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, if you have something to dip it in, I can understand that. Now, a lot of people, as I say, think about it as only for some special occasion or something. But I think one of the things you can do, based on the conversation we’ve had in the past, is you can help make people’s meals become more healthy. What guidelines do you use yourself to make certain that the meals you provide for people are healthy?
SPEAKER 04 :
It depends what their dietary needs are. I don’t do anything fancy. I just try to have it as fresh and organic if I can, if it fits into their budget. It’s just based on each individual customer what they’re looking for. Some of them are diabetics. I have one client that’s a heart transplant recipient, so there’s certain things he can and cannot have. So we just kind of go over that. I do the grocery shopping for them regularly. bring it to their house and prep it. Sometimes I prep their whole week’s worth of dinners or sometimes I prep their snacks or whatever they want. Every customer is individualized.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow, that sounds like you’re incredibly flexible. I know some of the cooking you do is for seniors. How does that work with helping seniors? Because some of them have maybe lost some of those skills they had before when they made their own meals.
SPEAKER 04 :
I have some, we call them heat and serve. So they’re all ready to go. All they have to do is just heat it rather than turn the oven on. They can put it in their little toaster oven or they can put it, they can microwave it. We try not to do microwave stuff, but, um, some of my customers, I actually go to their house and fix their meals for them. And then I leave once they get their meal all prepared. So it really, again, just depends on the individual on what they’re looking for. So a lot of times they don’t want to prepare meals. It’s hard enough to prepare meals for my husband and I, let alone just one person. So it’s nice that they have it all there. Otherwise, they just sit and eat junk food that was brought to them.
SPEAKER 02 :
No, I can understand that. When I met your husband not long ago, he spoke incredibly highly because he described just an enormous batch of ingredients from the grocery store and then turning that into… masterpiece of cuisine so to speak and so that sounds tremendous now I also know that you do some larger events from time to time tell us a little bit about those and how that might work
SPEAKER 04 :
So there’s some places that have their own kitchens so we can bring groceries there and put it together for them however people want it or they have if they do a wedding at mom and dad’s estate and you know there’s a place that I can bring groceries into and we prepare it there for them. We’ve done all kinds of crazy things. So, you know, where it’s not like we bring a catering truck or anything like that. We bring the groceries to them and do everything there. Set up, you know, sometimes we have to set up the laundry room as a prepping area or a holding area, but we work in their kitchen and all kinds of great stuff.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that sounds fantastic. Has it ever involved a roast pig? No.
SPEAKER 04 :
No, we don’t do that. We don’t do that. That is one thing we don’t do. We have done, they had a, we had a big, huge barbecue and they wanted grilled steaks. So the steaks were all there. I had them marinating. And we came and grilled for them. So they were surprised that my crew was all women. And so they weren’t sure what kind of steak they were going to get when they looked at me and I was going to make their steak. But the steaks were perfect. And the customer wanted all the leftover steaks that were there. So everybody had a great time.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that does sound great. People have this view that men are the only ones that can throw things on the grill, but we know that is not accurate. Just like saying women are the only ones who can bake cookies, that’s not accurate either. I can burn cookies. I’ve done that before. But do you do a lot of baking in addition to meal preparation?
SPEAKER 04 :
I do some. I used to be partners in a tea room in Castle Rock called Augustine Grill Tea Room. So I’ve done lots of baking. It’s not my most favorite thing, but I love doing little small baking things that look really cute, like tea food.
SPEAKER 02 :
Is that what one might find? And I think there is a place in downtown Littleton that specializes in tea and things like that. Are those the kinds of things?
SPEAKER 04 :
That’s yeah. Little finger sandwiches, little one bite desserts, scones, all that kind of stuff we used to do at the restaurant.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that sounds highly interesting. And I will admit, even though I’ve lived in downtown Littleton for a long time, there are some places there I’ve not yet been into. I know there’s a tea room and some other places there that specialize in spices and another one specializes in… in oils and things like that. Do you buy most of the things that you prepare from the grocery, or do you have to order some of those? How does that work, your shopping that you do in order to prepare a meal?
SPEAKER 04 :
Some I try to do locally. I have a few clients that are actually master gardeners, and we trade. So I do meals for them, and they trade me fresh vegetables, fruits. So during the summertime, I get all kinds of great fresh produce from them. And then some other things, depending on what it is, I either order it, like, for instance… Certain kinds of, oh, I would say like mushrooms or truffles. The truffles I definitely order in, they come in from England. And so it just depends what it is.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow, truffles, that sounds like what one might get in a fancy French restaurant or something. Truffles, that is awesome. I think, are truffles expensive or off the charts?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, they’re pretty expensive, but they go a long way. A small drawer of truffles will go a long way. So a lot of people like truffle mac and cheese, and that goes a long way for something like that. So it’s just different things depending on what we’re doing.
SPEAKER 02 :
That sounds really good. Now truffles keep pretty long don’t they? Yes.
SPEAKER 04 :
The ones that we order, they come in a jar in oil. So the oil even tastes like the truffles as well. So yeah, you don’t have to use a whole lot to get the great flavor. Depends on what you’re doing.
SPEAKER 02 :
Got it. I’ll keep those truffles in mind for my next big occasion. What is one of your favorite meals? Let’s say, for example, if I had a big event coming up and it’s just myself and maybe… one or two three other people and we didn’t know what we wanted to eat what would you recommend if we were okay with whatever it costs and we just wanted something really special what would you recommend that other people have really enjoyed
SPEAKER 04 :
Um, you know, I would probably ask you what your favorite types of foods are. If you like seafood, if you like, because I’ve got, I mean, I guess one of my favorites because I’m originally from the Pacific Northwest, so I love seafood. Um, I would definitely do, you know, kind of a surf and turf. So being that Colorado is, is beef country, um, I would definitely do, um, a really nice beef tenderloin with scallops, seared scallops and stuff like that. And I, and in the summertime I grow, uh, my own edible flowers. And so there’s a few salads that I make that are really good and, and they have the little edible flowers. So they’re really pretty too.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow, edible flowers. That sounds like years ago when I was married and lived in Kencarl, we had all kinds of edible things, but they were edible for the deer. And you live in Kiowa, so you probably have the same thing.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, I have to plant up on my front porch so they don’t get to them. So I keep an eye on them.
SPEAKER 02 :
Yeah, and edible flowers for people are a bit different than what the deer eat.
SPEAKER 04 :
Right.
SPEAKER 02 :
But wow, that sounds really interesting. So surf and turf. So you said like a marinated, was it a filet? Like a beef tenderloin. Oh, like a beef tenderloin, like a filet.
SPEAKER 04 :
Some people aren’t crazy about beef tenderloin. They want a tougher, big steak. So it just depends on, you know, what kind of steak you like. That’s what I ask all the questions to see. What are people’s favorites? And then kind of go on that and try to up it a little bit just so it’s really fun and fun.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that way people can’t say, oh, this isn’t what I was expecting after you’ve asked them 40 different questions about what kind of things they like to eat. I know you have some really funny stories, especially about some of the weddings that you catered. And we will talk a little bit more about those after the break.
SPEAKER 01 :
you wouldn’t set out for a road trip without a map and a plan. So don’t treat your retirement that way. Golden Eagle Financial will help structure what your retirement should look like because Al Smith has decades of experience helping people craft their own futures. You’re great at saving and disciplined enough not to touch it. But how is your money working for you? This is where Golden Eagle Financial can help you optimize your investing, helping your nest egg grow to more than offset inflation, transcending volatile markets, and achieving the retirement you’ve always dreamed of. Al can help you with very specific wants and needs in retirement also. Large purchases, real estate, a pool. His goal is to help you retire on your terms. Find out more about how Al Smith and Golden Eagle Financial can make your retirement dream a reality by getting in touch from the klzradio.com advertisers page. Investment advisory services offered through Brookstone Capital Management, LLC. Registered Investment Advisor, BCM, and Golden Eagle Financial Limited are independent of each other. Insurance products and services are not offered through BCM, but are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
SPEAKER 02 :
welcome back to retirement unpacked and we’re talking to kimberly beaver who is a personal chef and has been in that business for quite a number of years and i know we had a conversation earlier about some of the experiences that she has had with larger groups weddings and that sort of thing um Kim, tell us a little bit about some of the experiences you’ve had at weddings that people probably would get a chuckle over.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, so some things, sometimes people will have us come just to, if they’re putting things together, they want us to be there to handle it all so they can be at the wedding and have fun at the wedding. We had a big group one time that they were bringing in all kinds of different foods and stuff, and so they wanted us to put stuff together, make it look nice, and get it all displayed and stuff. And i believe it was grandma great grandma um was bringing her specialty which was this it was a rice they were russian and um and it was a rice with different like chicken and different stuff in it vegetables and different stuff and we looked out the door and saw This little old lady coming up, walking up to the kitchen area, and then following her were two big giant men carrying with this big, I don’t know, for lack of a better term, stick holding this cauldron. And they brought it in, and there was maybe 100 people at this wedding, but this cauldron had so much stuff. stuff in it that I wasn’t sure the table was going to hold it. And they proceeded to give us instructions how to stir it correctly. And, you know, we, it just kind of struck a funny note because we were, it was like, oh my gosh, this is probably enough to feed 300 people at least. So that was definitely an experience in the, in the same group. Um, I mean, they were dressed beautifully, you know, spaghetti strap dresses, beautiful gowns, fur coats. And it was a snow, it was like January, so it was snowy. And so, not to mention that they’re freezing cold outside, but when they all came in, they put the fur coats on. And then… brother or somebody got out of hand and and somebody else went after them and they’re fighting out in the parking lot and tumbling and next thing i know i’m looking outside and there was a this beautiful woman dressing a fur coat in her gown on the ground straddling this guy to try to get them from fighting and we’ve just never seen anything like it so that was kind of funny that one’s gone that’s one of them that has gone down in history as far as a crazy wedding that we were at
SPEAKER 02 :
I wonder if there are videos of that because that sounds like something that would show up on reality TV on any one kind of thing. Like here’s where the wedding went south or in this case went to Siberia. Definitely. Something like that.
SPEAKER 04 :
That was a crazy one for sure.
SPEAKER 02 :
yeah i can i can only imagine what the videos must have looked like if anyone you know took uh the videos that would be a a great conversation to have with both you and whoever was the wedding photographer right exactly yeah here’s uh here’s throwing the bouquet and here is the uh um the maid of honor beating up on one of the groomsmen who’s uh
SPEAKER 04 :
On the ground, in her fur coat.
SPEAKER 02 :
A little too much vodka that day, possibly. Well, yeah, that is humorous. What are some other things that stick out in your mind, a fun experience? Were they some of them for weddings or were they for other kinds of events?
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, we had another one where the family had special recipes for stuff. And I gave the family members containers to put. One of the items was a mole sauce, and they had their prize-winning mole sauce. And I gave them the containers to put them in, and they were going to leave them in the kitchen that we were going to where the reception was. And when we got there and opened the refrigerator – They hadn’t used the containers that I gave them, but they put them in big plastic bags. They looked like the clear trash bags. And about 15 gallons of mole sauce came crashing out of the refrigerator onto the floor, and we had mole sauce everywhere. And this was about… an hour and a half before the reception was to start. So we were cleaning mole sauce. And to this day, my husband and I cannot eat mole sauce because of that.
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s like a very authentic Hispanic dish, right?
SPEAKER 04 :
Yes, yes, yes. And fortunately, only one of the bags fell and crashed open. So we had one to fall back on to use. But once it was gone, it was gone. But we were cleaning mole sauce from every crack and crevice in that building and off our shoes and off our pants. And oh, my gosh.
SPEAKER 02 :
I can only imagine. The only time I think I’ve seen mole sauce is on a very authentic Mexican restaurant off of Sheridan Boulevard. I know it was authentic because everyone that was in there was speaking Spanish to the people who were working and so forth. So it was the farthest thing from… you know mexican fast food or taco bell or anything like that they had mole sauce and a whole bunch of other items that you don’t find in your traditional or not traditional but typical tex-mex right american restaurants so that that must have been quite quite an experience now um i i What I find interesting is the way you’ve described what you do, especially if you go to a larger event. It reminds me that you do for food what someone would do for a realtor for the home. Like, what do they call that when you get the home? Staging. Staging. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so it sounds like you do staging for food just like people come in for a home and they say, take all the pictures of your family off the countertops and get everything smooth so that the people looking at this home can imagine it being their home, not your home. And I can only imagine that, you know, we all love food, but when there’s a great presentation, it almost makes the food taste better.
SPEAKER 1 :
Yeah.
SPEAKER 04 :
Well, and I always say people eat with their eyes first. So you want it to look really good. You don’t want it to be sloppy looking. And there’s some clients that I go into their house and we pull out all their fun dishes and set it all up so it looks pretty. And she can throw a flower on her face and we leave. We don’t care that she’s going to claim it to be hers. That’s okay. We get a lot of clients like that. Yeah.
SPEAKER 02 :
Oh, that is interesting. I occasionally watch the Smithsonian Channel because they cover the cruise ships. And some of those cruise ships have unbelievable cuisine. And they showed one, I can’t remember exactly which ship it was on, but the curtain around where these people dined exclusively was, was just dazzling with gems the curtain cost they said a million dollars and the silverware was solid gold and they showed me the plates of what the people were getting and they looked like works of art and i’ve seen back in the kitchen where they’ll have eight or ten people and in front of each of them they will have cuisine that is incredibly special, especially when they get seafood the day before it was swimming, and the next day it’s on the plates of the people who paid handsomely to ride on the cruise ship. So the presentation, and if you do that on behalf of a client, how would that work? How did you learn how to do this? I’m curious.
SPEAKER 04 :
You know, I’ve just been a foodie. I just love it and have, you know, I was in the sauce business for about 18 years. And I just love good tasting food. And, you know, just to mention, I can’t afford one of those cruises. My prices aren’t high enough to… me to afford one of those cruises but um you know there’s some just some even simple recipes if they’re done right they taste really good and i’m not super picky when somebody else is cooking for me i’m not super picky i can appreciate the work that they put in but so i’m not i’m not a food snob but i love to try different foods and play with it and go oh we could do that so
SPEAKER 02 :
Well, that’s incredibly interesting. And I’ve not been on a cruise either. And I just kind of salivate when I see, you know, like a dozen people with chef’s hats on everything. And they have these plates in front of them with little sauces on top of whatever kind of fish they caught the day before. And I find some of that interesting. Now, what are your favorite seafoods? Because I know you grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and I’ve been up there on one or two occasions, and I even ate at a restaurant in Seattle called Skoma’s where they had calamari that looked like fish sticks. Instead of all the tentacles, they looked like fish sticks.
SPEAKER 04 :
Yeah, those are calamari steaks, and if anybody had the benefit of eating at Augustine Grill when it was there in Castle Rock, it’s no longer there, but they made the best calamari steaks ever. I don’t like the tentacles. I have a thing that’s texture and stuff, so I don’t eat clams, but I love clam chowder. I don’t eat oysters, but I love fish and salmon and scallops, that kind of stuff. But yeah, I love calamari steaks. That’s one of my favorite ways to eat calamari.
SPEAKER 02 :
I even asked the waiter, I said, is this calamari? Because I was used to the tentacles, which you get in Colorado. But on the coast, you get calamari steaks. And to me, it looked like a fish stick. But it was absolutely wonderful. Yes. Well, Kimberly, I want to thank you for coming on the show. This is really a treat. And I’m not saying that in the form of wordplay, but it’s really great to hear how you have served the culinary community. And we’ll have you on again when we have some time in the future and we’ll share some recipes. Well, thanks for having me. You’re welcome. And thanks, everyone, for listening. I hope you enjoyed today’s show. God bless you. God bless our country. And let’s continue praying for the folks in Israel. And hopefully you’ll be here next week.
SPEAKER 03 :
But are offered and sold through individually licensed and appointed agents.
