Want to Pay to Chop Vegetables? It's for a Good Cause!

Puccini & Pinetti

Chef Richard Hodge wants you to work in his kitchen.

​Ever dreamed of working in a professional kitchen? How about paying someone to let you chop vegetables for five hours?

If you answered "yes" to either of those questions, Executive Chef Richard Hodge's Chef for a Day program at Puccini and Pinetti might be a dream come true -- though it's not entirely about paying to do someone else's dirty work.

"It's not for me -- it's an experience for them," Hodge says. "It's not just to come in and chop vegetables for five hours for me." Rather, the program aims to bring the glamorized work of a professional chef to normal people who want to learn some tricks by preparing a meal with Hodge, a meal they can enjoy with someone special afterward.

Puccini & Pinetti

​"We hope that they would want to take part in prepping a meal, whether it's a wife coming in and wanting to do a fun anniversary gift for her husband or vice versa, or someone coming in who's thinking about going to culinary school," Hodge says.

Even with limited or no experience, participants ready to learn can come in to help and learn some neat skills.

"No experience needed, just an interest of wanting to have fun for a few hours, try something different, be a little adventurous," Hodge says.

The program costs $125 and includes about four to five hours of cooking, from about 10 a.m. to the early afternoon. Dinner for the participant and a guest would begin around 5 p.m.

So far, no one has signed up, but Hodge says the program has generated buzz and interest. Should a flurry of people decide to commit, Hodge has no plans as of yet to cap registration at a particular number. "We're just filling out the inquiries as we get them," he says.

Proceeds from the program will benefit Larkin Street, a local charity that helps at-risk or homeless youth by bringing them off the street and providing them with help making resumes, finding internships, and so on.

To learn more or reserve your spot, call (415) 392-5500 and ask for Courtney Allen.