Chef Stephanie Riley has always had a great passion for food, and likes to follow both mottos, “live to eat” and “eat to live”. She believes and has seen proof that what you put into your body results in how your body functions. And eating for functioning, as well as for taste, can be very exciting and satisfying.

Stephanie grew up in a large family and had the benefit of fresh heirloom vegetables and fruits straight from her family's gardens. Helping her mother and grandmother string beans and shuck corn for the dinner table their family of eight gathered at every evening gave her a sense of family bonding through food. She would like to pass that experience on to others by encouraging families to take the time to eat at their own dinner table, to sit down and talk to each other over a delicious, healthy meal they’ve personally chosen provided by Life of Riley Personal Chef Service.

Stephanie first made food her life calling by attending culinary school at Stratford University in Falls Church, VA, where she was a member of the Culinary Honor Society. While she participated in the culinary program there, one of her chef instructors at the school referred her to his friend, Chef Richard Beckel, formerly Executive Sous Chef at Citronelle in Georgetown, who was at the time Executive Chef at The Brass Cannon restaurant at Stonewall Golf Club in Gainesville, VA. Chef Beckel hired Stephanie to be a member of his kitchen brigade at The Brass Cannon, where her culinary education grew by leaps and bounds under his tutelage.

More recently, Stephanie has had the great priviledge of being a member of the culinary staff on Chef Emeril Lagasse's newest TV show, Emeril Green, which airs on the Planet Green channel.

Since she began Life of Riley in 2005, Stephanie has dealt extensively with cooking for a variety of food allergies, including gluten, casein, egg, and soy, and finds that she is able to modify almost anything to make the diet of those with food allergies more exciting and enjoyable. She takes great comfort in knowing that her food has had an healing effect on her clients' bodies and lives, and always looks forward to new challenges in the way of special diets. She also caters to vegetarian and vegan diets and has a wide variety of vegetarian selections on her menus.

Stephanie has studied the effects that toxins in our food, our home and our environment have on our mental and physical health, including links to cancer, asthma, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and ADHD. She has taken steps to rid her own diet of most preservatives and highly-processed foods, and has also eliminated the toxic chemical cleaners from her home and replaced them with natural and non-toxic cleaners. Toxins store themselves within the fat cells in our bodies, and as a result of her reduced toxicity, Stephanie has lost weight, gained better mental focus, and has been consistently physically healthy. She will cook for you and clean up your kitchen in the same non-toxic manner, and hope to pass on the good health to you, as well as any educational materials or references on non-toxic living you may be interested in.

Chef Stephanie is a member of Personal Chefs Cooperative. She also is certified as a ServSafe Food Protection Manager. Life of Riley Personal Chef Service is licensed, bonded, and insured.

Stephanie invites you to let her take you on a culinary journey toward better health, a satisfied appetite, peace of mind, and a more luxurious life!

Contact me to schedule an appointment today!