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Chef Gives Home Cooking A New Meaning

Highlands Today staff photo

Chef Oliver Stoeckle cooks gourmet meals in a client's home.

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Mandy Sheets

Published: June 1, 2008

SEBRING — If you're looking for a fancy meal in your own dining room without slaving over the stove or washing dinners, call Chef Oliver Stoeckle.

"People like to eat in their own houses and be comfortable and enjoy a nice bottle of wine and not have to worry about driving home after their meal," said Stoeckle, who recently started a business he calls Rent-A-Chef. "I cook for a lot of special occasions like dinner parties and anniversaries."

Stoeckle, who speaks with a heavy German accent, jokes that he is a native Southerner.

"I picked this accent up in acting school in California," Stoeckle quipped. "People like your cooking better if they think you're European."

The chef is actually originally from the southern part of Germany, known as Bavaria, but his cooking style isn't limited to that region.

"I can cook any type of food they want," Stoeckle said. "A lot of people like European cuisine, but that's so broad, it could mean anything."

When cooking in someone's house, he personalizes the menu for their taste.

"I talk to the customers to find out what they like or want to try and I create a menu," Stoeckle said. "Sometimes people want to try something they've never had before or sometimes they want a favorite dish they haven't had in a while."

He brings all his own equipment and even his own server, if the guest list is large enough. The price is based on the number of people and the number of courses, and the meals can be as extravagant as seven courses.

Stoeckle said he enjoys the creativity of cooking that allows him to experiment with new recipes.

"There are so many great combinations to try in cooking," Stoeckle said. "I have traveled around the world and worked at many restaurants, so I have seen many different dishes. Sometimes I eat something I enjoy and think of a way I can change it to make it my own."

The chef laughed when asked if he uses cookbooks or measuring cups.

"Forget about it –– I'm no pastry chef," Stoeckle said. "I try different ingredients and continue to change the way I make something until it turns out how I want it, and then I stick to it and memorize it."

Although he enjoys cooking fancy meals, when it comes to eating, he prefers simplicity.

"Fancy food is nice, but sometimes you get a craving for simple food," Stoeckle said. "I like family style cooking –– the kind your grandmother would cook for you."

Growing up in the countryside of Germany, Stoeckle said he would be excited if there would be mushrooms to put on top of his meal.

Stoeckle moved to the United States eight years ago as a chef for Chateau Elan in Atlanta. He then worked at Chateau Elan in Sebring and is now the chef at Golf Hammock Restaurant.

His Rent-A-Chef venture takes him to kitchens all over the area, and he recently cooked for a group in Tampa.

"This is the slow season for the restaurant, so my schedule is pretty open for cooking in people's homes," he said.

For more information, contact Chef Oliver at 863-202-0593.

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