Chef Michael Wards

One of the main reasons I cook is because food takes me back to a place or time, he says. There's emotion and memory to food even if you haven't had that exact dish before. An inspired dish can set the tone and fill you with feeling.

Michael says true personal chefs strive for personal relationships with their clients. That philosophy is at the core of his business. It's obvious when working with him that each meal and menu is more than the art of presentation or the science of tweaking a recipe to perfection. It's the giving of himself through that plate.

I'm not nearly as inspired by the food as I am by the people I'm creating it for, he says.