Ben Pulver-Personal Chef, Farmington

Starting his career as a dishwasher at a Big Boy, Ben Pulver has built his reputation on giving clients a much different culinary experience—custom meals that suit individual tastes and address dietary concerns. After educating himself in the culinary arts, he went on to work at Whole Foods and Sweet Lorraine's, where he became a connoisseur of the high-quality ingredients he now routinely uses in his meals.

Ben fine-tunes his cooking style to the distinct preferences of each family he cooks for, working in home kitchens and cooking 5 to 20 custom, hearty meals in one go. He also shares his skills with aspiring cooks during small- or large-group lessons, helping customers adjust to a new diet, emulate a dish from a favorite restaurant, or build a cabin made entirely of penne pasta.