Evelyn Willis leads a hectic life. The Ashburn Village resident is a senior flight attendant with United Airlines. She is frequently on the go, jetting around the world. So, as you might imagine, planning a holiday get-together or a dinner party with friends is a challenge. That’s why she turned to the private chefs at Fleur de Cuisine for help.
Fleur de Cuisine in Ashburn is owned and operated by chefs Natalie and Tiana Ramos, a mother-daughter team that specializes in cooking elegant meals in their clients’ kitchens.
“I contacted Chef Ramos a few years ago to host a family gathering of about 25 people,” said Willis, who estimates she has the team cook for her a half-dozen times a year. “I have ordered charcuterie boards, pastas prepared in all different ways, pulled pork, lamb chops and seafood, just to name a few. Her chocolate lava cake is now my favorite dessert.”
Natalie Ramos says a private chef provides a personal service. “You talk to your clients. You go into their home. You connect with them on a deeper and more intimate level.”
She has lived in Ashburn – first Ashburn Village, now the Broadlands – for seven years. It’s a far cry from the dangerous streets of Brooklyn and the Linden Houses public housing projects where she grew up.
“Drug dealers on the corner. Friends shot in front of me,” she recalled. “My life played like a Spike Lee movie.”
To read more about how Ramos overcame many challenges to team up with her daughter to create Fleur de Cuisine, click here and head over to the Ashburn Magazine website.