After a long career as a corporate manager, Chef Terrence LaPlante decided to follow his true passion. In the fall of 2002 he retired from his corporate job and he and his wife Barbara started Real Meals Personal Chef Service.

While working in corporate management, Chef Terrence was also pursuing a career as an artist. Over the years, his medium changed from canvas to dinner plate, and he began using cooking as a creative outlet. He immersed himself in cooking and devoted a great deal of his free time to teaching himself and honing his culinary skills.

Chef Terrence started by sharing his creations with family and friends and was soon urged to branch out. He began cooking for private events such as showers and weddings, and expanded to large events such as elegant fundraising dinners for charities. His diverse cooking adventures earned him recognition over the years–from being a finalist in both the Chicago Tribune's Rib Fest and Illinois State Barbeque Championship, to being featured in the Chicago Sun-Times for his creative and healthy gourmet meals-- all of the while working a full-time corporate job! Chef Terrence decided it was time to dedicate all of this time to the thing he loved the most, food.

Since starting Real Meals, Chef Terrence has been continuing his culinary education. Most recently, he completed a culinary apprenticeship program in Niort, France under the instruction of Chef Robert Reynolds of the Northwest Culinary Forum of Portland, Oregon. The experience he gained from his time in France has proven to be invaluable.

Chef Terrence is fully insured and certified by the National Restaurant Association as a "ServSafe" Food Protection Manager and the State of Illinois in Food Service Sanitation. 

He is also a proud member of the American Personal & Private Chef Association.

"I was 32 when I started cooking; up until then, I just ate."

--Julia Child