Meet Liz Hoff of CLH Kitchen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Liz Hoff.

Hi Liz, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m 35, Brazilian, fire sign. Born and raised in Sao Paulo, a metropolis with over 12 million people, I was a journalist before moving to the US 10 years ago. I’ve always wanted to live a different life speak a different language in a different country. I’m self-taught in English and Spanish, but English was my passion. So I moved here when I was 25. I wasn’t plant-based yet and didn’t know I was gonna become a personal chef and run my own business, I was an illegal immigrant for over six years and didn’t know how far I could get. When you’re in that situation, sometimes it’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. But I never gave up. I met my husband, and in 2018 I became a legal resident. Together, we watched a lot of documentaries about health and how the consumption of animal products and processed foods was directly linked to all health problems.

We then started to eat less and less meat until we transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle. I’ve been cooking since I was 14. My mom was never a big fan of the kitchen and she also worked all day, so I followed my aunt steps who is the main cook in the family and started making delicious food to help out. My earliest memory of being into food was when I was five, I used to hide under the table while my grandma would make gnocchi to steal little pieces of dough and eat it. I still remember the taste of raw flour. During the pandemic, I started cooking every day and trying new stuff, as my husband and I were laid off from the restaurant we used to wait tables at. I had been looking at this class at Institute of Culinary Education in Pasadena for a while now, a health-supportive culinary class, where I would learn all the techniques but cooking with mostly plant-based foods. I quit my job and started the class, not really knowing where I would end. I took a leap of faith. I learned a lot and fell in love even more with the colorful world of plant-based cooking.

After class, I got hired as a line cook, but restaurant life isn’t for me. Cooks are highly underpaid, we work a lot, it’s hot and very tiring. I left the job and got my first client as a personal chef, recommended by a friend. The beginning wasn’t easy, there were weeks on end when I only had this one client and things didn’t seem to pick up. I then started to advertise, learn, find my audience, and get more and more clients. I partnered with another chef to do private events, I catered for a few parties, got a website and social media running, and then there it was: I was my own boss, running my own show, feeding families with my plant-based food. In January, my business picked up so much I even thought I wasn’t gonna be able to handle it — but I did. I am now working on branding CLH Kitchen as an essential health-supportive plant-based food service; the demand is only growing and either as a personal chef or a catering company, I want people to know the benefits of this diet. I love when guests are wowed by my versions of traditional dishes like shepherd’s pie or lox or the amazing feedback I get from my personal chef clients. I can only thank myself for making the transition — going plant-based brought a much healthier version of me, a sense of being in alignment with who I really am, and even a new career. And I’m sure there’s much more to come.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I think the first biggest struggle was that I didn’t really know what road to take after school. I didn’t know I was going be a personal chef, it just happened because working as a cook was a nightmare and I had to quit. Once I started getting clients, it became less harder as I kind of knew what I was doing and got more confident, and I talked to other chefs about it. You learn as you go. You learn how much food to make (so many times I made way more food than I should!), you learn how much to charge, you learn that different people have different needs, and there are different ways to talk to everybody. Same for catering, you learn how to negotiate your hourly rate in a way that benefits you but also the client. I think getting clients is still the hardest part, not everybody is ready for personal chef pricing or plant-based catering. People don’t understand how much work there is behind all the show. Having mentors is a huge help people who have been working on it for a while. So you have someone to guide you.

Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about CLH Kitchen?
CLH Kitchen is a plant-based food service. We do personal cheffing, meal prep service, and catering. I also help people transition to a plant-based diet and reorganize their pantry and fridge, swapping processed items to healthier versions. My main clients are busy families with small children. Most of my menu is also gluten-free. I have noticed a big demand for healthy meals as people are realizing more and more they need to change their eating habits. Personal chef: I cook weekly for families based on their needs and requests, the menu is personalized to each client. Meal prep service: this is a more grab-and-go type of service; I have pre-set menus where people can choose what meals they want, and it gets delivered after two days. Family size available. Catering: this type of service brings me a lot of joy, as I’m able to see people eat plant-based food and go, “wow! I can’t believe this is plant-based!”. I’m very proud of having this gift of being able to make delicious plant-based food. Most of my clients are not even vegetarian, they’re meat eaters who decided to give it a try and are all loving the food. My Brazilian roots set me apart from others, my food isn’t boring and it has a lot of color and soul.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
Gosh… LA? Love and unlove. Everyday. I’ve lived in Brentwood, Beverly Hills, Hollywood, Culver City, and now giving Pasadena a try. I love LA, I really do. It has so much to offer in all aspects. But it’s sometimes overrated, overpriced, overlooked. And it can eat you alive if you don’t work your ass off. It takes a lot of you to be successful in LA. Best part: the diversity of everything. People, food, places. It has so much to offer. Worst part: a lot of people think that to be here, they need to have this shallow type of personality.

Contact Info:

• Email: cheflizhoff@gmail.com
• Website: www.cheflizhoff.com
• Instagram:@CLHkitchen
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cheflizhoff
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/chef-liz-hoff-pasadena