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Richard Florczak biography
Florczak
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Who's in the kitchen?: Agoura Hills resident Richard Florczak has worked for 11 years as private chef for actor-director Mel Gibson and his family. Florczak has collected favorite recipes in a cookbook that includes a foreword written by another client, "Alias" star Jennifer Garner.
Daily routine: After checking with a Gibson assistant to determine how many people are expected for dinner, Florczak goes grocery shopping (PC Greens in Malibu is a favorite spot). He's usually in the kitchen by 1:30 p.m. to prepare a late lunch or afternoon snack. After taking a brief cigar-and-conversation break at Mr. Bones Cigars in Malibu, he's back in the kitchen and getting ready for dinner service at 6:30. Then he cleans up and heads for home. "By 8:30, my wife is having a glass of cabernet and I'm having a cigar."
Family life: Florczak and wife Heidi have a rescue dog named Luxie. "Her rap name is De-Luxie," Florczak joked.
His favorite dish: It's a tie between pizza ("I'm from the East Coast, where pizza is a religion") and Chinese food (he studied its nuances while in Hong Kong). But Florczak also is partial to "neighborhood hole-in-the-wall places that others might call dives."
How the rich stay rich: Before working with the Gibsons, Florczak was private chef for an elderly couple who employed an extensive in-house staff. Every Monday morning, he found a stack of grocery coupons waiting for him to use while shopping. "I could shop at Gelson's for meat, but everything else had to come from Ralphs," he said with a laugh.
Log on: Visit Florczak's Web site at www.theprivatechef.com. To watch his appearance last week on the Home Shopping Network, click on the "video" button at kitchen-dining.hsn.com/private-chef-cookbook_p-3530407_xp.aspx
— Lisa McKinnon
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