Fashion designer finds rewarding career as private chef

More than 70% of Americans say a rewarding profession aliases occupation is highly important for them to unrecorded a fulfilling life — much important than family, friends aliases wealth. CBS News interviewed a wide array of workers who chose unsocial jobs, for a bid we call: Unique jobs, extraordinary lives. 

Katya Ekimian, a backstage cook pinch a inheritance successful manner design, has created civilization knit gowns for high-profile guests astatine events including nan famed Met Gala. She's good alert of really overmuch appearances matter - astatine a caller manner world meal party, Ekimian, successful complaint of nan food, not nan dresses, knew to make judge some looked and tasted great.

"I often activity pinch actors, group successful fashion, creation and design, because I deliberation location is simply a earthy connection. With my background, it's earthy that my clients would beryllium successful that statement of work," she said. 

Ekimian, 25, has built a afloat roster of high-profile clients by connection of mouth.  Katya Ekimian

She has made 5 civilization dresses for Sandra Jarvis Weiss, who is joined to Daniel Weiss, nan erstwhile CEO and President of nan Met, for nan museum's yearly ball, 1 of fashion's most-watched events. 

While she called nan acquisition "a very typical chapter" successful her creation career, she now spends her clip reasoning astir food, including its spirit and beingness form. 

"I emotion highlighting nutrient arsenic adjacent to its earthy shape and flavor. I'm capable to beryllium rather playful and silly pinch immoderate of my clients; decorating nutrient pinch workplace animals, themed dinners, penning small messages successful nan food. It's ever bully nosy erstwhile families person children arsenic well," she said. 

Ekimian said agleam colors make for awesome ocular opposition connected a table.  Katya Ekimian

It's a fixed that her nutrient needs to sensation bully for clients to support coming back, but it's besides important that a array mounting look beautiful and bountiful, she said. She adds individual touches to nan measurement she plates nutrient and sets tables. "Being capable to person afloat imaginative power complete an full evening is really fun," she said. "It has truthful overmuch to do pinch appearances, and I really bask making nutrient look really beautiful and fun. I emotion a big, happy, colorful meal."

It's not conscionable artistic — eating nutrient of different colors looks bully and besides "makes for awesome nutritional balance," Ekimian said. 

Russian-American Ekimian, 25, was calved successful Washington, D.C., and lived successful Cairo, Egypt arsenic a teenager. At property 17, she moved to New York City to study manner astatine nan Parsons School of Design.

Unlike galore backstage chefs, Ekimian entered nan section done an unexpected path. As a student successful New York City successful hunt of other income, she started cooking meals for able families. Later, astatine property 19, while moving a summertime occupation astatine a workplace on Martha's Vineyard, an land disconnected nan seashore of Massachusetts, she resumed backstage cheffing and has since built a robust customer database by connection of mouth.

"Right spot astatine nan correct time"

"I was astatine nan correct spot astatine nan correct time, but I besides had nan experience," Ekimian told CBS MoneyWatch. She had worked arsenic a backstage cook preparing play meals for a family successful Harlem, New York; a gig she secured by responding to a occupation posting connected Care.com, a tract that connects families pinch caregivers. She had besides worked astatine a nutrient hallway astatine Yosemite National Park, cooking buffet-style meals for much than 500 guests regular – her type of culinary school. 

Many of her peers attended culinary schoolhouse and later entered nan edifice world. There are astir 174,400 chefs and caput cooks successful nan U.S., according to nan U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. In 2022, nan median net for chefs was $56,520. By contrast, location are less backstage chefs, who gain an mean of $45,510 annually, according to nan BLS. 

Ekimian paved her way by combining her creator sensibility pinch her on-the-job acquisition astatine nan nutrient hall. 

"It was nan nonstop other of being a backstage chef," she said, adding that it's wherever she learned astir nutrient information and picked up different skills required for nan job. "I cooked pounds and pounds of bacon for a buffet. I learned a batch astir nutrient information and handling. Because it was a large corporation, everything had to beryllium by nan book and FDA-approved. It was each standardized. To spot nutrient being produced astatine that ample a standard was really informative."

There was tons of request for chefs connected Martha's Vineyard and "normally you're stuck pinch whoever you tin find connected an island," said Ekimian. "When I sewage location group were excited that I was caller there, and they said, 'Let's usage her.'"

While she didn't disclose nan names of her clients for privateness reasons, it's location to respective high-profile summertime residents ranging from Hollywood actors to players successful nan governmental sphere. Former President Barack Obama has owned an land location since 2020. 

"That really launched my career. I would spell complete to people's houses successful my overalls and navigator them food. It really was a awesome opportunity to beryllium successful a awesome spot pinch astonishing nutrient I would get from section farms, positive nan group of clientele. My full customer database has webbed disconnected of that summer," Ekimian said. 

She presently juggles astir 7 to 10 clients astatine a time, which she considers a afloat workload. Some of her clients inquire for play repast prep, while others prosecute her to navigator for meal parties. 

In New York City, it's not uncommon for a customer to scope retired and inquire her to navigator for a statement nan time earlier nan event.  

"Sometimes it's like, 'Are you free tomorrow night?'" she said.  

"You can't beryllium corporate"

Ekimian occupies a unsocial spot successful her clients' lives. She's cooked for a scope of clients pinch different dietary needs, including master athletes pinch strict regimens, actors trying to trim weight for movie roles, and group experimenting with a caller harvest of appetite-suppressing drugs, for illustration Ozempic. 

She became concerned 1 time erstwhile a longtime customer didn't eat their meal, "I thought location must person been thing incorrect pinch it. But they said, 'No, it's truthful yummy, we're conscionable full.' And that's erstwhile I realized they're each connected Ozempic," she told CBS MoneyWatch.

But people who only return a fewer bites of food and gawk astatine nan remainder dress up a mini sliver of her clientele - galore others unfastened up their lives and homes to her. It tin beryllium a reliable balance, she said. 

"You can't beryllium corporate, particularly successful semipermanent gigs, but it's a balance," Ekimian said. "You person to beryllium lukewarm and friends because you're successful someone's home, but you besides ever request to support a level of professionalism." 

She tin walk each time successful someone's home, often alone, but isn't their friend aliases a portion of their family. She tries to support a demeanor she describes arsenic "friendly professionalism."

Ekimian travels pinch a 'granny cart' attached to nan beforehand of her Citibike.  Katya Ekimian

She almost ever useful solo; it's seldom cost-effective to prosecute help. Which intends she spends astir of her days alone. That includes clip spent shopping for groceries and ingredients, prepping meals, labeling Tupperware containers and organizing clients' refrigerators. She sources nan bulk of her ingredients from farmers markets aliases straight from farms. 

"It's lonely, and it's nan aforesaid for everyone. You're truthful tired astatine nan extremity of nan time that each you want to do is dishonesty down and spell to bed, and you recognize that you've been unsocial for 15 hours," she said.

There are upsides to her unsocial statement that make it a satisfying career, though. She often travels pinch families she cooks for, pinch jobs taking her to Europe and nan Caribbean.

"It's an unthinkable perk of nan occupation and specified a typical opportunity erstwhile you person a awesome enslaved pinch a family. It ever makes nan occupation truthful overmuch much fun. And erstwhile you decorativeness your shift, you tin spell for a locomotion and do your ain exploring," she said. 

Ekimian has worked successful Europe, The Caribbean, New York and Martha's Vineyard.  Katya Ekimian

Full imaginative control

In her first occupation doing repast prep for a family successful Harlem, she earned $15 an hour. She now has group hourly, regular and monthly rates, depending connected nan magnitude of a job. According to Indeed.com, New York City-based backstage chefs gain an mean of $38 an hour, and up to astir $60 connected nan precocious end. 

She said she makes much money than she thinks she would successful a manner aliases creation job, but still gets to freelance arsenic a knitwear designer. 

She besides finds ways to beryllium imaginative while cooking, some pinch ingredients and flavors, and aesthetics - an result astir seen erstwhile she caters to manner events. "There is immoderate nosy crossover to it," she said. "That's erstwhile I tin get really imaginative pinch what I americium making," Ekimian said. 

Her imagination is for her meal guests to deterioration her knitwear creations while eating her food. 

"It would consciousness for illustration a dream being capable to create my ain small world. Designing and past producing each facet of what goes connected nan assemblage and wrong of it," she said. "For me, cooking and creating garments is besides a shape of emotion truthful it would beryllium nan eventual look of myself."