Meet the Chef

Chef Mel Ramos is a member of the United States Personal Chef Association and a graduate of the Culinary Business Academy.

Chef Mel founded alegría Personal Chef Services to fulfill a lifelong dream of earning a living doing what she loves most: cooking and baking high quality dishes for discriminating palates.

Chef Mel grew up in Tampa and attended USF before leaving the area to pursue a career in college teaching and administration. Advanced degrees in anthropology and a lifetime of international travel injected a world of diverse influences in her evolving culinary repertoire. In 2005 she returned to Tampa to follow her dream of cooking and baking full time.

For many years Chef Mel happily catered special occasions for friends and family in her spare time. Now she's settled into a full time personal chef service that brings the complete range of her cooking and baking talents to a few lucky clients in the Tampa Bay area each week.

Chef Mel never stops expanding her culinary expertise with adventures that take her all over the world.

In October of 2005 she studied North Indian cuisine at Masala Art in New Delhi, India.
In August of 2006 she attended the USPCA national conference and completed ServSafe, the food industry’s leading food safety training and certification course.
In March of 2007 she studied Mexican cuisine with the head chef at RanchoEncantado, an eco-resort in the southern Yucatan.
See Chef Mel’s article about her March 2007 trip to the Yucatan in the online travel magazine, travelwritingandphotography.com; just click on The Soul of Travel Magazine and look for a feature titled “Good Medicine in the Yucatan.“
In August of 2007 she attended the USPCA national conference.
Chef Mel has followed nutritional trends for decades; now she’s adding nutritional credentials to her resume to provide even greater service to her health-conscious clients. In 2007 she anticipates completing an 18-credit diploma program in General Nutrition, with an Associate’s Degree in nutrition to follow.
The November/December 2007 issue of Personal Chef Magazine will include an article by Chef Mel about finding affordable cooking lessons wherever you travel.
In 2008 Chef Mel expects to complete the rigorous requirements of the U.S. Personal Chef Association’s certification program, which will earn her the title of USPCA Certified Personal Chef.

Stay tuned for continued updates regarding Chef Mel’s culinary adventures.

"Give yourself a world of flavor and the gift of time." Chef Mel Ramos