Annie Turmel is fulfilling a lifetime goal with the well-received opening of Chef Annie in Huntingdon

Business is booming at Chef Annie in Huntingdon. The new restaurant as well as catering, and Home Chef business opened in Huntingdon, late October of 2017. The cozy, welcoming eatery is the dream realization of Valleyfield native, Annie Turmel, a longtime chef who saw an opportunity to run her own business and went for it. With a restaurateur grandmother and aunt, Annie had played with a rolling pin since infancy, but she didn’t really catch the bug until she job shadowed a caterer later in life and realized: “This is exactly where I want to be.” After studying the culinary arts in Laval, Annie worked as a chef in a daycare for 16 years. Her favorite aspect of the job was that aside from allergies, her director did not set limits on what she could cook. Annie subsequently moved on to managing a large-scale cafeteria, expanding her knowledge of buying in volume and price point, but still never quite felt that she had found her calling. After her uncle did her a favor one day repairing a window, she decided to make dinner for him and his friends in return. Everyone loved the experience and thus Home Chef was born. The gist of Home Chef is to bring a professional chef into your home to cook dinner, clean up, and if you like, shop for paired wines. “Many clients find it ends up being cheaper than a restaurant because we set the menu in advance,” she says. “There are no surprises.” Annie also likes the aspect of taking time with her clients to sit down and decide on a menu. “It’s a lost art,” she says. “The time we take with food and the quality family time when we sit down to a homemade meal is very important to me.” At Annie’s house family dinners happen daily with her partner in business and family, Jamie Iverson, and their six children. Jamie — who works in every aspect of the business except cooking — concurs, “A TV dinner in our house happens maybe once or twice a year.” Customers at Chef Annie in Huntingdon can eat in or take out tasty meals made with quality ingredients. Locally produced oils, mustards, vinegars and the like, which Annie uses in her cooking, are also for sale. Annie and Jaime specifically chose Huntingdon because they felt there was a niche to fill and an opportunity to add something new to discover. “We wanted to create a place where you feel like you are part of the project too,” Annie says. “We want to inspire our customers as much as they inspire us. When we saw that 111 Rue Châteauguay was for rent, we just knew it was the spot. Search @ChefAnnie on Facebook for contact info and hours.