CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- When Mila Furman thinks about food, she thinks about family.
"My earliest memories as a kid are tied to food," she recalled. "My story really started with food."
Her mother died when she was 20, a sign she said that pushed her to culinary school and eventually her own business.
"That was the catapult in putting me into culinary school. My mom and I always talked about going into business together. My dad told me that on her death bed, my mother said 'Mila needs to go to culinary school.'"
Girl and the Kitchen was born in 2017.
"I did a lot of event planning before, but then realized I wanted something of my own. It started with a blog, and I shared my mom's stories through recipes. I started doing some catering gigs on the weekends. Then people started asking me to private chef," she said.
In a short two years, she's hired eight chefs and has amassed more than 35 clients.
"We do private cheffing as well as boutique catering. People know what they want, but they don't know how to do it," she said.
She and her staff prepare custom meals that adapt to any potential allergies or diet.
"I only hire women. I want to give them the opportunity that I don't think exists in the hospitality and food world. I wanted to create a different feel and working with women is super empowering to them and to me," she said.
Furman said though her business is still young, she's ready to expand beyond the Chicagoland area.
"We go from Lake Forest to the West Loop, to Naperville and western suburbs. We charge by the hour and we go get the food for you. There's no up-charge for the food," and she insists personal chefs aren't just for the rich.
"I don't believe we are just providing food, I think because we educate our clients and our chefs about what they're eating, it takes it up a notch. I get my information from doctors, real people who've been in the war against bad nutrition. Propaganda has made us obese and diabetic. My goal is to not only cook for people, but educate people on what a whole food, healthy diet can do for you," Furman said.
For more information, log on girandthekitchen.com