John Mellencamp Community

What's cookin'? Meet personal chef Andrea Lord
By OSEYE T. BOYD

MUNCIE -- Not many people can say they cooked for John Mellencamp.

Andrea "Andi" Lord has that distinct privilege. It was serendipity that Lord found herself in Mellencamp's kitchen.

Lord had tried to become Mellencamp's personal chef for a while, but he already had one. Then when his regular chef needed to take some time off, Lord became his substitute. A six-month gig turned into about 18 months while the chef's recovery took longer than anticipated.

When the regular chef came back to work, Mellencamp wasn't ready to let Lord go. He asked her to become his personal chef while he was on tour. She said, "no." She had to; her children were in school.

"It was hard, but I had to make a decision," Lord said. "I had to put my children first."

So what did Mellencamp love to eat?

Well, he liked low-fat meats like buffalo and ostrich, Lord said. Mellencamp, who had a heart attack and had high cholesterol, was on a strict diet -- and his wife was a model at the time -- so Lord imagines any of his favorite foods were banned. He did like a little lasagna on occasion.

"He had me fix a great big lasagna dinner for about 20 people one time," Lord said. "I fixed a regular lasagna and vegetable lasagna."

Now, Lord is back in this area and trying to establish herself as a personal chef. Born and raised in Muncie, Lord lived here until age 25. Many might know her as Andrea Buchanan -- her maiden name. And those who knew her way back when might remember her love of cooking.

"I've been cooking since I was 7 years old," Lord said. "My mother taught me how to cook everything from scratch. I would cook for family and friends."

She even cooked for the parents of her friends. If she spent the night at a friend's house, everyone often awoke to breakfast by Lord.

But just what does a personal chef do?

Whatever you hire Lord to do that involves cooking, of course. For $20 an hour, Lord can plan a meal, grocery shop and cook if that's wanted. She can fix several meals and freeze or refrigerate them. She can use her own recipes or the client's. It's really up to the client. During a free consultation, Lord learns what the client desires.

"I multi-task and (am) very efficient with my time," Lord. "Most people have me fix dinner."

Recently, she prepared a lunch of chicken tortilla soup, guacamole, black bean dip and salsa for the employees of dentist Greg Pyle. It was a hit. Lord noted that she got the recipe from a sister-in-law who lives in Guatemala. Lindsay Riebsomer, who lived in New Mexico for several years, thought the food "tasted very authentic."

"It was fantastic; really good," said Torie Bledsoe, an employee in Pyle's office. "Love the bean dip. Love the soup. Loved it all."

http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20110511/LIFESTYLE/105110304

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