Chef Bill More of Brimfield flips mushrooms in a pan during a cooking class last week at the Pekin Public Library. As the owner of Your Secret Chef, More offers intimate dinner packages for two, Girls’ Night-In parties, interactive and traditional cooking parties, wine tastings and dinner parties. (Photo by Elise Zwicky / for Chronicle Media)

Shanee Davidson of Morton has found the perfect gift for a husband who is on a special diet and already has everything he needs.

A few times a year for his birthday, anniversary or Father’s Day, Davidson brings in personal chef Bill More to provide a dinner and massage experience that always leaves the couple relaxed with full stomachs.

“My husband eats only paleo, so he can be very challenging to cook for, and I have some diet restrictions myself. So, for somebody to come into our home and cook a fantastic four-course meal that we both can eat and enjoy is wonderful,” Davidson said.

More, whose Brimfield-based business is called Your Secret Chef, keeps a list of a dozen massage therapists so he can take two with him to provide the couple an hour-long massage while he prepares a meal in their kitchen with all his own equipment.

“We’ve had things like garlic shredded pork, all kinds of vegetables, really unique salads and delicious dark chocolate desserts. My husband loves it, and he’s picky,” Davidson said.

Chef More seems to enjoy the evening as much as his clients do.

“My favorite service options are the dinner and massage and the romantic dinners for couples because I get instant feedback and instant gratification,” More said. “Typically, they’re laughing and conversing beforehand, and then I serve a dish and things just get really quiet because they’re eating and enjoying it. I enjoy having my clients indulge themselves.”

More started Your Secret Chef in 2006 after a long career in corporate sales.

“I’d been cooking since I was 16, so this was kind of an easy transition away from the corporate thing and into a retirement job,” he said. “I’ve had more fun with it than my corporate gig, that’s for sure.”

In addition to the couples’ packages, Your Secret Chef offers Girls’ Night-In parties, interactive and traditional cooking parties, wine tastings and dinner parties. Last week ,More led a Cinco de Mayo cooking class at the Pekin Public Library attended by about 15 people who feasted on pork tacos with mushrooms and tamarind and Ibarra chocolate cake.

More said he’s taken culinary classes all over the world, including a recent course in French cuisine at the Culinary Institute of America in San Antonio, Texas.

“I don’t have a culinary degree, but you don’t need one. Some of the best chefs in the world have never had any official training or an advanced education,” More said. “It’s all been in the kitchen.”

Chef Bill More, owner of Your Secret Chef, says his chocolate molten lava cake is one of the most requested items whether he’s cooking for couples or larger groups. The Brimfield resident has taken culinary classes around the world. (Photo by Elise Zwicky / for Chronicle Media)

More got the idea to become a personal chef after reading in a newspaper article about 15 years ago that it was an up-and-coming trend. The United States Personal Chef Association has more than 800 members in the United States and Canada, with 25 in Illinois and 8 downstate, according to USPCA President Larry Lynch.

“Membership has already grown by a net increase of 89 members since Jan. 1 alone,” Lynch said. “The changes in people’s focus on healthy eating, nutrition and home dining options compounded by time constraints continues to drive a need for personal chefs.”

While the service is more popular in bigger cities, More said, “I wasn’t worried at all that it wouldn’t play in Peoria.”

Lance High of Peoria hired More for the first time earlier this year for a party for 24 guests at his home.

“I do a lot of cooking, and I don’t mind cooking, but I just wanted some help with this one,” High said. “We didn’t want typical American food, so he was creative on the menu and took a lot of the work off my shoulders and my wife’s shoulders. He did all the shopping and brought everything from soup to nuts. He did a nice job.”

Always on the lookout for new ideas, More recently added two packages that include dinner and a session with a portrait photographer or dinner combined with two hours of housecleaning.

“I’m a member of the USPCA, and we try to bounce ideas off each other,” More said. “The photography sessions and the housecleaning seem to be more popular in other parts of the country, but I’m still offering it.”

He said the dinner and massage package idea originated with a personal chef in Dayton, Ohio, who’s married to a massage therapist.

“I enjoy pampering people,” More added. “I fill their wine glasses during the evening. I bring flowers for the ladies and a framed menu for the couple. I bring a birthday card or an anniversary card. And I clean everything up when I’m done. It’s much more personal and intimate than me just coming in cooking and handing out food. It’s a complete service.”

Prices for More’s services vary, depending on the menu and other factors, but the dinner and massage package runs about $400.

Shanee Davidson said, “At first glance, it seems expensive but if you consider the price of an hour-long massage for two people and the fact they come to your house, and add that to what you would pay to go out to a restaurant for a four-course meal for two people on a date night, it’s actually not that expensive. It’s not something you can afford to do a lot, but for special occasions it’s spot on.”

More said it’s meant to be a memorable experience.

“I tell people it doesn’t need to be a celebration; I’ll make it a celebration,” he said. “If you want to do something on a Tuesday evening just because you want to, I’ll help you with it.”

For more information, visit More’s website at www.yoursecretchef.net or call (309) 696-7049.

— Peoria secret chef cooks up memorable meals —