Where do you take your career after being the personal chef for Superbowl star Tom Brady and supermodel Gisele Bündchen—a couple so physically perfect they have gained a near godlike status around the world? You start a premium organic meal delivery service, of course. A Chelmsford native, chef Allen Campbell—whose home base is Boston—has taken his nutritional knowledge and culinary expertise to clients in Boston, Connecticut, New York City, and the Hamptons through his new venture AC Kitchen. Campbell also provides chef placement services for those who would like a personal chef and a food consulting business to help clients improve their eating habits.
Campbell is a veteran when it comes to prepping meals for others. He was 14 when he started working in the food industry and then went to college for culinary arts to further learn his craft while cooking in some of Boston’s high-end restaurants. After 20 years in the hospitality industry, he crafted his own culinary style, and wanted to find a different path from a traditional chef’s. “I was burnt out—I wanted to live a healthier lifestyle. I stopped smoking, I started to eat healthy foods, and started working out,” says Campbell. “I gravitated toward eating whole foods and following a plant-based diet.”
And today, Allen’s business is all about one thing: healthy cooking for his clients. He works with athletes, actors, entertainers, and people who have medical conditions to help their overall performance and health. Campbell’s meals focus on seasonal produce. He also eliminates foods that cause inflammation, such as white sugar, gluten, and dairy. “We don’t use any of those in our recipes,” Campbell explains.
Instead Campbell focuses on organic green vegetables, whole grains, fruit, and other colorful organic vegetables. And instead of sugar or dairy-based creams to add flavor, he infuses his dishes with herbs and aromatics. Meat and fish are wild or organic and locally raised, but used sparingly. “My culinary focus is more flexitarian although I don’t really use that word,” he says.
Campbell wants to have a positive impact on people’s lives through food. As a celebrity chef, Campell knows he has a platform to reach people and help change eating habits for the better. His meal service seeks to bridge the gap between healthcare and eating to support and empower the body.
He explains we need to look at food as fuel for the body; we eat food because we need to nourish our bodies. “We need to think about food in a different light; let’s look past flavor and look at the reason why we eat,” he says.
His creations are delicious, healthful meals that do not sacrifice the integrity of flavor. “If you don’t enjoy what you are eating then you probably won’t continue eating it,” he says. “You have to make food flavorful.”
Allen wants to share his healthy dishes so much, he has even posted some of his favorite recipes online, such as gluten-free pasta with walnuts and pesto (with just a 20-minute prep time and 10 minute cook time, you can’t beat it for a midweek meal) and his butternut quinoa bowl with avocado.
For the meal delivery service, you can choose a custom menu, a monthly meal plan, a partial plan, or a family plan, as well as add-ons. His delicious parfaits, smoothies and raw cereals, winter salads, cherry chia bowls, and “cheezy,” spicy kale chips are just a few of the dishes offered. He uses little oil in his dishes, but instead sautées garlic and onions in water without sacrificing flavor—now that is talent!
During summer, the dishes may be more nutrient-dense raw foods while heartier dishes are on offer in the colder months. Every recipe is made from scratch, and there is something for everyone. The business has been semi-private, but he’s opening it up to more people, as he refines the recipes.
Allen’s work can be found in The Game of Eating Smart, as well as the TB12 Method and the TB12 Nutrition Manual.
CONTACT allencampbellkitchen.com