Each Wednesday, the Napa Valley Register’s Business Focus asks “10 Questions” of a local entrepreneur or businessperson. Readers are welcome to suggest business people to be profiled.

As a girl, Misty Michele Phelps said she considered becoming an artist. But after seeing Julia Child on TV when she was 8, “I was hooked.” said the chef.

In 1997, Phelps graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park in New York. Today, she runs her personal chef business, Getting Fresh With Misty.

Phelps said she cooks using seasonal, local and organic comfort food. “I don’t think people should have to guess what they are eating.”

Which three people would you most like to have dinner with? 

Julia Child, Frank Sinatra and Will Ferrell. I would like to invite Tiger Woods but I have a feeling he might be a bit too serious.

What job would you like to try/not like to try?

Try: Food critic.

Not try: I do not want anything to do with spiders, bugs or creepy-crawly things.



What was your first job?

We lived in London, Ontario, Canada when I was 12 and I was always intrigued by the dry cleaners we went to so I asked if I could work there on Saturdays. It was family-owned and I got $1.25 per hour (Canadian) working an old manual cash register while standing on a milk crate.



What’s a common misconception about being a personal chef?

A lot of people think that you are cooking for one family. That’s a private chef. This is a service I provide. I create and design my menu specifically for each client. It’s a very personal experience.



What is your favorite thing to cook?

That’s like asking an artist what their favorite color is. For clients, baked white corn and fiscalini cheddar grits. I’ve changed more people’s minds about grits with that dish.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you haven’t yet?   

Finish the cookbook I am currently working on and host a TV cooking show. I’d also like to get some of my products to market.



If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be?   

Clone me.

What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?

I’m not related to Joseph Phelps and Michael Phelps. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me that.



What’s the most significant project you’ve been involved with in your career?   

I call myself a “Band Mom” because I have an open house on a weekly basis for some of my closest friends and boyfriend to play while I cook up new recipes for them to sample. Food, music, camaraderie. What more can you want out of life?



What other business person(s) would you like to see featured in “10 Questions?”

Tim Martin, Total Innovative Marketing.

Richard Perot, chef.

Online additions

What’s on your to-do list?   

Get a group of friends together, rent a tour bus, and travel across Canada, eating and communing with that amazingly beautiful countryside.



What was your childhood ambition? 

To be a veterinarian, but I couldn’t stand the thought of putting an animal down. When I started dreaming of one day being a chef, I thought I could combine the two ambitions by cooking for the animals at the zoo.

What’s one thing Napa could do to help local business?

My grandfather and uncle were both professional chamber of commerce executive directors in Texas, so I would like to do anything that the chamber needs me to do.

What is your favorite charity?   

Susan G. Komen for The Cure.

What’s your favorite gift to give?   

Entertaining at home for those with whom I have developed a special relationship by cooking special dishes and sampling Napa’s finest sparkling wines.



Where are you from and how did you end up in Napa?

I’m originally from Dallas, Texas, moved from New York after CIA graduation. Decided to move out here for one year to learn everything I could about wine and 12 years later I am still learning. Now I’m never leaving.

Who do you most admire in the business world?  

My brother-in-law, Robert Parades, who was a waiter when I introduced him to my sister. He is now a successful commercial developer with properties in Texas, Oklahoma and Mississippi. He would love to help in Napa Valley’s further commercial evolution.

I can’t live without:

Bubbles. I moved to Napa to learn the wine business, and now I’m hooked on bubbles. 

Music. I played classical piano for 13 years and attended the Aaron Copeland Music and Arts summer camp in New York.

To suggest a candidate for “10 Questions” e-mail: jhuffman@napanews.com