LIFE: observed: American Cultural Observation 275: My first Pampered Chef Party

Sunday, June 27, 2010

American Cultural Observation 275: My first Pampered Chef Party

Early this morning I traded my man card into do a bit of ‘research’ and went to my first ‘Pampered Chef’ party. Held at a colleague of mine’s house out is the stix (yes Valerie, I called you a redneck!) Shannon, Vangie and myself set out for Wills Point ready to be amazed, and ending up being the only male at the party...

For those of you, like me, who had no idea, The Pampered Chef offers a line of kitchen tools, food products, and cookbooks aimed for preparing food in the home. Founded in 1980 by Doris Christopher, the company began to sell these items to housewives on the party plan, a system in which a homemaker invited her friends over for a social event at which the products were demonstrated and sold, a concept first used with great success with Tupperware.

The products gained popularity in the 1990s, even as many other party plan merchandisers were faltering due to changing lifestyles. It started its global presence with Canada in 1996. It spread to Europe with the UK in 1999 and Germany in 2000. The company was acquired in 2002 by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Corporation. I was a bit amazed to find out that the company has a worldwide direct sales force over 60,000 in addition to 750 corporate staff. The company is currently operating in five countries: USA, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Mexico.

So, as I did more research I was glad I did not end up at this Pampered Chef Party...

with help from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Google

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My ramblings might not inspire you.

You might not be emboldened to attempt anything more than making a fresh pot of coffee. There are plenty of blogs out there written by very courageous souls who have poetically broken away from main stream society to achieve their goals.

I am a South African serving with Mercy Ships currently stationed in the United States. Mercy Ships, a global charity who has operated hospital ships in developing nations since 1978, is following the example of Jesus, by bringing hope and healing to the forgotten poor, mobilizing people and resources worldwide, and serving all people without regard to race, gender or religion.

This blog is simply the ramblings of a middle aged man viewing life from the sidelines and might not always be about my work with Mercy Ships.

Disclaimer: I serve with Mercy Ships. Everything here, however, is my personal opinion and is not read or approved before it is posted. Opinions, conclusions and other information expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of Mercy Ships.

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