So with P5,000 in his pocket, he started offering recipes from the South Beach Diet (SBD) to three clients “more as a means of practising my cooking skills, primarily catering to friends and relatives,” he says. “I had no boss, so I was free to explore and discover what cooking meant to me.” Understandably, Gruenberg only “used what equipment was available at our house that time,” he says, stressing that for a time, he “never intended for it to be an income- generating business; but rather just a training ground to discover new food, flavors, et cetera.” But when the business started picking up, especially since Gruenberg is one of the extremely few offering SBD recipes on demand in Metro Manila, if not the Philippines, the official birth of iChef Concepts and Solutions came to be.

“(From a small start, I) slowly bought my own equipment, and eventually was able to build a small commissary kitchen,” he says, so that the “initial investment was easy to gain back, but since I started with practically all borrowed equipment, the investment was continuous.”
 
Despite going more commercial, Jose says they continue “producing the best quality of food affordable, so that a lot of people, not just the (well off), can experience our food,” he says. This, for him, is very important, as teaching people to “eat smart” has become an advocacy, too; which was what led him to go into promoting SBD in the first place. SBD, of course, was started by Arthur Agatston in Miami, Florida first as a diet plan for his cardiac patients, who he believed should cut down consumption of “bad” fats and carbohydrates, e.g. those with a high glycemic index, which creates an insulin resistance syndrome; and those that are filled with saturated fat and trans fat, thereby contributing to an increase in cardiovascular disease.

The diet has three phases, all of them emphasizing the need to permanently change the way of eating of individuals and not just those dieting – by focusing on healthy food such as whole grains, vegetables, and those with mono- and polyunsaturated fats; and avoiding processed foods, as well as those with high fats.

Jose, nonetheless, pushes for healthy eating not just as a means to lose weight, but as a change in lifestyle necessary for good living. “Gone are the days of Zero Carbohydrates and All Protein diets. The Eat Smart Diet System emphasizes on balancing what you eat, choosing foodstuff with more nutritional value rather than just picking the low sugar and low carbohydrate substitutes. It’s not anymore about picking what has less fat, but also what positive and negative effects each foodstuff have on your body. Weight loss is an immediate goal, but starting and living healthy is a lifetime commitment,” he says in iChef’s blog. “That is our mission in the diet (we offer) – to give you healthy food that would aid you to lose weight, but (what we) eventually hope (our customers will) incorporate in their (regular) diet.”

iChef’s current package includes three meals and a snack per day for seven days, delivered on a weekly basis every Sunday (cut-off reservation is Thursday preceding the week of delivery). The menu is changed every week, going through 12 to 15 themes before the cycle is repeated again, albeit still with modifications in the offerings. Even with the relative success of iChef, Jose says what separates him from other related businesses is the personal attention he gives to what he offers. “I still personally go to the market at 3:00 A.M.,” he smiles. “I am blessed to have people supporting me including my staff, sharing the same vision that I have.”

Jose plans to eventually open a restaurant “so that we could share the food that we do with more people,” he says. But he sees this as a part of a “continuous journey of learning,” he says. “I have always followed the principle that a cook is as only good as his/her last meal. (And for that), I always make sure I give my best in every meal I prepare.” And thus far, this has been serving Jose just as well as it benefits his customers.

For more information on iChef Concepts and Solutions, visit #9 Mother Ignacia Avenue corner Roces Avenue, Quezon City; call Allan G. Jose at (+63) 917 8985443; email ichef23@yahoo.com; or visit http://ichef.multiply.com.