After graduating from the culinary arts programme at the Bermuda College, Meagan Boyles struggled to find a job that suited her.

She worked at a range of local cafés and restaurants, but did not like the heavy pressure in the industry.

“Restaurants can be harsh environments,” she said.

She had an epiphany while helping her mother to clean houses in a wealthy Hamilton Parish enclave.

“I said I wish I could cook in kitchens like this,” she said.

Suddenly, she saw a way that she could. She put out flyers advertising herself as a home chef.

Her social media page caught the attention of Leah Dean, a Bermuda resident and author of Find Your Tribe.

“She put the word out about me, and that really helped,” Ms Boyles said.

Her catering business Taste. At. Home was born.

“For a monthly fee, I will come into your home and spend two or three hours cooking a week’s worth of meals,” she said. “I will even clean up afterward.”

She was doing well until Covid-19 intervened.

“I had to put the business on hold,” she said. “Now that things have died down, I have just relaunched.”

Many of her customers are busy mothers with small children.

“Most of them just do not have time to cook,” she said. “Also, some of my clients do not like to cook or do not know how.”

She caters to the customer’s taste.

“If they like stir-fry and pastas, that is what I will do,” she said. “I also bake. The customer does the grocery shopping and I work with what they have bought.”

Since restarting, her biggest challenge has been finding steady clientele who are interested in her services.

Sometimes she gets nibbles of interest, but people are put off by the monthly fee that comes on top of the cost of groceries.

“I would prefer not to say what my fees are,” she said. “I have to put my price range to a point where I can sustain myself. I am a mother and have obligations.”

Her 12-year-old daughter loves to help.

“She will ask: ‘Are we cooking for anyone today?’” Ms Boyles said.

She frequently caters to clients at Rosewood Tucker’s Point. She has one couple who order her meat and sausage lasagne in a vodka sauce, every time they come to the island.

She has also cooked for celebrities such as reggae singers Pressure Busspipe and Ras Shiloh.

“It was great cooking for them,” she said.

So far, she is getting good feedback. “I had a client say yesterday that she is extremely pleased with everything,” Ms Boyles said. “She is always singing my praises and recommending me.”