For Doris Christopher, prayers before mealtime — and the tradition of sharing a meal — have been a cornerstone of her life, as well as a major part of her international business success.
Christopher, founder of Pampered Chef of Addison, Ill., which provides tips and tools for a better cooking experience, attributes much of her success and personal fulfillment to her parents’ decision to join a Lutheran congregation under development. “It was a one-room church,” she said. “We would have Sunday school in the pews and then we regrouped for service. It was literally a block away from our house. My two older sisters and I were baptized there. My parents were very active because it was a small church and everybody had to pitch in.”
The call to be Lutheran led Christopher’s parents to send her to a Lutheran grade school and high school, even though the latter was about 20 miles away. “I could sense God’s intention that I go to this school,” she said. “It was God’s plan, and we talked about it as a family. I remember during prayer time before a meal my mother said, ‘Thank you God for this wonderful opportunity.’”
Christopher met her future husband in school, and while there gained a sense of confidence and skill that carried her into adulthood.
After working as a stay-at-home mother, she decided to go back to work. But she didn’t really want to be a schoolteacher, even though that was her background. She prayed about it and realized that her passion was working with adult women and equipping them with skills to help strengthen their families. “I realized cooking and mealtimes were important,” she said. “I learned so much just sitting at our table and observing.”
Christopher’s business idea came from friends who kept asking if they could buy the simple, high quality kitchen tools she used. She realized through her interactions, and with the “kitchen shows” she conducted, that she inspired women as much as she taught them.
With a $3,000 loan from an insurance policy, Christopher started Pampered Chef in 1980, paying cash for everything until she could prove her viability.
From the beginning, the company espoused its beliefs by putting in its mission statement that it hoped to help develop employees’ “God-given gifts.” They also prayed before gatherings.
Early employees were mostly from Christopher’s congregation, so it felt comfortable to appear as a Christian company. Later on “we had people of the Jewish faith with us,” she said. “We wanted to be universal in our faith so they would feel more comfortable. We would still say prayers before meals, but now we would pray in a more universal way to God. We didn’t want to be exclusionary.”
The company was sold in 2002, but Christopher said Berkshire Hathaway has generally been affirming of the Pampered Chef approach to business operations, including its long history of philanthropy.
Christopher said the success of Pampered Chef all stems from her simple idea that healthy mealtimes help strengthen families. “It has been clear to me that God has been there directing me for a long time,” she said. “For my whole life.”
