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Archive for Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Ready-to-cook dinners offer families convenience, more time to relax

February 7, 2007

Sometimes, after a long day spent taking care of her three children, Susie Wilson likes to know there’s a home-cooked meal just waiting for her in the freezer.

Wilson has jumped on a nationwide craze that’s finding its way to Lawrence: meal assembly services, which help clients prepare ready-to-cook dinners.

“It’s the convenience of having a meal already put together,” says Wilson, who has bought food from two different services. “There’s not a whole lot of thinking what you have to get at the store.”

One meal-assembly business, Blue Plate Dinners, recently opened at 4931 W. Sixth St., in the former Westside Deli location. Another, a franchise of the regional company Social Suppers, is scheduled to open in March at 3514 Clinton Parkway, which formerly housed Mr. Gatti’s.

The businesses basically work the same way. Clients sign up to attend sessions at which they assemble meals into packaging that can be frozen. Most of the ingredients already are prepared, meaning onions are chopped or hamburger already is browned.

At Blue Plate Dinners, the 12- meal package costs $199, and the eight-meal package costs $149. Each meal serves four to six people. Social Suppers’ meals are similarly priced.

Rachel Wydeven Oliverius, who co-owns Blue Plate Dinners with Lori Johns, says with a high percentage of Lawrence residents commuting, she thinks the concept will work well here.

“We’ve had all kinds of populations,” Wydeven Oliverius says. “The concept is really great for people who love to cook, but they’re trepidatious about it. It opens their palate to tastes they might not usually try.”

Two of the most popular meals so far have been Italian chicken breasts and Cuban picadillo.

Photo by Mike Yoder

Preparing meals at a recent gathering at Blue Plate Dinners from left are Lawrence residents Nancy Sullivan, Tracy Ford Stacey, Sandra Lawrence and Erica Wheat.

“We try to vary the meals,” Wydeven Oliverius says. “We try to balance something exotic with some meals that are more basic.”

Johns adds: “It’s a challenge to make family-friendly meals for the kids and make them interesting for adults.”

Many customers choose to make the meal assembly a social event. Wilson, for example, went with about 10 friends who typically get together to play Bunco.

“You don’t have to do any dishes,” Wilson says. “You can hang out with your friends and drink a glass of wine.”

Blue Plate Dinners also offers already-packaged meals for walk-ins to pick up. Social Suppers plans to offer a similar option when it opens next month, says Barclay Hagen, the store’s owner.

She’s pretty sure Lawrence residents will embrace the concept.

“It’s huge in Johnson County — it seems like there’s one on every block,” she says. “Lawrence needs this — just the fact it’s such a huge trend right now, and the fact Lawrence doesn’t have one. I know a ton of people in Lawrence who either go to the ones in Kansas City or Topeka.”

Hagen says the quality of food is just like having a home-cooked meal.

“It still feels like you’re cooking dinner for the whole family,” she says. “It’s not getting McDonald’s or pizza. There’s that hands-on involvement.”

Time will tell if Lawrence can support two meal-assembly businesses. But Johns, of Blue Plate Dinners, says she’s encouraged so far.

“We feel pretty confident about it,” she says. “We’ve been pretty busy.”

Discussion

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7 February 2007 at 6:14 a.m.

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merrill (Anonymous) says…

I would be very careful. This is a new thing which no doubt is a hit for the moment. Still fresh fixed food is the best while this is close it's not the real thing and can still be done for less on the home front. These business people may as well make money while they can.

Some other ideas:

http://www.soyfoods.com/recipes/
7 February 2007 at 8:56 a.m.

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bizetsy (Anonymous) says…

This does sound convenient, but it's incredibly expensive! $16.50-$18.50ish for a homecooked meal is a ton (at least to this budget-minded consumer)!

One could spend time on a Sunday afternoon shopping and prepping meals for the week and come out way ahead. Crockpots are a cheap, quick way to go, as well.
7 February 2007 at 9:05 a.m.

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rikkiends (Anonymous) says…

While I agree that it *could* be done for cheaper on a Sunday afternoon, if you're a working mother and grad student, this is still a cheaper, healthier, more convenient option than eating out. I'd like to have the energy and organization to cook for my family every night, but I don't.

Thanks for the soy recipe link, though. Maybe I can whip something up over spring break. ;-)
7 February 2007 at 10:27 a.m.

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jrlii (Anonymous) says…

While it is entirely possible that I am a cheapskate, I can't think of having EVER spent $18.63 on a single meal in a restaurant including the tip. $18.63 a piece for a package of meals to heat up at home is just inconceivable.

Or is that really for a dinner for two or four, which singletons would need to divvy up smaller?
7 February 2007 at 11:28 a.m.

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Agnostick (Anonymous) says…

Read the article…

“At Blue Plate Dinners, the 12- meal package costs $199, and the eight-meal package costs $149. Each meal serves four to six people. Social Suppers’ meals are similarly priced.”
____________________________________________

$199 / 12 = @ $16.59

$25 / 4 = $4.15

Now, that's still probably more expensive than you'd do at home, considering something like…

* Box of store-brand “hamburger helper”

* Pound of ground beef, at a sale price

* Box of frozen vegetables

* Water to drink

… you get the idea.

On the other hand, how much food will you get at McD's or Pizza Hut for $4.15/person? Don't forget to tip your pizza driver. Tip the waitress or waiter at your sit-down restaurant. Plus, the gas in the car to drive to these places.

We've used one of these meal-assembly outfits a couple of times. Overall, a bit more expensive than “real” home-cooked… but considerably cheaper than loading up the car for a trip to El Cazador.

In the winter, you want to heat up the house anyway… so you're not “wasting” any money by firing up the oven.

The meals came in foil trays, covered with heavy-duty foil on top. Let it thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before cooking.

Load up your freezer with $199 worth of these meals, and you *can* make them last. There's no law that says you have to eat 12 meals in 12 days.

Don't knock it 'til you've tried it! :)

Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
7 February 2007 at 1:24 p.m.

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Confrontation (Anonymous) says…

I don't love to cook, but I wonder about the nutrional quality of these foods? I imagine that some of them are pretty high in fat and sugars. For a health-concerned family, I doubt this would work. For those who don't care, go for it. The menu does look pretty good on this website:

http://www.blueplatedinners.com/