Nothing Tastes Better Than Home Cookin’ (that someone else makes)

July 29, 2016

What’s for dinner? That familiar lament can bring the response “Let’s order pizza,” “Whatever you’re fixing,” or everyone’s favorite: “Leftovers.” With busy lives focusing on work, school, vacation, visitors and the like, folks today seem to have less time than ever to fix a healthy, appealing meal.

Into the breach are stepping a number of options. Locally, for example, you can go to the kitchen — make that The Kitchen, the establishment redefining quick takeout from its location on Woodmere Avenue in Traverse City. Owners Jeff and Trish Wiltse saw an opportunity to fill an underserved niche when they opened in 2012.

“We serve gourmet food, fast. Meals-to-go is our bread and butter,” said manager Zachary White. While The Kitchen does a brisk to-go lunch business, White said a large number of people stop in to get food for dinner. “We have quite a few people who purchase food for their parents. Our containers can go directly in the oven or in the freezer.”

Another significant buying group is busy moms and dads. “We have a lot of working moms,” he said.

With their time-crunched customer demographic firmly in mind, White said The Kitchen is considering adding meal delivery to its menu in the future.

DELIVERED TO HOME OR WORK

Should The Kitchen decide to go that route, it won’t be alone. Two area chefs are already operating delivery programs, both from commercial kitchens at Cherry Capital Foods.

Shannon Hitchcock, a working mother of two young children, saw an opportunity to serve families similar to hers. “Both parents usually work, and it’s important to have good food,” she said.

She came up with the concept for Whisk TC, offering customers one delivery of meals— some ready-to-serve; others prepped and ready for cooking—per week.

For example, salad ingredients are measured and need only to be mixed in a bowl.

Soups or subs are ready to eat. Dinner ingredients might have to be mixed together then roasted, sautéed or cooked in a crock pot; some may need 24 hours to marinate. Her website tells customers what equipment they need to prepare the prepped meal, whether it’s mixing bowls, pans, or a blender. Total hands-on time for customers can be anywhere from five minutes to a half hour. The key is that Hitchcock’s approach removes a lot of the time-consuming aspects of preparing a meal while enabling users to enjoy a fresh or hot-out-of-the-oven cooked meal.

Andi Pellicci had a similar epiphany. Originally an accountant, she traded in her actuaries for a culinary career. She decided she wanted to serve a larger population than she could as personal chef, so she started Fab Fresh Foods as an adjunct to her catering business, As You Dish. Fab Fresh Foods was inspired in part by her father, who has mobility issues and uses a similar service in Florida. “Having a personal chef is not approachable for a lot of people,” she said.

Gourmet, fully cooked meals are delivered on Mondays and Wednesdays each week.

Monday deliveries will include meals for Monday and Tuesday, and Wednesday deliveries include Wednesday’s and Thursday’s meals. Pricing is based on the number of meals within the subscription model.

Both Whisk TC and Fab Fresh Foods deliver meals to the greater Traverse City area, and Pellicci also delivers to her hometown of Elk Rapids.

NATIONAL PRESENCE

Then there are the national meal delivery programs: Hello Fresh, Green Chef, Sun Basket, Terra’s Kitchen, Blue Apron. Count Ashley Whitney as a believer. “I’m a full-time working single mom. I love to cook, but with work and school and home, meal planning is not my best use of time,” said Whitney, President of Harbor/Brenn Insurance Agency in Petoskey.

She tried Blue Apron and Hello Fresh, arguably the most well-known of the bunch, before settling on Home Chef. They all offer variations on a theme, delivering packaged meals based on the buyer’s selection from a cornucopia of choices. The recipient then has a minimum of prep for what is promised as a healthful, delicious meal.

Whitney says there are several advantages to the program: She spends less time at the grocery store, is exposed to more recipes or foods she might not try otherwise, the quality is very good, and it only takes a maximum of 30 minutes to prepare. So she spends less time shopping, selecting, measuring, and cooking, giving her more time for her family.

“It’s not just American meat and potatoes.

There’s Thai, Mexican, Indian – it’s really good food, a lot of which is not available locally. It’s expanding my children’s cultural food knowledge,” she said.

She said she also ends up spending less money on food, as there’s less waste. “There’s not a bunch of greens that go bad.”

Whitney does acknowledge one downside that dismays her. “I’m not buying local,” she said.

SERVING THE HOMEBOUND

For some people, it’s not about being too busy to shop, prep or cook — it’s that they’re unable to get out to purchase or to make their own meals. That’s especially true for elderly people. For them, Meals on Wheels means food and more.

Meals on Wheels is one of the country’s most successful social programs, operating in nearly every community in America through a network of more than 5,000 independently run local programs. In this region, it’s administered through both county-wide and multicounty organizations.

The Northwest Michigan Community Action Agency operates the program in Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Manistee, Wexford and Missaukee Counties. Last year it delivered 175,000 meals to 1,200 persons. Lisa Robitshek of the NMCAA said the program delivers wellbalanced nutritional meals, and its cooks work with local farms.

Homebound people often suffer from isolation and loneliness as well as inadequate nutrition, and the service helps them in that way as well. “We also provide companionship,” Robitshek said. “Our mission is to provide health and quality of life. For many people, what they need to stay in their house is Meals on Wheels.”

Recipients are not held accountable for the cost, but they are offered the opportunity to contribute. The funding comes from various sources, depending on the authority overseeing the program.

Whatever the cost, Robitshek said studies have shown that the service is worth it, not only in terms of assisting seniors but also financially. “Studies have shown the cost of a year of Meals on Wheels is equal to six days in a nursing home or one day in the hospital. The cost saving is really incredible.”

Whatever the service, a key feature is offering customers variety. No one wants to eat the same meal two or three times a week. White said the original calling card at The Kitchen was “Thanksgiving every day,” with a full turkey dinner a regular feature. That’s still the case, but the eatery also offers over two dozen sandwiches, five different burritos and five tacos, as well as a host of soups and salads, daily.

Variety is one of the advantages of the national chains — they offer a virtually unlimited number of choices. Fab Fresh Foods and Whisk TC both offer a large variety of meals overall, though their weekly menus are set up in advance, with minimal substitutions allowed.