By New Jersey law, food items that qualify as TCS (Time/Temperature Control for Food) – may not be prepared in a home kitchen and distributed elsewhere. That includes food that must be held at safe temperatures for serving or storage.
Preparing food in the client’s home allows me to assure the food is safely cooled in a timely fashion, and avoids the added cost of renting a commercial food preparation space. Those spaces are more practical for businesses that prepare a few recipes at greater quantity for larger distribution.
Many of these services have great options – I’ve tried some myself and incorporated a few recipes from them in my arsenal! Some allow you to do the cooking yourself with pre-measured ingredients, while others are already cooked and delivered frozen.
The difference is customization.
It’s difficult to find a kit that works for everyone. There may be an ingredient that you or a family member can’t tolerate, but there isn’t an option to leave it out if the meal is already cooked. In a meal prep kit you can leave an ingredient out – but you still need to carve out the time to do the actual cooking.
I prepare a list of menu options for your household that takes into account food allergies and sensitivities, diet plans and “can’t stand’s” – then you get to choose from that list what you want to eat for the week, and come home to freshly-prepared meals in your fridge.
This is a service tailored just for you.
The control you have over when your meals are available and the ingredients you prefer figure into the cost, as well as having a personal shopper select the freshest ingredients the same day they will be made into meals for your household. If you want only organic food or farmers market fare, that’s an option with this service; you may not have that same selection with a meal prep kit or pre-packaged foods. And if you need a couple of extra food items that aren’t on the menu, that won’t come in a delivery kit – but I will happily add it to the grocery run for you!
The price per meal is different depending upon how many meals you want in your service; although either more or less food will be prepared, the amount of paperwork and grocery shopping and time involved remain largely the same.
My cooking experience consists of cooking at home for my family for 35 years. I have prepared meals for gatherings with friends or for those who just had a baby, and have had repeated requests to make certain dishes again or to share the recipe.
Incidentally, here are a few folks you might recognize who also did not attain a culinary degree, yet have a penchant for creating things people love to eat: Gordon Ramsay, Tom Colicchio, Lidia Bastianich, Charlie Trotter, Guy Fieri, Martha Stewart, Nigella Lawson, Ina Garten, Rachel Ray, and Ree Drummond.
At this time my business focus is primarily on weekly meal prep rather than private events. One of the reasons I elected to become a personal chef is to allow me the flexibility to have nights and weekends available for family. However, as my business evolves, I may begin offering additional services – and when I do, I’ll be sure to update this site, so revisit this site periodically to see what’s new!