Meals like home in a lickety-split
The question is a plague, fought daily by mothers and fathers, partners and singles alike. Can you find something quick? Can you cheat, again, with a quick detour through a greasy spoon drive-through? Or grab a frozen "meal" at the grocery store?
Two Utah companies are trying to help rushed consumers answer the dreaded daily question, with the goal of bringing home-cooked meals back home — a restaurant-quality meal, without the restaurant.
On a typical day in 2003, the National Restaurant Association estimates that the restaurant industry posts average sales of $1.2 billion. In 2000, the association reported that the average annual household expenditure for food away from home was $2,137, or $855 per person.
The rise of two-income households, and the generally pervasive sense that there is not enough time in the day to accomplish everything on the "to-do" list, has driven many Utahns to fast-food and quick-serve restaurants, or the frozen-food section of the local market.
Secret Dinners, which celebrated its grand opening Saturday, says it offers an alternative.
"It was an idea that my wife and I toyed with a couple of years ago, when our first child was born," said owner David Baird. "We were both working, and we'd come home at night so tired. Then we'd have to sit down and wonder what we'd cook for dinner, when what we wanted to do was spend more quality time with our kid."
"We're going to take care of everybody, from a larger family all the way down to a single person," Baird said. "All of our recipes can be divided into smaller packaging, so people don't need to overcook. We think the concept makes sense. We're providing people with a good, quality product at a reasonable price, and saving them time — something no one has enough of."
The same concept emerged about a year ago in Park City, at a play group marshalled by a handful of young mothers.
"Marcia kept showing up at playgroup with all this food," recalled Jennifer Jackenthal, co-owner of My Girlfriend's Kitchen. The Kitchen opened a location in Fort Union about four weeks ago. "She'd bring zucchini bread, appetizers, and it was all so good. One day, I asked her how I could have her cook for me and not have it be like a private chef. Because no one can afford a private chef. Not in the real world."
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