A friend and I went to a cooking & entertaining expo in DC this past weekend and Let's Dish had a few live cooking and interactive cooking demonstrations. On of my friends used them for a while because he wouldn't mind cooking if he had a sous-chef (but hey that goes for most of us). Eventually he went ahead and paid a little extra for them to prepare it for him. But he tends to be a very picky eater and they didn't offer much in the way of options if you don't like the ingredients in a dish.

The friend who attended the show with me is vegan and there was nothing on the current or past menu that he could have eaten. The two biggest drawbacks for me were their locations and that the sizes start at 6 servings per meal. Living in the District of Columbia with no car, if a place isn't easily metro accessible it falls low on the list of priorities. And I'm still learning to cook smaller so that I'm not eating the entire meal all week when I'm just cooking for myself. The suggested solution was to split up the meals and freeze portions, but it didn't sound very appealing.

But I imagine if one has to cook for 2-4 people on a regular basis, this would provide a nice alternative to fast-food or store-bought frozen meals.

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Another cheaper option is to do what some friends & I did recently: use the concept, but do it yourself! A friend assembled a group of people (7 couples), and each couple cooked big batches of one meal (at their homes), and packaged them in 2-3-portion-sized packages ready to be frozen, with instructions for reheating. We all swapped them at a get-together, and now each have freezers full of a variety of meals.

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I've taken Jen's route, before. A group of friends get together monthly and we spend an afternoon cooking casseroles and entrees, and swap them. It just suits us as we can tailor the cost, the ingredients, and the portion sizes.

A "Supper Club" makes no sense for people who have dietary limitations, small families, are picky eaters, or adventurous. I've found most entrees are pretty main stream and not out of the ordinary enough to make it worth my while. I can make lasagne on my own, easily enough, without paying for what I essentially see is "counter space and a sous chef."

Furthermore, like the other poster mentions, by the time they start making allowances of how you can adapt by freezing smaller portions, or making substitutions of one thing for another, arn't you basically doing exactly what you'd do at home, anyway? But paying for the counter space?

I would think the people who loves these clubs the most -- are groups of girlfriends who are eager to try something new for awhile, hoot it up on Lasagne Making Night, but seldom become long-term customers.

In fact, I'd guess the majority of clientele of most of these take-and-bake ventures are short term people always looking for an answer to make supper time easier or less taxing, and there is never a good answer for that, so they will not be back, month after month.

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I go to "Let's Eat" (www.letseatdinner.com) once a month and simply adore it. My husband and I both get home late in the evening, and certainly don't feel like cooking, so just putting an entree is a great way to have a healthy meal and not spend an hour in the kitchen.
I've found the Let's Eat menu fits me better than other franchises. The food seems lower in fat and a bit healthier than other menus I've checked out.
I've found that I'm only spending a bit more every month on food, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make in exchange for better food than my skills will allow and more free time!

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In southeast Virginia, we have Dream Dinners and Super Suppers. I tried Super Suppers one time during a "stock your freezer" day when they are clearing out all the frozen meals they made that month. I've used the meals that I purchased to pull out in a pinch after the birth of our third child eight weeks ago (emergency caesarian), and it's been a real help. I can make food that tastes as good or better than their meals right in the comfort of my own kitchen, so I won't use them regularly, but for that crazy period right after our baby arrived it was very handy.

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I've used Super Suppers before and we found their food to be lacking in quality and flavor, with a couple of the meals downright horrible. I won't go back, I find my own cooking to be just as easy and much, much tastier.

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just be aware that most of those places are supplied by the same commisaries that supply hosptials and schools... sysco and such... and the quality is on par with hospital cafeterias and hot lunches. the ones i checked out don't offer organics, don't offer vegetarian/vegan alternatives, and don't promise anything but the bare minimum. Better than a drive through, but by how much?

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A sociological view: In many cultures, cooking or parts of cooking are done communally. For example, women in a street sit outside and make bread and chat. They use their own ingredients and a common coal-oven.
I guess one role that these meal-assembly stores serve even in a modern context is to remove some of the drudgery associated with cooking and cleaning. I love cooking but if everyone is not chipping in, then it kinda sucks to be the only person in the kitchen, no?

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g,
You have a great point. I've commented to people that the clientele of Make&Take tends to be groups of women who spend the time catching up and socializing and having the meals done afterwards is a nice bonus.

We really are going back to our roots that way - cooking as a social activity, rather than the meal itself or having to go to a party just to socialize around food....

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I've tried Let's Eat and Super Suppers, but thought the quality was very mediocre in both. It was disappointing - I wouldn't go back to them again. I have to say, though, that the few decent meals I got out of those places really did make life easier (if only for one night!). Unfortunately we ended up throwing the majority of the dinners away.

I have heard of an independent place close by that everyone is saying has great food quality, so I'm thinking about giving them a try. I really do like the concept. With a full time job, kids (homework!) and the hubby who appreciates sitting down together as a family every night, I'll take any dinnertime help I can get! :-)

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I've been to both Super Suppers and Let's Eat stores and found the food to be mediocre at best. Both times, I had a lot of fun and was sure my family was going to enjoy the meals, but I was really disappointed when I made them at home. They just weren't very appetizing and I ended up throwing quite a bit away.

I'm thinking about trying one more place - I keep hearing about one that everyone says is excellent. They aren't a franchise so maybe they're doing something different.

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We have a "Main Dish Kitchen" in our locale... high quality ingredients, great taste, (a little too high in fat - though they are now offering lower fat instructions). This has been a life saver for my family of teenage boys... we save money because before this we were eating out most nights or bringing home take-out... food from MDK is way better for us than restaurant fare every night... I was afraid that the serving size for 6 wouldn't be enough for my family of big boys, (all over 6 feet)... but we usually have leftovers -- that I take to work the next day for my lunch... can't imagine life without it.

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In Arizona, I have attended "Entrees Made Easy". The meat cuts are terrific and the ingredients fresh and healthy. A group of us go together each month, taking turns being the "hostess" for the freebies.

Although I pick my entrees in advance, I can still do some customization at the store, leaving out the meat if I choose or adding more or less of a spice, based on my families taste. We haven't ALL liked each entree, but that has been because of differing tastes, not because the food wasn't good.

The cost per meal for my family of three is $10.83. We can't eat out for that and my hunch is that if I purchased the ingredients, it wouldn't cost THAT much less. Not to mention, I get to use fresh spices that would just go bad in my fridge!

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As an owner of a independant meal assembly store I found all of the comments useful. Since I am NOT a franchise I am not dictated by where I can or can not purchase my ingredients, or what I have on the menu.I have a local supplier for my produce and dairy, a small supplier for my fresh meats and other items. Also, I do have many regular customers and as a SBO I really listen to the needs of my clientele, so I do offer vegetarian selections, offer low sodium, low fat ingredients, ect... My prices are competitive and my entrees w/side dishes included, breaks down to $3.05 per serving. Now add the time you save NOT menu planning, shopping or preparing you really have to ask yourself how valuable is YOUR time? This is not for everyone but for those time strapped, live on a budget or just plainly do not like to cook we do answer the need for these demographics.
So please before you bunch all meal assembly stores into one lump try an Independant...you may be pleasantly surprised!

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I just had my first experience at "Let's Dish" and it was great! It was recommended by some friends who have tried several in the KC area and say thtat Lets Dish is by far the best. It was very clean, had several employees cleaning up so quickly (almost before you dropped anything) that i'm not concerned about the hygiene issues that many have mentioned. the containers with the food are small enough that they were replenishing them quite frequently. I'm sold - I'll definitely go back!

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Sensational Suppers (www.sensationalsuppers.com) has changed my life!!!! While it sounds like an overstatement....I don't know how I would endure without their helping hand. The meals are great, the experience uplifting and I look forward to my monthly rendez vous with girlfriends. With a glass of wine in hand we effortlessly prepare a Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Port Wine Glaze.....Tadaaaa. I simply am a super woman now. They have been open only 6 months and already they are expanding with locations across Canada so they must be doing something right. I wish I had the cash because I'm sold.

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I've cooked at Let's Dish. It was clean, fresh ingredients, fresh meats. They encouraged me to amend the seasonings to fit my family's taste and to break the large portions into 2 small ones for my small family. The cost is no more than I would spend buying groceries, throwing half away because I didn't use them before they spoiled and rebuying them. Not to mention, now I have meals with no preparation time, clean-up time, looking for contain time. I don't have to look through cookbooks - or buy cookbooks! The meals are very tasty but you have to choose the tastier meals and friends I know have chosen less spiced foods, then complain that they weren't that good. It's a great way to try the interesting spice combinations and either expand your repetoire or FINALLY have good food to serve for dinner!

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I too am an independent owner of a meal assembly business. All these comments are helpful! Thank you. We try to have a menu that will appeal to the area we live in and are considering offering an "organic" night each month. We offer a 2-3 serving size for singles, empty nesters, etc. I have a couple of customers that split the 2-3 serving size also. One customer said that even the food that turned out not to be their taste, was still good - and the time saved was great.

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I am a regular customer at Magnificent Meals in Cary, Illinois. They are an independent store and I find that they are better able to work around my dietary needs and tastes. I have been to some of the chains and I have to agree with some other comments about the food not being all that appetizing and pretty mainstream. I am a vegetarian as well and find that in order to make the meals at the chains my only option is to leave the meat out. Then I feel short changed and that I have wasted money. At Magnificent Meals I can work with their on-site Registered Dietitian who helps me to substitute meat-free ingredients (i.e soy substitutes) and this has been a time and money saver for me. I just love it! If you have independents in your area, I recommend checking them out. They often have much more flexibility. At least check them out before giving up on the concept all together.

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