The Personal Chef Substitute!

Meal-Assembly Facilities in The U.S.

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Personal Chef Substitute


Personal Chef


It's on to Plan B as a Hot Trend Cools Off

New York Times — 2/20/08



Sooner or later, EVERYONE — business and pleasure travelers, singles, those divorced or widowed, very-marrieds whose spouses are on the road, harried moms and dads, etc. — faces the challenge of eating out alone!

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Excerpts from: "It's on to Plan B as a Hot Trend Cools Off" — New York Times — 2/20/08

"But growth in the industry has slowed sharply, long before reaching expectations. Industry revenue, which two years ago was forecast to reach $1 billion annually by 2010, is now projected around $650 million by then, said Bert Vermeulen, an industry consultant and founder of the easy meal association.

The industry is selling more preassembled uncooked meals. In 2008, Mr. Vermeulen forecasts, store employees will assemble more meals than customers will for the first time. In 2004, customers in prebooked sessions assembled about 90 percent of all meals sold.

She (Missy Carr, proprietor of Thyme Out, Gaithersburg, Md.) was losing out on the 8-12 package deals that most of her competitors deemed sacrosanct, to she repriced each meal individually."


Here's a thought to consider: Are meal assembly proprietors finally scrutinizing the solo/single diner market??? Please check out: Dinner Studio menu/pricing changes.


Excerpts from: "Personal Chefs Cater to The Time-Starved" — The Boston Globe — 3/4/07

"Personal chefs like Silver, the proprietor of Sweet and Savory Personal Chef Services in Brookline, are no longer for just the rich and famous. Busy two-career families like the . . . , people with restricted diets, single professionals, and seniors who can't cook for themselves are increasingly using the services of personal chefs , says John Moore, executive director of the United States Personal Chef Association .

He estimates there are 5,000 personal chefs nationwide, serving about 72,000 clients. In the Boston area alone, there are over 100 personal chefs.

Personal chefs are not to be confused with private chefs, who typically live in a client's home and cook for only one family, says Moore.

Personal chefs have numerous clients and are known for home-cooked meals that must be cooked in the client's kitchen, unless they are prepared in a commercially licensed kitchen. Their services can include customized menu planning and grocery shopping.

The best way to find a personal chef is online through associations such as Personal Chef Network (PersonalChefsNetwork.com), American Personal and Private Chef Association (PersonalChef.com), and the United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA.com) .

Pricing can vary . Some chefs will include groceries in a flat fee; others add groceries to labor charges, which are usually around $50 an hour.




Similar information to the above:

"Ready to Serve: Busy people look to personal chefs for dinnertime help"Associated Press — October 14, 2007





We knew many SoloDining.com visitors would be interested in our story about Dinner Studio, a meal assembly facility in Vista, California (To read about it, click: Dinner Studio), but we were unprepared for the extent of your interest in this topic:


(1) Many of you asked for information on other meal assembly facilities located in the United States. To view our growing list, click: meal assembly resources

(2) Publications like Time Magazine have heightened interest in this phenomenon by spotlighting franchises like Dinner Done and Dream Dinners.

For more details on the Time Magazine article and those published in: The Boston Globe, Newsweek, St. Petersburg Times, etc., click: meal assembly mentions



Heard about the "cupcake craze"? For details, click: all-cupcake shop





SoloDining.com is pleased to share the following meal assembly resources:

Let’s Eat! — Tampa, Florida

"What if I have a small family or I am single?
At the time of assembly, simply divide your meal into half portions and put them into separate ziplocs or pans. We provide half size pans for you to split your meals. "

Simple Suppers To Go: Simple Suppers makes it a snap! — Wichita, Kansas

"What type of people use Simple Suppers To Go cooking sessions? Dual income families, stay at home moms, single parents, empty nesters, singles, college students, newlywed and retirees can benefit . . . It is also a great gift idea for senior citizens, someone that has an illness in their family, and new mothers. "

Entrée Vous: What's for supper? — Lexington, Kentucky

Mix It Up: Meals made easy — White Bear Township and Maple Grove, Minnesota

"Companies offer quick cuisine alternatives to fast food" — The Business Journal (Minneapolis/St. Paul) — February 21, 2005
"Each recipe serves four people, but can be modified. The business [Mix It Up] offers special workshops for single people and seniors interested in making smaller portions."

Social Suppers: Come on in . . . while enjoying the experience with friends (new and old.) — Kansas City, Missouri

"Use Split-a-Session* and divide your 8 meals into 16 or 12 meals into 24. If you use this option and bring a friend you can each take home half the smaller portion meals."

DinnerSmith: What's for dinner? DinnerSmith is your easy answer — Maplewood, New Jersey

Co-owner Mary Meade Smith e-mails:
"I just found your article and wanted to let you know about our services for singles. We allow our customers to divide the large meals in as many as three or four containers during a regular session. Singles in the metro area come in with their friends who may or may not have families or partners. Sometimes singles share their package, each taking half the package. Or they make one meal. We are just outside the city in New Jersey and most of our customers are commuters to Manhattan. Any single person can beneifit from our services because we are all about what each customers needs. No family , no problem. Welcome to DinnerSmith."

The Dinner Station: Making Tracks from Our Kitchen to Your Table — Highland Village/Corinth, Texas

"I found your site from a meal assembly link. I live in the Dallas area. We have a new franchise called The Dinner Station. The food is great and they offer half size packages. The others [assembly franchises] allow you to split, but then you have 24 meals or need to find a friend. The Dinner Station allows 8, 12, or 16 three serving meals. I can cook one, eat one serving, freeze the other two so I get 24 meals for $85. I love it." Jennifer

Let's Do Dinner: Spend two hours at our table . . . Enjoy a month at your table — Houston, Texas

" . . . we don't yet offer sessions specifically for singles, but that is something that we are trying to develop over the next six months. Also, we do allow people to split their meals into portions feeding 2 - 3 people, which would work for some households (I personally love leftovers!)."







Cooking for One Cookbooks




Next best thing to a personal chef!

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to have your own personal chef? Ever dreamed about having dinner waiting for you after a busy day, cooked fresh and delicious with no fuss and no mess?

The fortunate residents of North County San Diego are dreaming no longer! Dinner Studio has arrived in Vista, California (30 miles north of San Diego).

This is Dinner Studio's current offerings/pricing:

Prices depend on the number of entrees selected and whether three, six or two servings of the entree are selected. They offer a variety of packages and prices to suit almost any size family and budget. The more entrees purchased (and the larger size of the entrees), the lower the price. For smaller families or single customers, they offer a pre-paid “Yes You Can Plan” which provides great savings on a “per serving” cost.

You purchase the "Yes You Can Plan!" for $250. You can then use that card to purchase your meals from the current month’s menu for 4.90 per serving, regardless of how many entrees you choose to prepare on each visit. This can be a huge savings to smaller families that do not get the discount for larger purchases.

Two other options:
(1) Entrees assembled and awaiting you in the Dinner Studio Freezer
(2) Meals prepared for you and made ready for you to pick up!

For more information, click: Dinner Studio

If you know of a meal assembly facility like "Dinner Studio" in your area (especially one that caters to singles/solos!), please let us know.

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