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Paula Gordos, along with sister-in-law Laura Gordos, is part owner of Pass Your Plate in Mentor. The meal preparation franchise, which saves customers countless hours in preparing meals, opened in September.
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Tired of pizza, take-out Chinese and fast food yet have no time to prepare dinner every night of the week? For about what it costs for homemade, you can prepare a healthy meal for your family in less time than it takes Dominos to deliver.
Dubbed “the new frozen dinner” by Newsweek, meal assembly franchises are popping up all over the country. Locally, Pass Your Plate opened in September in the Colonial Plaza at 7537 Mentor Ave. in Mentor. Super Suppers opened last October in the Gristmill Plaza in Concord Township.
Others have surfaced coast to coast. The idea is the same at all of these meal prep places – saving time and money. Customers can assemble the meals themselves or call ahead and place an order so it’s ready for pickup.
The fact that today’s family has less time to prepare meals is feeding this fast-growing market segment. According to the Easy Meal Prep Association, industry revenue was $7.2 million in 2003 and is projected at $504 million this year. The EMPA estimates people can save from 20 to 30 hours per month eating meals prepared this way.
Sisters-in-law Laura and Paula Gordos own Pass Your Plate. They researched several meal assembly franchises before settling on Pass Your Plate. They considered the fact that it was started by an experienced franchise person who hired an executive chef to develop the meals. But the food won them over. They traveled to Oklahoma to try it.
“The first thing we tried was the South Beach Crab cakes,” Laura said. “I think even without all the other things we liked about it, we might have chosen Pass Your Plate for the crab cakes alone. You have to have good food to be in this business.”
Sisters Sylvia Cestnik and Irene Foster own Super Suppers along with husbands Frank and Fred. They had a similar experience as Laura and Paula, traveling from Chardon to Avon Lake to try out the food.
“We’re Slovenian and we cook all kinds of ethnic foods,” Sylvia said. “We wanted good dinners we could serve our own families and guests. When we saw how wonderful the food was, we decided we needed something like this on this side of town.”
Fewer dishes to wash are reason enough to try out this idea. But there is also no peeling, chopping or reducing required. Instead of stirring constantly you can spend more time with the kids, throw in a load of laundry or just plain relax. Add to that the time it saves grocery shopping and it’s a no-brainer.
Not to mention the good food. And that’s what I’m all about. In some ways it’s even better than a restaurant because the menus change every month. I tried some of the Pass Your Plate entrees at a recent open house, sampling salmon croquettes, Mexicali meatloaf and black bean lasagna roll-ups. All were delicious.
While I was there, I donned an apron and prepared a couple of meals to take home. Everything is right there for you – there is no opening and closing of cupboard and refrigerator doors or rooting around in drawers for your favorite whisk. I made a meatloaf to bake that night for dinner in less than five minutes. Ground beef mixed with chiles, salsa, Pepper Jack cheese, tortilla chips and Mexican spices made a meatloaf so huge we had enough for a couple days’ dinners and sandwiches for lunch. The tortilla chips instead of bread crumbs gave it a south-of-the-border taste.
I also brought home the pistachio-crusted catfish. All fish comes frozen with directions for cooking either thawed or frozen. The tender catfish fillets have a crunchy coating of crushed pistachios and Japanese breadcrumbs seasoned with thyme, basil and rosemary. This makes it so much easier to incorporate fish into your diet.
Some entrees, like chicken pot pie and beef stroganoff, can be put into a crock pot to cook while you work, requiring no preparation at all when you get home. As Sylvia says, it’s super-simple.
One of the best things about both places is you can feed your family for about $3.50 a serving, making it an economical solution as well as a convenient one. Packages range from as little as $60 for three entrees at Pass Your Plate to 12 entrees for $228, and feed four to six people.
“Even if you cook at home, it’s really hard to come up with an entrée for that kind of money,” Laura Gordos said. “If you have to buy all the ingredients at the grocery store, there’s a lot of waste. And you can get really nice food out of it.” Sylvia agreed.
“We have people coming back all the time,” she said. “They feel good about putting a nice meal on their table that they didn’t have to go to all kinds of extremes to put together. A lot of people don’t think it’s affordable, and I tell them you can’t go to McDonald’s for this price and their eyes pop open. And you’re not having burgers and fries.”
Both places feature something for vegetarians, meat-eaters and fish lovers each month. Appetizers, sides and desserts also vary. On Pass Your Plate’s December menu you’ll find Athenian flank steak with cucumber sauce and honey-pecan glazed chicken.
Super Suppers features a Weight-Watchers approved, 100 percent trans-fat free menu. Their December menu includes baked chicken and ziti and chicken carbonara, both new dishes. Sylvia’s favorites include the parmesan chicken with sage sauce and the signature braided breads.
“The breads fly out the door,” she said. “I can’t keep them in stock to save my soul.” I brought one home and served it with salad. Similar to a calzone, it was doughy and cheesy, stuffed with traditional pizza toppings, and a hit at my table.
From Super Suppers’ November menu I chose Parmesan chicken with savory sage sauce, potato-crusted tilapia and shrimp, chicken and artichoke bake. The coating was flavorful, but a bit salty for my taste. The shrimp, chicken and artichoke bake is in the freezer ready for a hectic night.
I gave the tilapia to my friend Brian who said he loved it, even though the breading fell off his fish. “I just scooped up some of the breading with each bite,” he said.
Both places also do breakfast. Sylvia recommends the baked praline French toast, so easy to slip into the oven to bake while you slip back under the covers. Pass Your Plate’s prairie breakfast bake with shredded potato crust filled with eggs, Virginia ham, bacon and three cheeses is great for hungry holiday guests.
Newbees can participate in the Super Suppers 101 program in which you can watch a demo and make a sample entrée to take home and share with the family, for free.
The South Beach crab cakes are on the December menu at Pass Your Plate. Don’t miss them – I won’t. For more information, call 440-942-7972 or visit www.passyourplate.com or call Super Suppers at 440-357-6825 or visit www.supersuppersconcordoh.com.
Laura Freeman is editor of the Lake County Business Journal.
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