Dream Dinners

[SHERRY]

Hello, just curious if any of you saw the article in working women about a company called Dream Dinners? or if any of you living in the WA area have been there? I would love more info on it :) TIA

[meslgh]

I didn't see the article, but I have a friend who is looking into starting a franchise. From what she was saying, it sounds like a really clever idea. (For those who don't know anything about Dream Dinners, they've expanded from the cook one day for the month notion. They provide the recipes, prepped ingredients, kitchen facilities; you (possibly with friends or family) come and make your meals and take them home.) I'm also curious to hear from people who have had personal experience with this.

[SHERRY]

Would love to hear from anyone with personal experience too! Just bumping this up.

[Kristi]

I read the article in Working Mother and think it sounds like such a great idea. I think it will be very interesting to see where it expands. I would love to actually visit to see it (and taste) firsthand! :D

[Chocolate Rose]

I'm in WA but have never heard of this? What is it?

[elissaballard]

Does someone have a link to the article? I live in Washington and it sounds like something interesting to check out.

[TamiKnight]

I had never heard of this, but went to their website and checked it out. It's interesting. I don't know if I'd USE the service (the menu options seemed too limited to me), but it sounds like a fun business. If you're looking for more info, try www.dreamdinners.com (http://www.dreamdinners.com)

[SHERRY]

Just curious if any of you have had a chance to check out Dream Dinners? Would love to hear more about it.

[Ohioan]

I'm not sure I see the point of this. Why not just do all the cooking at home instead of traveling to someone else's kitchen with a cartload of pots and then hauling them all home again? Has anyone here used this system and can explain?

:confused: Befuddledly,
Phoebe

[HeatherTx]

I personally wouldn't do it but I guess it is the idea of getting it done in two hours. They do the shopping and chopping and all you do is assemble to your liking and cook. In and out with 12 meals in 2 hours.

[badunnin]

Phoebe - to me, it doesn't sound like a car-load of pots, just the dishes that will be ultimately used for baking/reheating/whatever. I think it would cut out a lot of "i'd love to make this, but i don't have such and such a utensil." I think it sounds cool.

[ParisMadeleine]

I saw a segment on Dream Dinners on the show Back to the Basics on the Fine Living Channel. It looked really cool and all of the working moms filmed said that they actually saved money doing it and managed to have sit-down dinners with their families several times a week.

[jmg]

A friend and her friend did this on a Saturday morning in Kirkland, Washington. They had a wonderful time, met new friends-to-be, and came away with great new foods.

Jan

[JanetJ]

A friend's sister does this once a month with friends from her work. She says it's a really fun social time. They drink wine, talk and cook. At the end she's got a bunch of meals that she can just heat up after work and know that it's healthier than take out or pizza. She said she doesn't really save money, but it's fun and comes in handy to have prepared meals during the week.

[jellyben]

I just wanted to add that I did this last night. It was fun, but I can't say I am addicted(many of the women there had been several times before). It will be nice to have stuff on hand, but the menu options were limited, and the recipes filled with frozen meatballs and chicken strips and veggies. i can do that at home for less money!

[claire797]

Originally posted by Ohioan
I'm not sure I see the point of this. Why not just do all the cooking at home instead of traveling to someone else's kitchen with a cartload of pots and then hauling them all home again? Has anyone here used this system and can explain?

:confused: Befuddledly,
Phoebe

In most states it's illegal to cook and sell food from your home kitchen. You can get it big trouble. Some people do it illegally, but who wants to run a business that way?

[Ohioan]

Originally posted by claire797


In most states it's illegal to cook and sell food from your home kitchen. You can get it big trouble. Some people do it illegally, but who wants to run a business that way?
But as I understand the system, what happens is that you take your pots and pans to the communal kitchen, you do all the prepping and cooking, and then you pack everything up and take it home again. My question was: why not do it all in your own kitchen to begin with? You're not selling any of it; you're doing it for yourself. As for the ingredients, it seems to me that the Dream Dinners people are, in effect, selling the food from a kitchen. They could just as easily deliver it to customers as a delivery service, if the point is that you don't have time do the shopping. Or they could do the cooking in your kitchen, as professional chefs do. So I'm still confused about the point.

:confused: More befuddled than ever,
Phoebe

[claire797]

Originally posted by Ohioan

But as I understand the system, what happens is that you take your pots and pans to the communal kitchen, you do all the prepping and cooking, and then you pack everything up and take it home again. My question was: why not do it all in your own kitchen to begin with?
Phoebe

Ah! That makes more sense. I think the idea is for it to be a communal thing, you meet people, learn new recipes, share tips, and don't mess up your kitchen. Maybe it's supposed to motivate extroverted women to get together and cook with others -- kind of like Weight Watchers. You could go on a diet on your own or you could go to support meetings, learn tips and hints. etc. etc.