5 Reasons to Continue Prepared Meal Services Post-Pandemic
Life changed on a dime for all of us, and it doesn’t look like it’s going back to normal anytime soon.
With 42% of us working from home, and studies predicting a need for a degree of social distancing into 2022, prepared meal delivery services will continue as a viable option for busy households.
#1. Your personal chef cares about you and your family.
Because of COVID, many families experienced their first taste of prepared meal services from a personal chef. If one of those families was yours, you know the joy and convenience of a delicious, custom-designed meal explicitly matched to your family’s preferences.
Creating a meal with ingredients and flavors you love is only possible through clear, ongoing communication and feedback. And that feedback doesn’t just ensure you keep returning for more and more delectable dishes. It also allows us to get to know you and your family better.
And it means we make it our responsibility to avoid ingredients that trigger your daughter’s allergies or your partner’s food sensitivities. It also means we remember how much you liked the local herb-grilled summer squash, but next time you’d prefer that we hold the feta cheese.
Cooking is personal.
Over the last few months, families like yours trusted personal chefs like us to safely feed them through all the hurdles of social-distancing, not to mention the stressors of sourcing healthy meals in the middle of a worldwide pandemic.
You opened your home to us, and in return, we provided exceptional care, being diligent in delivering great tasting food in the safest way possible.
Unlike fast-food franchises or large chain restaurants, personal chefs intentionally build relationships, which means we will continue investing personally to keep you well-fed, healthy, and safe.
#2. Your personal chef sources healthy ingredients (even when your grocery store’s shelves are empty).
If there is one thing COVID made abundantly clear, it was that safe, easy access to healthy food is something we take for granted.
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture assured us there was no shortage of food in the United States, a quick peek down your grocery store aisles made obvious there was considerable, unanticipated disruptions in the food supply chain.
It’s inconvenient (and uncomfortable) to substitute your Cottonelle toilet paper with a generic brand. You’re looking at another level of anxiety altogether when purchasing your essential grocery list requires the skills of a military tactician.
Thankfully, sourcing food is always a top priority for personal chefs.
Many of us have spent years developing relationships with a blend of global, regional, and local suppliers. This allows us to buy in-season produce locally while sourcing other produce from vendors outside our region.
When supplies run thin, a personal chef will have multiple resources, which means there may be a slight menu shift, but your prepared meal services continue.
And that’s important, especially during a pandemic when the kind of food you eat either strengthens or diminishes your body’s ability to fight anything that comes its way.
#3. Your personal chef makes dining in a more relaxing and satisfying experience than dining out.
While 39% of U.S. adults said they are comfortable dining out right now, the experience they seek may prove difficult for restaurants to provide for the near future, at least.
When you go to a restaurant, you want to feel relaxed, taken care of, pampered even.
Unfortunately, because of mandatory safety regulations and social distancing, the luxuries, ambiance, and service you desire is no longer available.
Restaurants limit staff interactions with customers as much as possible, reducing the human connection that makes dining out unique.
- Gone are the menus, now you scan a QR code to access a digital menu.
- Gone are quick payments, now your post-meal activity is wrestling a Ziosk or other annoying third-party payment processor.
- Gone is the ability to hear your waiter make menu recommendations. Why? Because there are no physical menus. And next, because you can’t hear his voice from behind his mask 6-feet away.
When you dine-in on food prepared by your chef, you get to set the tone.
There are no wobbly tables, no loud music, and the only misbehaving kids might be your own (but you can send them to another room if you want).
Comfortable in your favorite leisurewear, you pull your most requested dish, perhaps the Pan-Seared Redfish, from the fridge, heat it per the directions, and plate it just like a chef.
It’s an easy win.
The exact opposite of what you can expect from prepared meal services is declining service, rising food costs, reservation hassles, limited capacity, and reduced customer experience.
Beautiful, high-end food that tastes as good as you feel is an alternative worth considering.
#4. Your personal chef maintains the highest safety standards in their commercial kitchen.
Food safety is of utmost importance to those serving in the food industry, and personal chefs are no different.
The extra precautions initiated by the CDC and WHO during the pandemic emphasized the future of food safety. As a result, many personal chefs took this time to tighten up their commercial kitchen’s standard operating procedures.
Our commitment to maintaining the highest measure of food safety standard possible in our commercial kitchen means we’ve reinforced personal hygiene practices, initiated more strategic food prep, and stepped-up our handling and packaging protocols. We’ve also created more in-depth cleaning/sanitizing practices to ensure the kitchen and delivery chains remain as safe as possible.
You can also request “contact-free” delivery to your building or door for your weekly prepared meal services for your added peace of mind.
#5. Your personal chef allows you to feel good about outsourcing yours and your family’s meals.
Even before the pandemic, you were pressed for time and juggling a busy family schedule.
Now that things are a little less crazy, you don’t have to compromise on your food choices for you or your family.
Hiring a personal chef alleviates the stress of planning, shopping for, prepping and cooking meals. Instead, you can tick off the “Serve up healthy delicious, immune-boosting meals to my family” check box in your daily bullet journal.
Choosing to outsource 3 comforting, healthy meals a week is not just budget-friendly, but it removes the fast-food option from the equation and sets up a pattern of eating for optimal health.
There has never been a better time to get started customizing a weekly plan that works for you and your family.
Posted in: Meal delivery, Personal Chef Service, Personal Chef Services