THE FULL PLATE

Somewhere between grocery shopping, speed scratch cooking and prepared foods lives the world of 'assemble and cook' meals. Here is how it works: they develop the recipes for a dish (usually the main course), you choose which ones you want to purchase, they do the full prep (chopping, slicing, dicing) of raw materials, you measure, gather and assemble the materials, at their location, following their recipe and then you take the fully prepped meal home to cook yourself. I never considered it seriously for my household. After all, was meal planning, grocery shopping and prepping really such a big deal? I guess it is. Because for one week I could answer the question 'what's for dinner?' without a second thought. I didn't realize how this daily task gnawed away at me. And I only have to think about dinner for two. What must this be like for busy families where both parents are working? Exhausting. Who solved the problem I didn't know I had? THE FULL PLATE in Montclair (Oakland). I was contacted by their PR firm to see if I would like to give their concept a try as their guest. After checking out their website and the April menu I settled on the following four dishes to prepare in their 'Quick Fix In-Store' session:

Tostadas Carnitas

Garlic Noodles with Sesame Chicken

Ham, Cheddar and Broccoli Calzones

Baked Artichoke and Cheese Frittata

All of the ingredients were fresh and beautifully prepped. The recipes for assembly were clear. The employees were helpful and gracious. And best of all? Every dish was delicious. I was so happy with the first meal I prepared, Garlic Noodles with Sesame Chicken, that I took a chance on the Baked Artichoke and Cheese Frittata for Easter Brunch. It was perfect. I served it with grilled asparagus and champagne.

And it is worth the price? Four meals prepared at the session I attended cost $100.00. The portions are generous but we are big eaters so rather than six servings per recipe we really got more like five which worked out to two dinners and a lunch. So...20 meals came out to $5.00 per serving. Still less than take-out or out to dinner. But when I go the next time I will opt for the $225.00 for 12 dishes which would get the per serving cost down to $3.75. Worth every penny.

What I liked:

> I did not have to plan a shopping list, drive to the grocery store(s), pick out ingredients, stand in line to pay, carry the groceries home, haul the groceries up to the flat, unpack, refrigerate.

> Complete nutritional information including Weight Watcher's Points

> A wide variety of choices including vegetarian and kid friendly dishes > High quality ingredients

> Options to leave out or increase ingredients. I added extra broccoli to the calzones.

> No waste. A bunch of cilantro will not go rotten in the back of the refrigerator before I can use it up.

> A main dish 'ready to go' gives me a chance to be more creative with my veggies and salads.

I came equipped with a small cooler that was just the right size for the four chubby gallon sized zip lock bags. Next time it will have to be a larger cooler or laundry basket. What a kick it was, for the following week, to check the chart (supplied by Full Plate) on the refrigerator to see what was available for dinner that evening. The extent of dinner planning was to transfer a package to the refrigerator for thawing during the day or overnight. Did I want to pick up the suggested salsa and lettuce accompaniment for the Carnitas Tostada at the grocery on my way home or just wing it with whatever greens I had on hand. Who needs this service besides busy families? How about newly divorced Dads or Moms that have the children every weekend? Or your senior citizen parents that don't want to be bothered with shopping anymore but still enjoy cooking for themselves?

Check out their website for full details.  There is a second location in Walnut Creek.

Comments

[Lynn Bloom]

Hi Karlotta.. I love reading your web site. It totally reflects you.. I would love to be involved with something like Full Plate if they ever came to the City. If you get a free minute lets have a glass of wine.
Fondly, Lynn