Dinner by Design

I got a coupon in one of those valpak things for this place. I had never heard of it before but apparently it's been around and one was opening in Oak Creek in the strip mall less than 2 miles from my house. I went to the Dinner by Design website to figure out what this place was all about. The coupon I had talked about preparing meals ahead of time so they are convenient for you when you need them. The money off was big dollars for your choice of 6 or 12 meals so I assumed it was expensive and time consuming. According to the website you got 12 meals for around $200.

The concept is pretty cool, make an appointment, pick your menu and start your food prep. Label the entrees, take them home and freeze them until you are ready to cook. They generally take half an hour to prepare making it convenient to have around. The website mentioned that the Oak Creek location had an open house where you don't need an appointment and you don't need to buy the 6 or 12 meals listed in the coupon so I thought I would check it out.

I walked in and found a clean and tidy foyer with lots of pamphlets around. There was a woman with short, white hair at a desk helping two women fill out paperwork and pay for their entrees. I stood there for a few minutes when she said to the two women, "I'll be right back, I have to get someone from the back to come out here." She filed past all three of us without another word. (I thought it would have been nice if she would have addressed me and just said that she would be with me in a minute. A little acknowledgement goes a long way, but she didn't.)

In the meantime, a group of three women came in behind me. So now there were six of us standing in the foyer. While waiting, I took a look at the rest of the building. Beyond the entrance where we were standing were stainless steel preparation carts. There were three in a row, back to back with another three on the other side and one on the end, completing a totally walk-around kitchen with many stations to make the different entrees. The walls had stainless steel racks that held storage containers and plastic bags, measuring utensils and bowls, ingredients and mixers for making desserts. The back corners had sinks on either side for the customers to wash their hands and aprons hanging next to the sinks for your use.

A clerk came over from the back room (I'm assuming there are refrigerators full of cold ingredients back there) and addressed the group of three women who came in behind me. She instructed them to fill out the forms she was handing out attached to clipboards. By the time she gave out the second of the three of them, I voiced my opinion. I said in an irritated tone, "Is there someone here who could help me since I was here first?" Just before she went to hand the third clipboard to the third woman, she swiftly turned and handed it to me, as if she planned that stating, "I'm including all of you." (Yeah right, if that were truly the case she would have had 4 clipboards in her hand instead of three.)

Now I felt bad because the third woman in the group who got the afterthought fourth clipboard says, "That's OK, you can come with us." I said, "I can't get waited on in bars either so I should be used to being ignored." They laughed, the clerk said, "No one will be ignored here." At that point she proceeded to send me to wash my hands, pointed in the direction of the sink, and instructed me to put on an apron and she would be right with me. I dutifully went to the sink while she gave out instructions or apologies for my behavior to the group of ladies while I washed. I then stood there waiting while she catered to the group's needs. (I suppose a group of three will bring more profits than just me so I have no real worth here - at least it feels that way.)

The clerk was truly a nice person and she did help. She showed me where the take-home containers were and where the labels with cooking instructions were, directed me towards the whisks, bowls and measuring tools, and told me to take my time picking out the entree I wanted to make. I had already chosen a beef-noodle dish so I was ready to start. She pointed out the workstation where that particular recipe and ingredients were. There is a list of instructions above the ingredients. The first thing to do was to get the bowl, whisk, measuring tools, and containers listed. Then it was time to get prepping. I started down the list of ingredients and discovered some were missing. The clerk rushed in the back and brought more. (I don't understand why this wouldn't be checked out when cleaning up the dirty dishes after the previous customer's preparation time was completed.) I mixed up the marinade, poured a portion of it in the pre-measured container of beef, closed the container, picked up a bag of the pre-made noodles and peas that complete the entree and got a stick-on label for the entire package.

I decided to walk around the kitchen looking for something else to make. As I moved away from my current station a clerk on the other side knocked over a container of pepper that landed right in front of me. I had to scoot sideways to avoid the barrage of pepper hitting the floor. As she came around to see the damage she seemd annoyed that I was standing in it. (I thought she should have apologized for getting it on me but she didn't.)

Most of the stations were taken as I continued my perusal. I tried to approach a woman to see how many pieces of chicken were in the entree she was making. She was terribly unfriendly and annoyed. (This is getting to be a barrel of fun.) Another station that interested me was occupied by a 12 year old who was clueless and whiney, not to mention impolite and inexperienced in the concepts of food preparation combined with cleanliness. (Between sticking her fingers in everything and her baby fat hanging over the worktable - it was not a pretty scene.) That clinched it, I'm getting out of here. So I took off my apron, washed my hands again, grabbed my entree and purse and headed to the front desk to pay and go. I realized as I was walking by, there was a hamper for dirty aprons. No one explained it, so I missed that. I honestly thought about going back and taking the apron off the hook and throw it in the hamper but I didn't remember which one it was anymore. So it would be futile.

I paid for my entree and headed out. I have mixed emotions about coming back, I won't be sure until I actually cook the concoction I took home. But if I had to decide today, I'm certain I won't be returning anytime soon.