The Capital-Journal  

By Tim Hrenchir

Published Wednesday, March 8, 2006

(This article has been edited)

Cooking made simple

Area chefs are feeding their families without having to plan meals, shop for groceries or chop vegetables

For the past 2 1/2 years, Chef Alli Winter has taken care of the daily "what's for dinner" question without the aid of a $1 menu or a drive-through.   She is sharing that opportunity with others through her business, Menu Makers, located inside Factory Direct Appliance, 1145 S.W. Wanamaker Road. Winter gives customers, 80 percent of whom are working moms, an opportunity to prepare meals themselves that will last all month. Each session is less than two hours long.

"Dinner is something that never goes away," Winter said. "By 4 p.m., women are worried about what they're going to make for dinner and when they are going to have time to shop for and prepare it."   Her customers select their entrees and cooking night after viewing a monthly menu online. When they arrive, 12 stations, each with room for two, are stocked and ready to go.

Simple, step-by-step instructions guide patrons through the process of assembling their meals. When a recipe is finished, the customer moves on to the next station, leaving the mess for one of Winter's employees to clear away for the next set of preparers.   "The ownership of the food is very important. While they didn't shop, chop or mop, they still made the meal for their family," said Winter.

Topekan Terry Wendlandt has been coming to Menu Makers for six months, and she appreciates the opportunity to prepare healthy meals for her family of four.  "The one month I missed, I ran out of food," she said.  In addition to keeping her family home together instead of in restaurants, Wendlandt said the service allows her to take some much-needed personal time.