Let me preface this blog with the statement that I love to cook, and as a married mother whose father also resides with me, I wish I could always be there to make sure that my family is provided for when it comes time to eat. But being a woman on the go with a full-time job and a part-time stint as a college professor, my abilities are often undercut by my time. Most of the time, my husband and I cook on the weekends, have some leftovers Monday and Tuesday, and rely on takeout until the weekend comes again.
That being said, when I came across an Amazon Local deal from a caterer that offered delivery of five days’ worth of meals that served 4-6 people for $99, I was more than intrigued. For those that are unfamiliar with Amazon Local deals, they run along the same gamut as Living Social, Groupon, or Capital Deals, where companies sponsor deals at lower than normal cost to encourage participation. Taking the time to really think about it, these companies are very similar to the travel discount sites like Hotwire and Expedia.
I checked out the supposedly limited menu, only to find out it was quite extensive. The menu offered a choice of ten entrees, two choices per meal from a choice of twenty side dishes, and a choice of one dessert from ten.
Yet I hesitated before ordering the meals. The skeptic in me wondered about all the possible pitfalls of this deal. Ninety-nine dollars seemed to be a bargain, but would the food be good? Would it really feed the number it promised? What is the catch?
The positive seemed to outweigh the negative, but to be entirely certain, I investigated the company’s website. While dowsed in pink, the website did offer some more insight into the bargain I would look for, and the company had a location in Waldorf, someplace I could easily get to should I have any issues. But just to be certain that first, the company would deliver to my area, and the second, I would be dealing with a reputable business, I called—at least three times with different questions.
The phone calls were the types that one hopes to encounter in transacting telephone conversations. The woman answering the phone was uniquely pleasant with a tone that reminded me of the spokeswoman for Popeyes’: down to earth and friendly. And suddenly, I knew the food would be good. After getting some comforting details that they did indeed deliver to my area and that the food would be delivered all at once, I was finally convinced and ready to start making my choices. I only had to pay $10 extra because of delivery from the Waldorf location (which is clearly stated on the deal page).
I set the delivery up for early Saturday morning a week afterward and emailed my order. Although there was a slight mix up with the emails which caused me to have to reschedule for the following Saturday, I received everything I ordered in 15 plastic serving trays early Saturday morning. The gentleman who delivered the meals brought them all inside for me and unloaded them.
I can’t tell a lie: I was supremely impressed. The food spread out on my table was a veritable feast: everything was freshly prepared. While the food was prepared with low sodium, it was by no means diet food. Everything was flavorful, and in some cases, I could taste the pure butter used to prepare the food!
Of course, I couldn’t just place all these items in the refrigerator and hope that we could eat them all before they went bad. I invested in some 3-compartment storage containers and divided the meals into single servings that I would then freeze. Before I divvied up the meals, I decided which one would be for immediate consumption that evening. After my choices were made, I started making the freezable meals, along with four tasting plates for me, my husband, my father, and a girlfriend who was coming to visit. Altogether, it took me about an hour to put all the meals together into 16 different containers for the freezer.
Even with all the meals packed, I found that I actually had one full side dish left, along with portions of a main dish and two sides left! In the end, I ended up saving the partial entrée for the next day and freezing everything else but the tasting plates and the meal that was for the evening.
These were my desperate meals for desperate times options, so that on any given day instead of having to rely on carry-out food or a restaurant or even cooking for ourselves, we could pull a meal out and enjoy a home-cooked feel. I couldn’t anticipate how great these meals would be. We enjoyed them so much that my husband purchased the deal for his mother. On top of that, they do last. The last time I pulled one out was in July, and this was after freezing them in April!
So I’m on here today to provide free advertising to this company. They are offering two deals: the Living Social deal of planning and catering for up to 10 people $230 and the Amazon Local deal which offers $99-129 deals depending on the location and number of days (5 or 7) . I don’t think you can go wrong either way.
But do me a favor; wait until I make my second order. That way I don’t have to worry that I have possibly given away my own best kept secret.
