| Dinner by
the Dozen makes providing delicious family dinners with
a gourmet touch easy! Here's how it works:
1. Decide whether you
are going to prepare 6 or 12 dishes, and select them
(each dish makes 4-6 servings) from our
menu.
You can select the same dish more than once.
2.
Register for a session. Sessions last approximately
2 hours.
3. Come to your session
ready to have fun. We've done all shopping, chopping and
prep work for you so you just need to assemble the
meals. We'll supply an apron and everything you'll
need...just remember to bring your cooler.
4. Back at home, stand
back and admire your freezer full of delicious meals!
Each meal comes with easy-to-follow cooking directions
so you can provide your family with great meals in a
snap.
Frequently Asked Questions

Have more questions? We probably have the answer
here.
Food,
Menu and "Make and Take" or Meal Prep Process
Money
Matters and Fundraising
About Dinner by the Dozen and Rewards Program
Food, Menu and "Make and Take" or Meal Prep Process
Q: What types of
food are we going to prepare?
A: Menus change monthly but
typical offerings include poultry, pasta, beef, pork,
seafood/fish, and a selection of vegetarian options and
soups. Please see this month's
menu.
Q: Is this gourmet
food?
A: Sole (the face behind Dinner
by the Dozen) has a strong background in the culinary
arts and this influences our menu selection. However,
our food is definitely family-friendly, and perfect for
an "everyday" dinner. We also include some dishes that
are just a tad bit nicer so if you have guests, you
don't have to stress about it.
Q:
I don't cook. Can I still come?
A: You don't cook? No problem!
If you can read and follow a simple recipe, you can do
this.
Q: How many meals do
I get with each session?
A: You get 12 meals at each
session (hence the Dinner by the Dozen name). However,
we are currently offering an option where you can sign
up for Dinner by the HALF-Dozen (6 meals) if you prefer.
Q: How many people
does each meal feed?
A: 4 to 6 depending on hunger
levels.
Q: What if I don't
have much freezer space?
A: Share the cost with a friend
and share the 12 entrees too. Or sign up for 6 meals
only.
Q: What if I don't
need to feed 4-6 people?
A: Some of the meals can be
frozen in smaller servings if you prefer (but not all
meals can be split). Or you can take them home and share
them with a friend.
Q: How long it is
going to take me to prepare my 12 meals?
A: Approximately 2 hours, but
it all depends on how much chatting you do while you
assemble your food. For six meals, it takes
approximately half that time.
Q: How many people
show up at each session?
A: Each session can accommodate
up to 12 customers.
Q: What do I need to
bring with me?
A: A good attitude and a desire
to have fun while preparing dinner (what a novel
concept!). We provide aprons to use while you are in our
kitchen and all the take-home containers. You just need
to bring a medium to large cooler with ice packs to take
all your food home. We will have a few freezer bags and
ice packs for sale at a nominal price.
Q:
Am I going to be chopping and dicing?
No, we take care of all of that. In fact you won't even
be near a knife. We take care of the cleaning too.
Q: What happens when
I get back home?
A: After a session, you will
take home 12 meals ready to be frozen. Then all you have
to do is thaw the food and finish cooking or reheating.
We provide easy instructions.
Q: I have some
dietary restrictions and or allergies, can I still come?
A: Sure you can come! If you
have any dietary restrictions please ask us to see a
complete list of ingredients in advance to help you
select your 12 entrees. If somebody you will be serving
food is allergic to an ingredient, please choose another
dish in the menu since we cannot be held responsible for
allergic reactions.
Q: Can I bring a
friend to help me assemble my meals?
A: You can, but you don't
really need help (this is not that much work). However,
please understand that if you bring a friend to help you
assemble your 12 meals and the session is full, we may
ask both of you to work in the same station together
rather than splitting up so as not to inconvenience
other customers. Also, please let us know in advance
since for crowd control purposes, we may have to limit
the number of customers who bring a friend to a first
come-first serve basis.
Q: If I want to
share the entrees with a friend, do the two of us need
to show up to assemble the meals?
A: It's not necessary for both
of you to come to the session, but you can if you want.
If more than one person will be preparing one set of 12
meals, please let us know in advance so we can plan
ahead. For crowd control purposes, we may have to limit
the number of customers who bring a friend to a first
come-first serve basis.
Q: Can I bring my
kids with me?
A: You know your kids better
than anybody - only bring them if they are well behaved
and if they will be thrilled to be cooking with you. We
recommend you only sign up for 6 meals: even the best
kids get bored otherwise. We cannot have kids who are
not actively involved in the assembly process (unless
they are infants in carriers) since there's no place for
them to run around. Furthermore, a commercial kitchen
is not the safest place for unsupervised kids;
therefore, one kid per parent. Thanks.
Money Matters
and Fundraising
Q: How much does it
cost?
A: The cost for 12 meals is
$227 (plus tax), which comes out to $18.92 per meal that
serves 4-6 people (or $4.73 to $3.15 per serving). The
total cost including tax is $234.95. For 6 meals the
cost is $125 (plus tax = $129.38).
Q: Why don't six meals
cost half as much as twelve?
A: The cost of the meal is more
than just the cost of ingredients - there's packaging,
labor, rent, other overhead, etc. Since we want to
encourage people to sign up for 12 meals, there's a
little premium for doing just 6 meals. Our pricing is
very competitive with, or even lower than, other meal
prep services in the Denver/Boulder area, and the food
is so much better!
Q: What do I need to do
to reserve a spot?
A: Review the menu, select your
6 or 12 entrees and call us at
303-884-6960 or
e-mail us
telling us which date and time you are interested in.
Then, please send us a check for $234.95 ($227 plus tax)
or $129.38 ($125 plus tax) to Dinner by the Dozen, 1334
Oakley Lane, Erie, Colorado 80516. Please include your
e-mail address or phone number just in case we have any
questions.
Q:
How can I pay for my session?
A: At this time, we only accept
cash or checks made to Dinner by the Dozen. Please pay
at the time you send in your menu selections. We must
receive payment at least 3 business days before the
session.
Q: What if I need to
cancel a session?
A: If you need to cancel,
please call us ASAP to let us know so we can reschedule
you for a future session. Unfortunately, since we buy
all of our food to order we cannot give credits or
refunds for cancellations made after we place our
purchasing order (the Wednesday evening prior to the
session). Thanks for your understanding. We reserve the
right to cancel a session due to low attendance. If
this is the case, you will be given the option to
reschedule or receive a full refund.
Q: Do you help
organize Fundraising programs?
A: Yes!
Let us help you. Sponsor a fundraiser with us and for
each person from your group that signs up for 12 meals
at ANY session that month, we'll donate $10. Plus, for
every 5 people that sign up, we'll donate a gift
certificate for 6 meals to be used as part of your
fundraising efforts. To sign up, just email us and we'll
set a notice in our website so people are aware of your
program and we'll provide you with a sample email
message to send to your group (if you want) or flyers.
All you have to do is decide which month to host your
event, spread the word and provide us with an address
where to send the check at the end of the month. Your
group members just need to identify themselves as part
of the group when making a reservation so they can be
counted, and you can get the $10 donation per sign-up.
Clarification: your group will receive $10 for every
12-meal sign-up, but for every 5 sign-ups (regardless of
number of meals) we'll donate a 6-meal gift certificate
to be used towards your fundraising efforts (think
silent auction or raffle). To give you an idea, if 10
people sign up for 12-meals each, your group will
receive $100 cash plus two gift certificates for 6 meals
each, valued at $129.38 each. Total donation: $358.76.
Not too shabby!
About Dinner by the Dozen and Rewards Program
Q: Who is behind
Dinner by the Dozen?
A: Dinner by the Dozen was
started by Sole Mingo-Ordóñez, a graduate from Cornell
University's Hotel School and the Professional Culinary
Program at the Culinary School of the Rockies. She has
also taken culinary classes at schools in Napa, Paris,
Lausanne (Switzerland) and Buenos Aires (Argentina). So,
she knows a couple of things about food... However, she
married a picky eater and has 2 little kids so she also
knows a lot about the need to cook good everyday food,
FAST!
Q: Are you a
franchise?
A: Dinner by the Dozen is an
individual store, independent of any chains, located in
Lafayette, Colorado. Ands although we receive requests
all the time, we are not franchising our concept. Some
people have liked our name so much that they've opened
stores in other states with similar names (Dinners by
the Dozen, Dinner by the Dozens, etc) - imitation is the
biggest form of flattery... We are not affiliated with
any of them and we cannot vouch for the quality of their
food or service.
Q: When did you
open?
A: Dinner by the Dozen opened
its doors in May 2004, and that makes us an old timer in
the "make and take" or meal prep industry in Colorado.
Q: Where is your
kitchen?
A: Dinner by the Dozen operates
out of our kitchen at 1280 Centaur Village Drive, Suite
4 in Lafayette, Colorado 80026. It has easy access to US
Highway 36 (Boulder-Denver corridor), South Boulder Rd,
the Northway Parkway (E-470 continuation) and US Highway
287.
See map and directions.
Q: Do you rent your
kitchen to other businesses?
A: Yes! We have a fully
licensed kitchen that we rent to other businesses when
we are not using it. We have a 4-burner range, full
oven, convection oven, refrigeration, freeze space and
all the necessary sinks. Email us for more info.
Q: How does your
REWARDS program work?
A: To express our appreciation
to our regular customers who have helped our business
grow, and to those who hope to see us grow, Dinner by
the Dozen created a very generous Rewards program. Each
time you sign up and pay for 12 meals, you will receive
one punch. Once you’ve completed 6 punches, you’ll
receive 6 free meals at your next 12-meal session!
(value $113.50 + tax, since it's half of the $227 you'd
pay for 12 meals). Your card is kept here so you’ll
never forget and we’ll keep track and let you know when
it’s time for our freebies!
Please note:
- No punches given for 6-meals purchased
- Our rewards program is designed to encourage
people to sign up for 12 meals per person. Although
some of our customers sign up together
“collectively” and complete “12 meals”, we cannot
provide a “collective punch” card at this time.
Thank you for your understanding.
- One certificate for 6 free meals per calendar
year per customer
- We reserve the right to cancel or modify our
Rewards program at any time, for any reason.
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