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.