*There have been so many write ups over the years about Dinner at Your Door, Inc. that it would take at least 12 hours to place them all here. If you would like references, just ask Chef Cari and she'd be happy to give them to you! The article below was written as Chef Cari was opening her business; as you can see, she's been around quite awhile and is well established. Happy reading!

  By Mark Raeber

Published in The O'Fallon Progress , Business Section  July 28, 2005

Cari Schaeffer thinks she has a service that is just the thing people need to meet the demands of today's busy lifestyles. She is willing to come to your home to cook in one day all the meals a family will need for nearly two weeks.

Schaeffer is a personal chef and she has just kicked off the Dinner at Your Door Personal Chef service to serve O'Fallon and neighboring Metro East communities.

Discussing how she cooked up the idea for her new business, Schaeffer noted she is never happier than when in her kitchen and said, "I am always cooking for other people and I absolutely love it, so my family and friends said I needed to do this for a living. At first I thought, who would buy my food? But everyone wants my recipes and asks me to cook for events or to make something special, so I thought maybe I should try." 

"Life is too short to do something you don't enjoy." She reasoned. "If my passion is cooking maybe I can make a living and make someone else happy while I am doing it."

Schaeffer said she is a self-taught chef. "I have always liked good food, so over the past 15 years I learned to make good food. I watched the Food Network and I experimented with recipes and I discovered the simpler and fresher the ingredients, the better the final product. And people who have eaten my food say it works."

A member of the U.S. Personal Chef Association, Schaeffer also has completed cooking and food safety courses offered by that organization. And she is insured and licensed in O'Fallon as a home-based business.

The chef said her interest in good food comes from wanting to know what is going into her body. "I am a health conscious person and I think this service offers a much better alternative to fast foods or pre-packed convenience meals," she explained. "It breaks my heart when I drive by fast food restaurants between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. because I know why all those people are there. They are hungry and they are tired."

"With this service you can go home right after work and all you have to do is heat up the food and serve it," she noted. "You don't have to shop, you don't have to chop, you don't have to clean, you just eat - and you actually get a family dinner. And no matter what diet you may be on, the food is going to be high flavor." 

Describing the process, Schaeffer said, "I've got big tubs filled with all my pots, pans, and utensils - everything I need to cook a meal. The only thing you have to do is decide what you want me to cook."

For the first step, Schaeffer meets with the customer to set the parameters for a menu. During the consultation, she discusses favorite foods and least favorite foods. She also wants to know if the customer has food allergies or dietary restrictions.

"It does not matter if they want gourmet or home style cooking, I can accommodate them," she said. "I have tons of cookbooks. I research recipes on the web and the USPCA provides over 500 recipes. And if the customer has their own personal recipes, I will make them."

But she noted, "I have a very hard time following a recipe because I am not satisfied with leaving them as they are written. I will usually take a recipe and tweak it - adding a little more of this or a little less of that."

Based on the consultation and the items from the food questionnaire Schaeffer will develop a ten-day menu customized for each person's individual food likes and dietary needs that is given to the customer for approval. "Once the menu is approved we schedule a day when I will come to their home and cook." she said, pointing out the job requires a working kitchen- with a functioning stove, refrigerator and freezer - along with clear, clean counter space.

The first thing Schaeffer does on the day she prepares the meals is to shop for the groceries, which are included in her fee. Asked how long preparation takes, she replied, "If you include grocery shopping it takes about eight hours and when I am finished the only way you will know I was there is the refrigerator will be stocked with food and there will be the smell of the good foods I have cooked that day."

The selections will be labeled and packaged in one meal portions to fit the requirements of your family and each serving will be generous, she pointed out. "Once you chose a selection from the menu, all you have to do is look in your freezer and pull out what you need. The thawing and cooking instructions are very specific." Schaeffer said while explaining her cooking method creates meals that, when taken from the freezer and reheated, "taste like they just came out of the oven."

"The key is getting fresh ingredients," she explained. As for food safety, Schaeffer pointed out she is a registered nurse with training in health and nutrition. "The hallmark of nursing is treating the whole person and that translates to my cooking," she said. "I desperately want not just to feed people but to nourish them, and there is a difference. If you are going to be nourished you have to have healthy ingredients prepared in a safe, clean environment." 

Schaeffer said her husband Jim, who is in the U.S. Air Force, and children - Amanda, 12, Alex, 7, and Steven, 3 - are her toughest critics. "My children try every recipe and they are brutally honest. They tell me when something does not taste good. But I have found what does not taste good to one person may taste wonderful to someone else, and that is why everything is customized to what you want."

Schaeffer's fee is based on the menu selected and can range from $10 to $20 per serving, but she pointed out the cost is actually not that great when all factors are considered. "If you add up all you spend now on pizza, fast foods, and pre packaged or take out dinners, you will probably spend more than you would on my service," she noted. "But you also must add in the other benefits. You are saving on gas and the time you would have to devote to shopping. And you will save on peace of mind because you know all you have to do when you get home is heat up a meal that is home made from scratch and healthy."

Schaeffer, who is growing her two-month old business slowly, pointed out, "This service would be a great gift for new moms.  It also would be good for people recovering from hospitalization - especially people on chemotherapy. There are certain foods people on chemotherapy cannot eat. I can make sure the food they get is nutritious and appetizing."

She then added the reviews of her service so far have been favorable. "Right now I cook for a few friends and they have raved about it. They say, besides the wonderful flavors, they love the convenience of knowing they don't have to think about picking out the menu for a meal that night. It gives them extra time in their schedule. It is the ultimate fast food." she added.

For more information about the Dinner at Your Door Personal Chef Service, contact Schaeffer at 520-8015.