FORUMS > Food & Recipes Forum Rules

I'm afraid my summer classes aren't going to make. That means I need to find a summer job. Do you want me to fly to Canada and cook for you for the summer???

Remember I'm from the southern US - so if you've ever seen Paula Deen - that's sort of how we cook and eat in the South... (hence the reason I needed to lose over 100 pounds)...

By the time I am through you won't be skinnybitch anymore...

Whole Foods

In the UK at least, larger (and, admittedly, generally more affluent) households have often been known to hire a housekeeper or cook to feed the family (and do other chores), especially if either both parents were working / away a lot, or they were in a family traditionally used to employing assistants. It's not a new thing lol.

It's just like hiring a gardener or cleaner or music teacher, really. General outsourcing of either specialist needs, or things that you don't want to or can't do, but are willing to pay for.

Put an ad in a local paper or something, suggest a reasonable (but negotiable) rate and basic 'job spec', and see what comes of it. Use your own judgement as to whether the person is trustworthy, and give them a trial period of a couple of weeks.

SkinnyBitch said...Almost no one here has said if they would do it themselves. It feels like "Why don't you try it, and if you don't die, I'll go next".

Hmmmm.....I think you're misreading the reason "almost no one here has said they would do it"....it's because it's like saying "I think I'll hire someone to come in every day and tie my shoe laces for me....maybe they can even button up my shirt for me." Most of us are doing that for ourselves. Once you know how to do it, it's hard to imagine being dependent on anyone else to make you a sandy when you want one. This stuff is easy....you're obviously typing and have mastered English....you can do this.

I'll repost something I wrote early in this thread:

When my Father was terminally ill, living at home in 1997, I contracted with an at-home meal supplier. I couldn't cook for him myself, no knowledge, certainly not up to his tough standards, and he wasn't eligible for the "Meals on Wheels" county program because his income was too high. And he was usually too weak to go out to restaurants. Plus he refused to have a stranger come in to cook for him.

But this private company would deliver 2 meals a day, lunch and supper, both around 11 AM in boxes. His light breakfast was just some toast he could make himself, along with some orange juice & fruit. If he was up to it I might take him out for breakfast, he could sometimes manage that.

I'd reheat and enhance the 2 boxed meals with condiments, and serve them to him on regular dinnerware, making a nice presentation. He really enjoyed them, which pleased and relieved me so much. I wanted his last days to be as happy as possible. And like at a hospital, he went over their menu to select what items he wanted 2 days in advance.

The OP might explore whether such a service is available to him, and at an affordable cost, perhaps less than a personal cook, whose cost would include labor and the food itself. Whereas a larger company has the economy of scale. And he doesn't have to get 2 meals a day, perhaps just supper.

Another alternative is frozen dinners, which have come a long way since the "TV dinners" of the 1950s. Not cheap, but their price compared to other alternatives may be competitive. Some are garbage, others serviceable, and many are microwaveable.

Though honestly, I think making your own simple meals is the least expensive option. And even though I love fine dining (last night I had escargot with artichoke hearts, preceded by a conch chowder, with crème brûlée for dessert, and today a lovely Niçoise salad for lunch), tonight I'll probably just eat some canned salmon in white vinegar at home. Quite the contrast, and the OP can do the same for himself.

meninlove said What about this place, SkinnyB?
http://www.coppercountyfoods.ca/meals

Their website isn't straightforward about prices. Big images of delicious food but to get pricing you have to have them mail you a damn brochure. They aren't in my town either, I reckon it's hella expensive.

onaquest saidI'm afraid my summer classes aren't going to make. That means I need to find a summer job. Do you want me to fly to Canada and cook for you for the summer???

By the time I am through you won't be skinnybitch anymore...

Yes please. If you can live on wages from making 2-3 meals per week. I wonder if buttery food is worse than easter chocolate?

Art_Deco saidI'll repost something I wrote early in this thread:
...
The OP might explore whether such a service is available to him, and at an affordable cost, perhaps less than a personal cook, whose cost would include labor and the food itself. Whereas a larger company has the economy of scale. And he doesn't have to get 2 meals a day, perhaps just supper.

Another alternative is frozen dinners, which have come a long way since the "TV dinners" of the 1950s. Not cheap, but their price compared to other alternatives may be competitive. Some are garbage, others serviceable, and many are microwaveable.

You didn't have to repost your earlier post, I read it the first time.
I am finding that the larger the company, the more overhead and the more expensive, despite getting to work in bulk.
TV dinners.. I do get them very occasionally, though I feel strangely guilty doing so. I guess there's a stigma there that they're really unhealthy and are only for convenience. I really don't know if that's true. If they were healthy and comparable in taste, I'd probably take that route.

Art_Deco saidThough honestly, I think making your own simple meals is the least expensive option. And even though I love fine dining (last night I had escargot with artichoke hearts, preceded by a conch chowder, with crème brûlée for dessert, and today a lovely Niçoise salad for lunch), tonight I'll probably just eat some canned salmon in white vinegar at home. Quite the contrast, and the OP can do the same for himself.

Omg you don't understand at all do you!

[quote][cite]SkinnyBitch said[/cite]

meninlove said What about this place, SkinnyB?
http://www.coppercountyfoods.ca/meals

Their website isn't straightforward about prices. Big images of delicious food but to get pricing you have to have them mail you a damn brochure. They aren't in my town either, I reckon it's hella expensive. [quote]

Actually not too bad. Here's the page with prices:

http://www.coppercountyfoods.ca/frozen-ready-meals/chicken-and-turkey-ready-meals

They're local to you so you can call them as well to see if there are any other charges.

Dumb Idea. If your that worried then there is no point in doing it.

If your too lazy to cook just eat the unhealthy food as you can somewhat trust what is in it and you don't have to spend a lot of money or cook. Its a win/win.

meninlove said Actually not too bad. Here's the page with prices:

http://www.coppercountyfoods.ca/frozen-ready-meals/chicken-and-turkey-ready-meals

They're local to you so you can call them as well to see if there are any other charges.

Hmm you're right. The prices aren't too bad, although the sizes look about 1.5x the size of a Michelina microwave dinner. Delivery is free though. Will have to call and look for hidden fees.

They're about 17km (10 miles) away and the food is prepared 80km (50 miles) away.

SkinnyBitch said

MikemikeMike saidGet over it! You have had sex and got blown and given head to strangers and you worried about food?? Think of the cock you had in your mouth and where that has been

Have not had sex, gotten blown nor given head to anyone.

mizu, I think this is much more casual than that, I doubt there would be any licensing.

Almost no one here has said if they would do it themselves. It feels like "Why don't you try it, and if you don't die, I'll go next".

Still no email back. grrrargh.

wow so you're a germaphobe, or is it the hairline or personality that drives them away??
Sad.

Wow. So you pay someone you don't know to cook food for you. What a foreign concept. Except it's like going to a restaurant or buying prepared foods from the supermarket.



Before you start paying for someone you don't know to cook for you if you know what arsenic tastes like.

A round of applause for the last two posts. Tremendous effort, both of you. Such relevant, insightful and sensible contributions! I just can't say enough.

Still no response to the ad. I suggested she upload a pic of her kitchen. Apparently, she's been cleaning it for 5 days and it's still not presentable. Moving on! I think I'll give the service meninlove suggested a try. They seem like they try to make all of their meals pretty healthy and I can filter the most healthy ones. It's worth a try anyway, I can always cancel if it sucks. Thanks again for that find, meninlove

SkinnyBitch saidOmg you don't understand at all do you!

Actually I think I may just have this minute. Perhaps yourname2000 was correct.

If you are on a schwan's route, get their catalog and make friends with the salesman/driver
http://www.schwans.com/

Hmm I could have sworn I replied and said Schwans isn't in Canada.

UPDATE: I ordered from that website.

This is the picture of Chicken Cacciatore



This is what it looked cooked.


I don't really care about looks though. I was disappointed to see all those baby carrots, I don't like carrots and there were much more than in the picture. There are also other veggies in the pic that weren't in that tray. But I tried to eat the carrots anyway and they were awful. Hard to actually bite through with my front teeth; they were chewy and gross. The chicken was good, pasta decent.

I thought, "O fuk I paid $12 for 2 microwave dinners".

Ordered Irish Stew for the second one with potatoes and peas. The Irish stew was pretty good, but lamb should not have been the first thing in the ingredient list, it was smaller than all the others. Potatoes were completely unflavoured and dry. Peas were the same as microwaving peas any time.. alright but a bit shrivelled.

The company seems nice, but I'm not going to use them again. It seems like the main point of the business is the delivery to people who can't leave the home. I may be almost a shut-in but I can easily pick up microwave dinners for a third of the price at the grocery store.

So that's what I'm doing for the mean time. Never did get a reply from the ad about the local woman doing meals. I don't have the desire to pursue it and contact "personal chefs" because they seem much too expensive, and I don't have hope I'll find what I'm looking for. Healthy versions of microwave dinners are what I'll be sticking with as an alternative.

A little story about food home delivery that always makes me smile to think about it:

My late partner loved making grand gestures. One of his favorites was to order lobsters from Alaska, for same-day delivery, unbeknownst to me as soon as I left for the college campus in the morning.

They'd arrive via FedEx in a great big metal pot around 3 PM, packed in dry ice. (You got to keep the pot) I'd come home around 4, and he'd command me to stay out of the kitchen, where he was preparing a "surprise."

An hour or so later he'd call me to table, where we'd each have a whole lobster with accompaniments. He could have bought lobster locally, though in North Dakota it was always frozen and several days old. The thought that our lobsters were fresh from Alaska that same morning just tickled him, at a cost I couldn't imagine and didn't dare ask. What a great guy he was, what a wonderful partner.

Sounds nice, but I'd murder someone for spending that much money on a meal for me. I'd use the food as a murder weapon somehow, not even eating it.
Didn't you smell the lobster when you came home?