Fast Food

Looking forward to the holidays but not the chaotic, thrown-together dinners that ensue during this busy season? Cooking Thyme, a home-meal assembly facility in Westlake, allows busy families to cut down on the time spent in the kitchen so they can get out and enjoy the holiday season.

Cooking Thyme co-owners Nancy Cusick and Cathy Bollin have been helping busy West Shore families bring home-cooked meals to their dinner tables since 2003. Cooking Thyme takes care of planning the monthly menu, buying all of the food, handling the prep work and all the clean up. Customers simply schedule a two-hour cooking session at the facility to prepare up to 12 meals to take home and freeze.

“Everything we do is homemade and we only use fresh ingredients so it really is a true home-cooked meal,” says Cusick.

The process not only saves on time, it saves on money. A six-meal session costs $105 and a 12-meal session costs $195, which means it’s less than $20 a meal to feed a family of four. “That’s cheaper — and healthier — than hitting the drive-thru or going to the grocery store to pick up ready-made food at the deli,” Cusick points out.

She says that the majority of her customers are busy mothers, but she also gets her share of men attending the sessions. “A lot of times their wives are the ones who sent them to learn how to cook.”

To attend a Cooking Thyme session, visit www.cooking-thyme.com and register for a session. Every cooking time features 12 items to make and customers must sign up to create at least six meals. Gift certificates are also available for those busy families on your shopping list.
—AS