Mealtime becomes the main event at home as catering companies turn to takeout models
There’s no doubt, 2020 has forced us to rethink and redefine every aspect of how we live. From juggling work and family life at home to finding fashionable masks and keeping a safe distance from others, it’s certainly a new era we’re living in. The food industry has been impacted as well. Catering companies, accustomed to preparing and serving food to large crowds, saw business come to an abrupt halt as the pandemic forced families to remain at home. Some have quickly reinvented themselves to cater (pun intended) to what’s become a growing trend for South Florida foodies—having restaurant-quality food delivered at home. Here are some that are leading the pack:
Bill Hansen Catering
Bill Hansen began his catering career in modest fashion—selling sandwiches, snacks and drinks to pay for his tuition at the renowned School of Hotel Management at Cornell University. Today, he is CEO of Bill Hansen Catering, a luxury catering company that has been serving clients from West Palm Beach to the Florida Keys for 40 years. The client list is as impressive as the cuisine: four U.S. Presidents, Pope John Paul II, Bill Gates, top professional athletes, singers and hundreds of Fortune 500 firms.
As COVID-19 put a stop to large gatherings, the company has shifted its focus towards Miami Spice, the two-month promotional period usually reserved for Miami’s top-tiered restaurants. Bill Hansen Catering is the first catering company to participate, allowing for its upscale dishes normally enjoyed at large venues to be savored by individuals and/or families at home.
“Necessity is the mother of invention. We want to keep our team working and we’re willing to pivot in order to keep the business moving along. By offering this service, we’re able to introduce Bill Hansen Catering to customers who have never tried our food before,” Hansen says.
Miami Spice runs from July 8 through September 30 and is guided by a fixed menu price of $23 for brunch/lunch and $39 for dinner. Hansen is offering dinner delivery of a menu created by Corporate Executive Chef Dewey LoSasso with appetizer choices for every palate— lobster and grits, guava barbeque chicken wings, tomato and mozzarella salad with a smoked guava and hickory dressing and shrimp and ricotta fritters with vanilla-lemon beurre blanc. Coffee-seared filet mignon with roasted peanuts, Glenlivet scotch barbeque sauce and rosemary roasted potatoes and scallop and shrimp penne pasta with saffron, black garlic and parmesan crema are some of the entrees available. Desserts like chocolate torte with a sea salt caramel sauce, ricotta cheesecake with red wine and peach compote and grilled angel food cake topped with a rum mojito sauce and sweet mango slaw target every kind of sweet tooth. Champagne enthusiasts will be happy to note there is a bubbly add-on of Perrier-Jouët Champagne that includes two souvenir Perrier-Jouët champagne flutes.
For orders, email dewey@billhansencatering.com or call 305.970.1623. Delivery within Miami Dade County is free.
MK Takeaways
Michael and Karen Stanley are no strangers to the food industry. Michael, who honed his skills at the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, has 15 years of restaurant experience between Chicago and South Florida as well as training in the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in upstate New York. The husband-wife duo have owned and operated “Yummy in My Tummy,” an organic school lunch program servicing 90 schools throughout Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties since 2008. With the onset of the pandemic, the couple understood families would be spending more time at home but still craving restaurant-caliber meals.
“We designed MK Takeaways to deliver both pleasure and convenience, without ever sacrificing quality,” Michael explains. “We have an eye on the past, when cooking from scratch was the standard, and a view to the future, where convenience is key and quality is a must,” he says.
Meals come in single servings or for up to families of six and arrive with specific preparation instructions. Insulated packaging ensures the integrity of the food is not compromised and, unlike most takeout which is best consumed immediately, dishes can be enjoyed at the diner’s own leisure. The seasonally-inspired, rotating menu offers a mix of Mediterranean fare with American comfort classics, like the Mediterranean salad medley (feta and artichoke salad, tabbouleh and hummus) or Li’l Kosher dogs wrapped in puff pastry for starters; quinoa burger, maple rubbed salmon or the baby back ribs with tamarind barbeque for entrees. Pasta lovers will be smitten by the broccoli rabe and sausage orecchiette and the grilled shrimp over pasta with Cajun alfredo sauce. Desserts like strawberry shortcake, peach cobbler, and Key lime pie arrive in Mason jars.
Orders can be placed online. Join the MK Takeaways loyalty program for extra perks.
There is a $10 delivery fee for Miami-Dade County.
Michelle Bernstein Catering
Chef Michelle Bernstein is a fixture in Miami’s culinary scene, having graced South Florida with her Latin-inspired food and sunny personality for many years. The list of accolades for this Miami native known to most as “Chef Michy” is long and well deserved and includes a James Beard Award for Best Chef South in 2008 along with numerous beloved restaurants, the latest being the Calle 8 hotspot Cafe La Trova, which she opened with renowned bartender Julio Cabrera.
She also runs a successful catering company which has pivoted from catering large events, like Art Basel, to hosting more intimate private lunches and dinners at client’s homes as well as offering meal delivery twice a week (Wednesday and Saturdays). The Wednesday meal delivery is a fried chicken dinner (half or whole bird) that comes with watermelon salad, coleslaw, Michy’s own hot sauce and Southern banana pudding for dessert. Add-ons include mac and cheese, buttermilk biscuits, mash potatoes and gravy and deviled eggs. Saturday’s meal changes weekly, with past offerings like “All-American Barbeque”, “Argentinian”, and the most recent, “Italian Feast.” Menus serve up to four and can include signature cocktails from Cafe La Trova.
“Now is not a time to think about what you can’t do, what you won’t do, and what might or might not be “good for your career” - now is a time to think about evolving, learning, changing, being all those things we thought we couldn’t be. I myself am doing things that I haven’t done since the start of my career, and I’m having a ton of fun. I consider myself a private chef, an online chef, a zoom chef, and I’m becoming well versed in delivery of food into people’s homes, as well as meal kits. I’m even the delivery person from time to time and nothing gives me joy, like ringing the doorbell and seeing people’s reactions, to their very own chef delivering their food from a distance,” Bernstein says.
Follow social media and the website to see new menus posted every week. Orders can be placed online. Delivery within Miami Dade County is free.
This story was originally published August 17, 2020 at 1:22 PM.