BY AMY ROSEN
Staff Writer
Owner Shamoli Patel prepares dough for a braided bread during a demonstration for guests at Super Suppers, Marlboro. Family dinner time is in peril! Home-cooked dinners are being overrun by fast food mania! What are busy parents to do? Never fear, Super Suppers is here!
With the fast-paced schedules of modern families and the temptation of fast food restaurants everywhere, many Americans today are more likely to get a glimpse of a traditional dinnertime scenario on reruns of 1960s TV shows than in their own kitchens.
Donna Reed would be glad to know about a new business that is attempting to bring home-cooked meals back to the kitchen, and families back together at the dinner table.
Super Suppers of Marlboro, 455 Route 9 south, Marlboro, is one of a growing number of meal assembly franchises that are popping up across the country. Owner Shamoli Patel of Freehold opened this facility, which is the fourth Super Suppers in New Jersey, with her husband, Bob, in September. The couple said the business has already established a large base of dedicated repeat customers.
Patel, a former electrical engineer whose passion has always been cooking, says that as a working mom she realizes it has become increasingly challenging for parents to find the time to prepare a hot, healthy dinner after work and still keep up with the demanding daily schedules of their children and spouses.
“We’re all about the family and getting family back to the dinner table,” Patel said.
According to the market research company of Mintel International and the NPD Group, and as reported in The New York Times, Americans now spend an average of 30 minutes cooking dinner, a dramatic decline from the two-and-a-half hours spent cooking dinner in the 1960s.
Health-conscious people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of returning to the more nutritious eating habits of yesteryear, but can’t manage the time commitment involved. Super Suppers offers what its owners say is a convenient compromise by providing the opportunity for people to put together the ingredients of up to 12 main courses at the facility within a two-hour time period. Six courses can be prepared in about 45 minutes. The food does not get cooked at Super Suppers. It is prepared and packed up to be put into the freezer at home.
The time-consuming preparation and cleanup is eliminated because Patel and her staff do the shopping and prep work for the customers. The only thing clients have to do at suppertime is defrost the uncooked food and pop it into the oven, following the instructions printed on each tray or bag of food.
Susan Garter, of Manalapan, visits Super Suppers regularly to prepare dinner for her husband, Larry, and their son, Alex, 14.
“It’s great,” Garter said. “Dinner time is less hectic because I don’t have to spend time preparing it when I get home. The family eats more dinners together and the variety is also nice. It saves me a lot of time. I can do in two hours up to 12 different entrees. If I did it myself on a Sunday, it would take me hours and I’d end up with maybe one dinner.”
Patrons of Super Suppers can visit the store’s Internet Web site at www.ssnj.net where they choose from the menus listed each month. They select their meal preferences, choose a convenient time to visit the facility, and send their order to Patel.
Patel and her culinary assistants, Susan Tomasso of Middletown, Jackie Higgins of Brick, James and Werusca Shea of Old Bridge, Jane Altshul of Manalapan and Patel’s sons, Aaron and Kyle, have all of the ingredients ready when a customer arrives.
The customer then visits Super Suppers’ kitchen and advances from station to station to assemble various meals. Ingredients and measuring utensils are arranged at each station.
For those who prefer to skip the food assembly experience, Patel and her staff can prepare pre-ordered selections in advance and have them waiting for pick-up for a small fee.
Last minute meals and side dishes are also available in the “Grab n’ Go” freezer for people who do not have time to pre-order meal selections.
Six meals can be purchased for $135 and 12 meals can be purchased for $234. Individual meals are $24 for large entrees (serves 4-6) and $13 for small entrees (serves 2-4).
Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments, including Sangria, welcome Patel’s guests to Super Suppers and enhance their experience. Friends and families enjoy going together and even arrange for private parties, turning what used to be the mundane routine of meal preparation into a fun “girls night out.” Men also enjoy the experience and couples find it to be a unique kind of date. Children age 8 and up like the family sessions.
Lauren Sebulsky, of Jackson, enjoys going to sessions with her friend, Chip. They each have small families so they split the large dinners in half and share them.
“I work full-time and don’t have time to prepare dinner every night for my daughter, Kayleigh, 7, and my husband John,” Sebulsky said. “Super Suppers has made my quality of life easier because I spend less time making dinner. My husband says it’s a party for me once a month.”
In addition to busy moms, Super Suppers’ clientele includes single dads who want fresh foods for their children, people who love to cook but do not want the fuss of preparing the ingredients, and those who do not cook at all and need guidance. Girl Scouts meet at Super Suppers to earn badges through food preparation. Group fundraisers are also available.
People can view the ingredients and nutritional information for each item on the menu and make their own choices based on their requirements, dietary limitations or taste preferences.
“My daughter hates mushrooms,” Sebulsky said, “so I leave them out.”
Judie Byrd, founder of The Culinary School of Fort Worth, Texas, created Super Suppers. She and her team create and test recipes in the areas of flavor, ease of assembly, and cook-off and freezing, and implement the monthly recipes for Super Suppers.
Monica Semperivive, of the New Egypt section of Plumsted, has three boys and cooks for her family, but she uses Super Suppers meals to help her out on busy nights.
“It takes me 45 minutes to get to Marlboro, but when I get there they have Sangria and appetizers. I have fun and I am accomplishing something. I’ll travel for that!” she said.
Semperivive and her friend read about Super Suppers in a magazine and found the Marlboro facility through an online search.
“When I first heard about it I thought it sounded like a great idea, but I wondered what the menu would be like,” she said, adding she was pleased with the assortment she found. “You can do simple things like stuffed shells, traditional things like meat loaf, or different things like brown rice and tilapia or Jambalaya (her kids’ favorite). What’s nice is that the kids (Ashton, 2, Chase, 4, and Alex, 9) eat all kinds of stuff. The more foods they are exposed to, the more they eat.”
Semperivive’s husband, Robert, gets home late and then runs out to coach Alex’s football team.
“It’s nice because we get to sit down and have dinner together. Family time is important and we get it at the dinner table. As a former teacher, I know studies show families that eat together have more complex relations with each other,” she said.
Although Semperivive still cooks meals herself, she said, “Three days a week I have dinner in the bag, literally! It’s better than take-out.
“Being a stay-at-home mom, it’s not like I have to rush home from work and try to make quick meals. I am the opposite. I spend too much time cooking and with the help of Super Suppers, I can spend more time with my kids and can help my son, Chase, with his speech, or play a game – the things that are important.”
Those who are curious about Super Suppers are welcome to arrange for a complimentary Super Suppers 101 class. It includes a cooking demo and a sample entree to take home. Gift cards are also available.