Dream Dinners
The term ‘dream dinner’ may bring to mind a perfect date at a candlelit table, violin music in the background, with the meal capped by a wedding ring hidden in the champaign glass. Dream Dinners is also a quickly rising food franchise business. It’s all about people cooking under supervision according to planned menus. A lot of people ask, why didn’t I think of that?
Americans are busier than ever before. Eating well at home is becoming more and more difficult . Sure there are many quality frozen and ready made foods, but somehow it’s never the same as a good home cooked meal. When the schedule is packed, however, will people give up their jobs or their self made meals? This franchise comes to the rescue.
It works something like this. People visit the location and then choose up to all 14 items on a provided menu. Number of servings determines cost of each meal. Then the consumers cook the meals, at the store. This can be accomplished either in public or private sessions, with cooking pros directing the preparation action. It’s a little bit like a cooking show where the show gives the viewer the food then helps them prepare it along with the host.
It sounds a lot more expensive that it really is. The more people buy the more they save, so all 14 meals are about $3.50 per serving not counting sides and other items like salads. A total of about $5 per serving isn’t a bad price to pay for a good meal. Not only are the meals provided, but the family can enjoy the cooking experience in a setting where it’s ensured that they’ll prepare the meals the right way.
Remember, these are franchises. There has been some tension. It’s not the food or menus or preparation, but rather the franchiseesSome of the franchisees aren’t happy. Dream Dinners was profiled in March of ‘08 by Forbes. The story made the corporation look pretty bad. It expanded very quickly, attracting entrepreneurs with its unique concept. But it seems the business plan wasn’t strong, as many of these people found themselves unable to continue the business after a short time and a lot of investment. There may have been some misrepresentations made as to potential profits.
Let the franchisees and the company worry about the controversy, for the diner Dream Dinners is just what the chef ordered.
