Marilyn Kennedy Roseburrough and Shelene Rice, friends who bonded through their work at a local farmer’s market and love of food, dreamed of opening a business that would allow them to pursue their passion for cooking while making a living. This April, they finally got that chance and founded Perfect Dish, a Vancouver-based meal delivery service that focuses on quality ingredients.
“We absolutely love to cook and we love to cook for people,” explained Roseburrough. “[The idea] started with a friend of mine asking, ‘Hey, can you cook for me?’ She loved my cooking and … She just didn’t want to cook for herself anymore; she wanted to eat healthier. That’s how it all started.”
Just six months later, Perfect Dish is already thriving with 29 families receiving menus every week.
Roseburrough and Rice believe their success comes from a commitment to offering convenient, healthy meals that their customers actually enjoy eating. In fact, they pride themselves on their willingness to customize their meals every week to suit each customer’s palate.
“Today was a good example where someone [informed us] they just can’t eat pork anymore,” said Roseburrough. “They can’t have any pork products, so she emailed and [asked] ‘can I customize?’ Sure. We really like that. We enjoy it when the customer enjoys the food.”
Other food delivery services limit customization, but Rice and Roseburrough said that by keeping the menu set and allowing small changes for personal preference – such as making salmon rather than halibut – customers stay happy and food prep is manageable.
The two business owners cook on Sundays for Monday delivery. Customers have the option of getting their meals delivered to their home or office. Delivery within Vancouver is free, but delivery outside of the city includes a small fee based on zip code. For now, other delivery days are not available. With Sunday meal preparation, Roseburrough noted, Monday meal deliveries mean that the food is as fresh as possible when customers receive it.
Perfect Dish’s target customers are busy; they’re business owners with 24-hour schedules and families with countless after-school activities who either don’t have the time to cook or don’t like to cook and just want to eat at home more often.
Rice pointed out that Perfect Dish is a full-service business – once a customer places an order, the only thing they need to think about is when it’s time to heat them up.
“There’s really no one out there like us that will shop for you, that will meal plan for you, and then deliver it to your door every single week,” she said.
Right now, Perfect Dish offers a weekly selection of one dinner entrée, one family-friendly dish, a lunch entrée, a lunch salad, a side salad, and freezer foods that can be reheated at any time. Customers can choose any combination or quantity they like, but must spend at least $75 per order.
Roseburrough emphasized that every meal is planned to meet the full range of a customer’s dietary needs and to be as convenient as possible for customers.
“The whole point is trying to help them make healthier choices with food and be able to do it quickly from home,” she said.
For more information, head to the Perfect Dish website at www.perfectdishdelivery.com.
Perfect Dish
www.perfectdishdelivery.com Founded 2016
