NORWICH – Between hectic work schedules and the demands of school, sports and extracurricular activities, it’s harder than ever for parents to find time to fix fresh, nutritious meals for their families. There is a solution to this problem, other than resorting to fast or frozen food, according to Sue Ryan of Canasawacta Country Club.
Her solution is CCC At Your Table. The service, which was rolled out on Nov. 30, offers a mouth-watering selection of freshly prepared meals that redefine “take out.”
With the exception of holiday parties and events, the winter months are usually a slow time for the country club, with both the golf course and club house closed for the season. So with plenty of time on their hands, Ryan and CCC Executive Chef Lauren Eldridge put their heads together to find a way of ramping up off-season revenues.
“(We asked ourselves) not just what we can do, but what is there a need for,” Ryan explained. Looking at their own lives, and the lives of their friends and family, it didn’t take long for them to recognize what need they could fill.
“People need dinner,” she said, especially busy families. No matter how hectic your schedule, “you still want to put good food on the table. You still want to feed your kids well.”
Using fresh items, many of which are purchased locally through Chenango Bounty and local markets, Ryan and Eldridge plan weekly “chalkboard” menus featuring a selection of entrees, each of which is prepared fresh for each order, as well as soup, salad and several sides, all of which change weekly. There is of course dessert as well, which can be ordered in individual servings or a whole cake.
“We like to play,” said Eldridge, explaining how the two enjoy experimenting with new recipes and flavor combinations.
The menu through Dec. 31, for example, features apricot basil chicken, mediterranean pasta, egg-battered haddock drizzled with fresh herb cream, filet of beef gorgonzola and buffalo shrimp pasta. Rounding out the weekly offerings are a cheddar ale soup, a salad of winter greens topped with green apples and candied walnuts, sides of couscous, garlic mashed potatoes, fresh vegetables or green beans in dill butter, and, for dessert, New York style cheesecake.
In addition, four “stand bys,” as Ryan calls them, are always available. These offerings include comfort food like CCC’s four cheese macaroni and cheese, roasted chicken and biscuits and homemade individual meatloaves as well as a grilled marinated chicken breast.
Keeping the number of items offered each week limited has enabled them to keep overhead expenses down, she explained, which in turn allows them to price items so they are affordable for families. Prices average between roughly $9 to $11 for the weekly options and from $6 and $7 for the “stand bys.” Salads, soups, sides and desserts range from $2 to $3.50.
Ryan said they are also willing and able to work around food allergies and special diets, such as gluten-free diets.
Orders can be placed over the phone or through CCC’s website, and then are picked up ready to go between 4 and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday at The Parson’s Daughter, 6 West Park Street in Norwich. Each item, packaged in microwave safe containers, is labeled with instructions on proper handling, storage and reheating.
Ryan said she chose Sharon Jeffer’s downtown chocolate shop as the pick-up location because she felt it would be more convenient than making customers trek up the hill to the country club during the winter months. It also gives some additional exposure to her longtime friend’s specialty shop.
“We’re helping each other’s business,” she said.
Despite minimal promotion of the service, word of CCC At Your Table has spread quickly by word of mouth and through social networking sites like Facebook.
“It has taken off faster than I expected,” she reported. Already there are families and individuals ordering two or three times a week, and they receive calls and online orders from new customers nearly every day.
To help customers plan ahead, both the current week and following week’s menues are posted on CCC’s website and available in brochure form at The Parson’s Daughter. Ryan’s brother, CCC President Tim Carson, takes care of much of this behind the scenes work, she said, both updating the website and printing the brochures.
For more information, or to place an order, contact Canasawacta Country Club by phone at 336-9214, via email at cccgolf@citlink.net or visit them at www.canasawactacc.com.