By John Voket

Whenever Bob McLean sees bags of frozen meat or crates of vegetables being unloaded at the local corporate supermarket or into the kitchens at local franchise restaurants he starts to wonder where that food came from.

“I can’t help but think that the corn they got from Iowa last month might be coming in from Chile this month,” he said during a recent interview at his Southbury business, My Second Kitchen. “And if there’s no name on the boxes of beef except the name of the food distribution company that delivers it, who are you going to call if you’ve got a problem? You don’t know if their farm is in Kansas or Argentina.”

That’s why Mr McLean and his wife, Teresa, are dedicated to making sure they know where every piece of meat, every tomato and squash, as well as every condiment and spice they use to help their customers assemble tasty, healthy, and time-saving meals comes from.

Walking through the store’s immaculate assembly area, past racks of gourmet spices, shiny clean utensils, gleaming industrial display refrigerators and into the hospital-sanitized prep kitchen, the new business owner can tell you the origin of virtually every item in the building.

“We are committed to buying as much food locally as possible, from our friends and neighbors,” he said. “Our three major distributors are local, and the names of the farms where their food is coming from, with the phone numbers, is stamped right on each container.

“Our spices come from Thomaston, the maple syrup for our pork chop glaze comes right from the Kettletown Sugar House in Southbury, we’re looking to the 300-year-old Mitchell farm here for produce — sweet corn, orange, red and green peppers, squash and tomatoes, other items from Shortt’s Farm in Newtown and our meats come from Dandy in Danbury,” he said.

In the coming months, Mr and Mrs McLean will be working with NOFA, the Northeast Organic Farming Association based in Oxford, to connect with even more home-grown and local products, including possibly some dairy items.

“Our philosophy is buying local gives us a lot of flexibility; it’s fast, obviously the freshest you can get, our customers certainly can taste the difference,” he said. “And if there is a question, I can call the farmer where it came from.”

The concept of meal preparation businesses is one of growing popularity. Currently, according to Mr McLean, there are about five or six national franchise outfits operating in the tri-state area.

“I think people are familiar with the concept from all the media exposure on those big guys, but when you go there I believe they primarily get their food from huge national distributors; we decided to buy as much as we could from our local neighbors,” Mr McLean said.

My Second Kitchen offers a six- and 12-meal model to its rapidly growing list of clients, and those clients come in either on their own, or in groups by appointment Wednesday through Saturday. Clients can also take advantage of preassembled meal packages that change weekly as the menu changes, or they can call or custom order their meals to be assembled for pickup through the store’s website.

“We’ve only been open for a couple of weeks and we’ve already had several customers come back, some several times and bringing their friends,” Mr McLean said. He thinks the concept makes a lot of sense for cost-, nutrition-, and time-conscious consumers who see a lot of practicality and economy in having all the premeasured portions of each balanced meal ready to just pop in the oven for a few minutes after thawing.

“Our logo says it all, ‘It’s About Time.’ You always have about 14 different entrée selections available and the menu changes monthly,” he said “If you’re new to the system, our staff guides you through the process and supervises every step to be sure you’re protecting yourself and the other clients by keeping the process clean and sanitized, then you freeze your meals — which are seasoned to your family’s taste — until you’re ready to eat.”

There’s virtually no wasted food, nothing goes bad because its frozen, the only time it takes is to heat the meal up and the nutritionally balanced portions and servings are perfect for those watching their calorie and carb intakes. “And the average cost per meal, per person is just about four bucks when you buy a meal plan,” Mr McLean added.

Meal plan participants with little or no frozen storage can assemble their meals ahead of time and freeze them at the store for pickup later.

My Second Kitchen helps clients achieve the best savings by offering a program where they pre-buy a multiple meal plan, even if they only come in and assemble one or two meals at a time. The chicken fajita dish, for example, is $25 for four to six servings if you walk in and buy it from the freezer to go.

But if you take a few minutes to assemble it yourself and go straight home and cook it, the cost is just $22.50.

“Older folks, and our clients from Heritage Village and the other complexes in the area, love it,” he said. “They can come in when they want, assemble a meal for two or three people, have enough left over for lunch the next day and it’s as low as $13.75.”

Customers who require low fat, dairy free, and sugar substitutes have no problems either, and except for the protein, every single spice and condiment is available to season the meals exactly the way the customer wants it.

My Second Kitchen offers a novel way to socialize by bringing in church and service groups, neighbors, even baby showers.

“Isn’t it great! If a new mom is coming home from the hospital, her friends can come in and each assemble a dinner for her for the next two weeks,” Mr McLean said.

Newtown resident Nancy Rinaldi says she likes the fact that the My Second Kitchen staff is always by her side through the entire process, offering tips and ideas.

“Everyone is so helpful, courteous, and friendly,” Ms Rinaldi said. “The preparation process was simple because of the step-by-step instructions at each prep station, and it’s a pleasant and fun experience.”

Visit My Second Kitchen at 134 Main Street South in Bennett Square, Southbury, call 262-MEAL or click on www.mysecondkitchenct.com and introduce yourself to the McLean’s and all the benefits of this handy, time-saving meal preparation system.