Interview with Elite Meal Services

There are so many excellent services out there that can help busy families in the Bay Area during postpartum and beyond! For this week’s blog, we invited the Owner of Elite Meal Service, Bianca, to talk about the fantastic meals she provides for families in Santa Cruz and the broader Bay Area. We hope you enjoy this week’s blog, Interview with Elite Meal Services.

Hi Bianca, thank you for joining us on this week’s blog. Can you start by telling us a little bit about yourself?

Hey, I’m so excited! My name is Bianca; I am a local mom to a fiery two ½-year-old boy. My husband Brian and I have been in the food industry for 25 years combined ( Crazy, right!?). We have loved every minute of it. We own and operate Elite Meal Service based out of Santa Cruz.

How did you decide to start offering meal services to families in Santa Cruz and beyond?

After Covid, I was itching to get back to work, but my husband and I knew that we couldn’t do the 14-hour days in restaurants anymore with our son. A super fantastic opportunity fell into our laps, and we jumped on it, thus creating our own business. We can still do what we love while still being able to spend our days with our kiddo.

How does your meal delivery service work?

Easy as 1,2,3! We post a new menu each week, one for our Monday deliveries and another for Thursday deliveries. We are a no strings attached service meaning there’s no subscription fee; you’re welcome to order every week, every other week, one day a week, or both! When you’re ready to place your order, our site takes you to our order form, and from there, you choose what dishes and sides you want and how many portions each. Our menu rotates weekly. After you hit submit, we handle the rest! No more last-minute grocery shopping or messes. We send out our billing on Wednesdays via email, and our clients can pay their invoices with one click!

What makes your service stand out from others in the Bay Area?

I think what makes us stand out is the understanding of who we are working with. We aren’t a big company. We are a small but mighty team of two chefs and two delivery drivers. My husband and I handle every aspect of our business. We take the time to get to know our clients and their needs. Our goal is to help them stay within their budget, cater to their specific diets, and make them always feel taken care of. We also are a low-waste kitchen, meaning we use reusable containers and ensure that there is little to no food waste. When we have extra food on “cook days,” we send them as gifts to our clients (making sure it is within their dietary needs).

Why would this be a good option for new moms and families?

We are both parents and truly understand what it’s like to have an infant at home and try to juggle the rest. I struggled hard with PPD and that came in many forms. I struggled most with the anxiety of planning healthy and nutritious dinners for my family and the mess that came with it. After I learned to handle my PPD and got help, I feel confident again, and if we can help just one new parent take some stress out of their day, it makes ours. We have set up a system that is as simple as possible so that new parents can choose their meals for the week in as little as a few clicks.

What are some examples of the foods that you offer?

Elite Meal Service offers a wide variety of dishes every week! A few items we have offered/ are offering are:

-Jerk Pulled Pork with Corn Cakes (Substitute Enoki Mushrooms for a vegetarian option)

-Chicken Mole

-Ahi Crudo

-Nonna’s Lasagna

And many, many more!

Do you accommodate different dietary restrictions and food allergies?

Yes absolutely! We chat with all new clients about any allergies, dietary restrictions, and preferences during the ordering process. My husband is gluten and dairy intolerant, so it was important to us to include all allergies and restrictions. When a client with allergies orders, we ensure there is no cross contamination and cook all their food in clean, separate pans. We also ensure that the containers their food is packaged in are new. The same goes for all of our vegetarian clients! We always make sure that there is an option to substitute their protein, whether it’s tofu, tempeh, or, most recently, we have been utilizing enoki mushrooms as a stand-in for pulled pork, seafood, and just on their own.

Where can we go to learn more?

You can find us on our website by clicking here. We are also on instagram at @elite.meal.service. Please feel free to reach out to us via email at info.elitemealservice@gmail.com.

Thank you for reading this weeks blog, ” Interview with Elite Meal Services.” For more tips and tricks on all things pregnancy, psotpartum, and parenthood visit our weekly posts.