Parents exhausted from running from work to the school pick-up lane to soccer practice before heading home to scramble together dinner have a new option, thanks to two Royal Oak parents.
They’ve created a dinner solution for parents with bigger fish to fry.
The Golden State Chef Company – run by Lindsey and Ryan Klink – offers a meal delivery service tailored to the lives of busy parents trying to do the nearly impossible: feed children healthy meals they will actually eat and even enjoy.
“Our business is designed for people standing in front of the fridge at 6:30 p.m. trying to figure out what to make for dinner,” Ryan says. “We ask people what they want to see. What do your kids like? What do you crave after a workout? We want to make something fun and healthy and good for the environment.”
They offer a rotating menu online where customers order by Friday as many meals as they would like for the week, which are then dropped off early Monday morning. Last month, the couple opened a storefront where people can stop in to pick up the prepared meals to reheat at home or hang out and eat in the dining room.
The options aren’t spaghetti and meatballs, though, Ryan says.
“The food is local whenever possible and I cook with the seasons,” he says. “The type of food always rotates – I’ll have Southern foods, Moroccan, Middle Eastern, but we always try to use local.”
Originally from Southern California, Ryan is a classically trained chef who has cooked in high-end restaurants from the west coast to the Midwest. He even worked under celebrity chef Graham Elliot.
“The whole point of starting this business is to be able to spend time with the family,” Lindsey says, and the five-star restaurant business was “not conducive to the work and family lifestyle.”
Lindsey runs the business side of things and their children, Oliver, 8, and Nora, 6, help out sometimes, too.
The family’s hard work has paid off. Ryan says the response from the community so far has been encouraging.
“We’ve gotten lots of great reviews about how easy it is and how much the kids like it,” he says. “Someone told us, ‘Our son hasn’t eaten a vegetable in a month, but he loves yours!'”
Individual meal prices run $12-$16 for adults and $9-$10 for kids.
Visit online at goldenstatechefco.com or in person at 112 Catalpa Drive in Royal Oak.
