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Elyria Chronicle Telegram

Story from the Monday, January 03, 2005 Edition of the Chronicle Telegram

Too busy to make meals? It’s Cooking Thyme

Michelle Park
The Chronicle-Telegram
The stops were ready. The stuffed pepper station had tomato soup and a measuring cup. The sweet potato casserole station boasted pecans, coconut shavings, brown sugar and flour. The enchilada station was equipped with chili powder and hot sauce.
Foil and plastic wrap sat on an island in the middle of the room. Two steel refrigerators stood on both sides of the kitchen.
Cooking Thyme Inc. in Westlake, a facility that helps customers prepare homemade meals, was ready to do business.
And so were its customers.
Michele Mantin of Amherst participated in a Cooking Thyme session for the first time Thursday night. She said a friend referred her.
“I work full time, and cooking meals is very time consuming,” she said, adding that she has three children under the age of 10. “If you don’t have it ready to go ahead of time, there’s not enough time.”
Mantin may have enough time now thanks to the dishes she prepared in Westlake.
“I’ll just be excited (about dinner),” she said. “It’ll be all ready to go. There won’t be any thinking about it.”
Cooking sessions — like the one Mantin participated in — allow customers to come in, rotate through different stations and make dishes they can freeze and prepare later at home, said Cathy Bollin, co-owner of Cooking Thyme. Although customers tend to be women with families to feed, Cooking Thyme does see men, younger individuals and older individuals as well.
Tim Mahl of Avon, who went to Thursday’s cooking session with his wife, Cindy, said he likes the concept behind the sessions because he can monitor what goes into the dishes.
“I’ve got high blood pressure,” he said, noting that sodium levels in many foods tend to be high. “(Here,) I can control the sodium a little bit.”
The facilities’ rotations do allow customers to tailor their dishes, Bollin said. Although instructions are posted, people ultimately decide how much spice or how much sauce they want in particular dishes. People can make unique dishes with Cooking Thyme.
“It’s homemade meals,” she said. “We try to do things that are a little different than most people do every day, but not too crazy that their family doesn’t want to eat it.”
Before participating in sessions, customers must decide whether they will prepare 12 dishes or six dishes, Bollin said. Each dish feeds at least four people and “sometimes up to six.” Preparing 12 dishes costs $185, or an average of $3.08 per serving. Preparing six costs $100.
The next open Cooking Thyme sessions are Jan. 10 and Jan. 16. January’s menu includes dishes such as pulled pork sandwiches, chicken marsala and chocolate peanut butter bars. A full menu may be accessed online at www.cooking-thyme.com.
Those who want to prepare meals should register and submit their payment four days before a session so Bollin and her business partner, Nancy Cusick, can plan. Interested individuals can register online or by telephone, and can pay with a check, a credit card or cash.
Cooking Thyme began because Bollin and Cusick thought it’d be great for people to prepare dinners with friends, Bollin said.
“Nancy and I had always wanted to do a business together,” Bollin said. “Nancy has four children, and I have two, and we were always getting into the positions of ‘Oh my gosh, what am I going to feed my family?’ ”
Having the prepared meals ready in their freezer will be a nice change, Cindy Mahl said.
“It’s hard to make these types of things in the evenings,” she said.
“Yeah, Bob (Evans) cooks for us a lot,” her husband chimed in.
The two, who made 12 dishes Thursday, said the cooking sessions are also a way to spend time together.
“It is (nice) for us because otherwise, it’s pretty much ‘Good morning’ and ‘Good night,’ ” Cindy Mahl said.
People may also prepare dishes and spend time together at Simply Done Dinners in Parma. Their menus and scheduled sessions may be accessed online at www.simplydonedinners.com.

Cooking thyme
Who: Anyone who wants to prepare homemade meals they can freeze and eat later
Where: Cooking Thyme Inc., 25076 Center Ridge Road, Westlake
When: Next open sessions take place Jan. 10 and 16, other sessions are listed on www.cooking-thyme.com
How much: To make 12 dishes it costs $185 and to make six dishes it costs $100.
How long: It typically takes an hour to make six dishes and two hours to make 12.