Mum who runs a takeaway in her kitchen
JUGGLING work and the school run can be hard enough, let alone having to think about what to cook for dinner. So one woman decided to ease the burden for busy mums – and turned her kitchen into a takeaway serving home-cooked meals.
Every week day Kara Dexter whips up wholesome cottage pies, lasagnes and pasta bakes for families in her town using local ingredients.
With as many as 20 orders to prepare in a day, she has to get up as early as 5.30am so everything is ready for collection during the afternoon school run.
Mrs Dexter, 42, charges £8 for a meal for one, £13 for two, £18 for four or £23 for six, and has recently started a children’s menu
‘We ended up with beans on toast’
with prices starting from £3 per portion.
‘At first I thought it might be a service where busy people might be interested in having one night off a week worrying about what to cook and having to shop for ingredients,’ she said.
‘Then it just took off. It seems to have really captured the imagination of people, especially the mothers in the school playgrounds.
‘Some customers are families who want to spend more time with their children, but I also have some elderly couples and young professionals who need a meal at short notice.
‘The only downside is sometimes I’ve sold our own meals some nights so we’ve ended up with beans on toast.’
Mrs Dexter used to rely on takeaways and eating out when she worked in nursing, while her hus- band Mark, 45, is just as busy in his job as a company director.
Then last year their daughter Katie, eight, had to take time off school due to ill health, so she began cooking more at home for her and son Harry, six.
After friends asked her for a couple of meals a week she had the idea for her business, Kara’s Kitchen, which is now her full-time job. Her customers in Knutsford, Cheshire, have to order by 9am the previous day, although Mrs Dexter, who has a food safety certificate and is registered with local authorities, makes some meals at short notice for regulars. She even makes Indian or Thai feasts for families looking for an alternative to takeaways.
It is all served on her own crockery, which customers wash and return. Some of Mrs Dexter’s 77 clients have posted dozens of thank you messages on her Facebook page.
Judith Plant wrote: ‘Thank you, your meal made my usual stressful Monday evening much easier and I appeared to be a kitchen goddess!’
Penny Sproston said: ‘I had been out since 8.30am this morning and to come home to this at 5pm and have a lovely home- cooked meal ready for my family was perfect.’