Franchise Makes Dinner Easy

This week, Michelle Barber will serve maple-dijon pork chops, salsa chicken and spaghetti pie -- all without chopping, measuring or scrubbing pots and pans.

Barber, who cooks only rarely, assembled a dozen meals in less than two hours recently at Dinner by Design, a freshly opened take-and-bake kitchen tucked into the Larchmont Commons shopping center.

"I'm excited," she said. "My husband is more excited because he'll have dinner when he gets home from work." Barber, who lives in Moorestown, washed her hands at a stainless steel sink as she prepared to make meals.

"Armor up," said franchise owner Ryan Carnall, pointing to a row of maroon chef's aprons.

Barber took her station at a large central island where her daughter, Brittany Rothwell, was already breading chicken tenders.

"I don't cook, either," Rothwell said. "My boyfriend is a chef and cooks all day -- and when he comes home there's not a thing I can do for him." Dinner by Design offers would-be cooks several options. There's a freezer case filled with already assembled meals that can be baked, sauteed or slow-cooked in a crockpot at home. Patrons also can place orders for takeout or put together dishes themselves.

Prices are $229 for 12 dishes assembled in the kitchen by the customer. Ready-made dishes are $24.99 each for portions that serve four to six. Half sizes also are available.

Barber put together pre-measured ricotta cheese and marinara sauce for her spaghetti pie.

She needn't worry about making a mess. The staff cleans up after the customers.

"That's the hardest thing to get used to," she said.

Barber placed each meal in freezer-to-oven aluminum pans, affixed a pre-printed label with storage and cooking instructions and stacked them neatly in a refrigerator.

"That was so easy it's embarrassing," she said.

Customers range from busy soccer moms to a family of four who look on their kitchen sessions as an outing.

"Mostly it's women who enjoy getting together and socializing while they work," Carnall said. "They can have fun without guilt because they are doing something thoughtful for the family." He said the franchise enabled him to combine dual passions for business and food. Carnall launched his first enterprise when he was 12 and growing up in Medford.

"I set up a car wash," he recalled. "There were so many cars my parents couldn't get out of the driveway." He studied business at Roger Williams University in Rhode Island, all the while working in restaurants. He discovered Dinner by Design at a franchise show in Valley Forge, Pa., and was immediately bitten by the concept.

It costs $115,250 to $170,500 to open a Dinner by Design, the company said. Carnall, who has been investing since his teens, capitalized the business with personal funds.

"Every cent I'd saved or invested went into this," he said.

At 26, he is Dinner by Design's youngest franchise owner. His mother, Sharon, is one of the kitchen's seven employees.

In the back of the house, Nikki Taures fed mixing bowls into a dishwasher that can clean and sterilize kitchenware in two minutes.

Carnall helped to design the front of the house, which combined Tuscan-inspired buffets with stainless steel metro shelving where whisks and measuring cups were neatly stacked.

The tables and chairs in the front window accommodate guests at private, BYOB parties, where patrons can enjoy wine as they assemble meals.

That appealed to Barber, who said she will recruit friends for a party for her next visit.

"I'm e-mailing my Bunko group," she said.

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