Ready, Set, Reheat

Kickstarting your autumn routine with dinners from Island meal prep companies

By Adrian Paradis | September 03, 2024

Photo provided by Food Genie

Whether you have children heading back to school, you’re resuming your own studies, or you’re just settling in for the colder months ahead, September is the month to evaluate schedules and rekindle routines. During these busy times, finding time to cook homemade, nourishing meals can feel overwhelming; fortunately, the Island is home to several meal prep businesses that can do the cooking for you.

Refire Kitchen – Victoria

During the height of the pandemic, Rob Curtis and his three co-founders launched Refire Kitchen in Victoria. It began when co-founder Tod Bosence, now the chef at Refire, found inspiration through his wife. While working long hours as a nurse, she needed convenient meals to keep her going. “He started making shepherd’s pies and lasagnas that she could take to work to feed her coworkers,” says Curtis. “Pretty soon, her coworkers started to ask if he could make more for them to take home. The lightbulb went on for him, so not long after he approached us with a business idea.”

Initially operating with a delivery model, Refire Kitchen quickly expanded, opening a storefront location on Fort Street, a production kitchen in View Royal and recently a third location in Sidney. Explaining the name, Curtis notes that in the culinary industry, to "refire" something means to improve something by reheating or refining it. "We wanted to be better than mom and pop, so it was more than just masking tape on Tupperware. We test each recipe to make sure they come back from frozen perfectly every time.” While some recipes didn’t make the cut, Refire now has a small but dedicated list of staple items.

Food Genie – Nanaimo

Lisa Lipiec founded Food Genie in Nanaimo in 2016 after relocating from Edmonton, where she had spent almost a decade honing her skills in high-end restaurants. “I found it really hard to find a job that I enjoyed here,” she says. “I was working long hours, split shifts, and not getting paid very well. I opened Food Genie with the intention of having a sustainable job for myself and others in the community where we can make food we love and are proud of.”

The concept for Food Genie originated while Lisa was preparing and delivering meals to a family friend. "When I first met her, she could never remember my name. When I showed up, she started calling me the 'Food Genie,'" says Lipiec. The name stuck and became the heart of their brand.

Offering a range of meals like stews and chilis, Food Genie also served a diverse selection of rice and salad bowls that Lipiec says came out of her own necessity to eat healthy. “I started to incorporate healthy options into the Food Genie menu. That way, I was able to make things I wanted to eat while nourishing my customers.” Some fan favourites include the mixed green and farro salad with apples, walnuts, parmesan, dates, bacon and an apple cider dressing. The ever-popular breakfast burrito includes scrambled eggs, black beans, cheddar cheese and a hint of smoky paprika.

Valley Home Meals – Comox Valley

Valley Home Meals has been serving the Comox Valley community since 1999. Initially, they operated out of a rented space before building their own kitchen in 2017 close to their gardens, where they grow a variety of fruits, berries and vegetables used in their dishes.

Ashley Abgrall, now the manager, shares that her parents founded the business almost two decades ago. “My mom had a background in logging camp cooking; that’s actually where my parents met.” Many of the recipes at Valley Home Meals are steeped in personal history, passed down through generations of family and friends. For example, their beloved lasagna, featuring layers of Bolognese, spinach, cottage cheese, and topped with mozzarella and parmesan, originates from an Italian family friend who generously shared the recipe in the 1970s.

“All our recipes have a story,” says Abgrall. Among their most popular dishes is the curry chicken, marinated in tandoori, lime and coconut, simmered in a flavourful masala coconut curry sauce and served with mango chutney. “We do things more in the home-style cooking, not restaurant-style cooking. We’re giving people what you might feed them if they sat down at your table.”