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Frequently Asked Questions
General FAQ
Q. How do I pay for your services?
A. We accept cash, personal checks, business checks and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover).
Q. What type of services do you provide?
A. For a complete list of Windy Plum Farms services, see our services page.
Q. What qualifications do Windy Plum Farms' Chefs have?
A. All of our chefs are Le Cordon Bleu trained and have ServSafe certifications.
Q. Do you work out of a health department inspected kitchen?
A. Health department regulations require that all commercial food preparations, included prepared meal and catering services, be conducted out of a health department certified kitchen.
Prepared Meal services are allowed to cook in your home kitchen if the food is prepared and stored in your home. Personal chefs and caterers cannot prepare meals
in their home and serve this food to the public. If you are a business, you may be fined if you hire a caterer who is not health department approved. If you are not a business,
you are still liable if you hire an illegal caterer for an event and someone gets ill because of poorly prepared food.
The best policy is to ask to see your caterer's health department certifications or contact the health department where your caterer is licensed. Windy Plum Farms works out of a health department
approved kitchen at our corporate address. Please feel free to stop by to view our health department certification.
Prepared Meal FAQ
Q How does your service differ from other personal chef and prepared meal services?
A. Most personal chef services require that the chef prepare your food at your home. Since Windy Plum Farms has a commercial kitchen, we prepare your meals at our store and either deliver the meals or allow you to come by and pick them up. Unlike other prepared meal services, we provide both meal delivery and pickup service. Our ordering system allows you to build your meals to your liking. Side dishes are included
with most meals and include fresh salads and soups. Some prepared meals services require that you scheduled time with them to go to their store to assemble you meals and you have to cook the food. Windy Plum Farms meals are assembled for you and come to you ready to heat and are, in most cases, fully cooked. You just have to warm and serve.
Q. Do you provide a guarantee?
A. We guarantee our frozen food items for up to 45 days and our refrigerated items for up to 1 week.
Q. Do I need to sign a long-term agreement?
A. No, Windy Plum Farms does not require any long term commitment. If you feel our services are not beneficial, you can terminate the service without obligation.
Q. Can you work with special diets?
A. Yes, we can provide meals that are low-fat, low-sodium, low cholesterol or low-carb based on your needs.
Q. How do I start my Prepared Meal service?
A. Start by registering online here. Once we activate your account (usually within 24 hours), you can start ordering you food.
Q. How do I choose my meals?
A. If you are a registered client, you may order online by going to our Online Prepared Meal Ordering System. Otherwise, download our Prepared Meal Menu or our Weight Management Menu for our Downloads Page. Next, choose a protein (beef, chicken, lamb, fish, etc.) and corresponding vegetable and starch side dishes. You may also choose a soup or salad as a side dish. Continue choosing proteins and side dishes until you have come up with your meals. Vegetarians can select a vegetarian entree and two side dishes as well. If you are having any problems selecting the appropriate side dishes, just give us a call and we can help you select.
Q. What is Prepared Meal delivery service?
A. We can deliver your meals to you either every two weeks or every month. We charge $10 for delivery up to 30 miles, and $20 for delivery up to 50 miles (which is our limit). With two weeks of food, one week will be delivered in a fresh (non-frozen) state and one week frozen. Monthly deliveries are provided as one week fresh and three weeks frozen. Once you place your order, your food delivery is usually scheduled within 7 days. You must order at least
two weeks worth of food to use our delivery service.
Q. What is Prepared Meal pick-up service?
A. We provide pick-up service at our store. When you select pick-up service, you pay for your full order in advance, but you come by our store to pick-up your food either daily, every other day or weekly. Our pick-up service guarantees the freshest possible food as we prepare it the day of pick-up. There is no additional charge for pick-up service. It usually takes 1 business day after you order before your first meal is ready for pickup. Orders on Saturday or Sunday will be processed for Tuesday. We support pickup of 1 to 2 meals on Monday and any number of meals Tuesday through Friday.
Q. At what time can I pick up my food?
A. You can pick up your food after 3pm, Tuesday through Friday.
Q. What storage containers do you use?
A. We use vacuum seal bags. These help maintain the freshness of the food and prevent freezer burn. Windy Plum Farms will charge you separately for the bags based on the number of bags used to store your meals. We usually use three bags per meal, one each to store the protein, starch and vegetable. Some meals may require additional bags.
Q. What is the cost for Prepared Meal service?
A. You must order a minimum of 6 servings (for a family of 2, that would be 3 meals) for pickup service and two weeks worth of food (for a family of 2, that would be 10 meals) for delivery service. Pricing is $12.50 per serving.
So for example, for a family of two using our delivery service and ordering 5 meals per week would pay:
5 meals x 2 weeks x 2 servings per meal = 20 servings x $12.50 = $250 every 2 weeks or $125 per week
A family of two using pickup service and ordering 3 meals per week would pay:
3 meals x 2 servings per meal = 6 servings x $12.50 = $75 per week
The above pricing is for food selected from our menu and does not include the cost of vacuum seal bags. Special requests or special dietary requirements may be extra.
The cost for vacuum seal bags is usually $1.80 per meal (some meals require additional bags). For example, the family of two above ordering 2 servings of 3 meals per week would pay $1.80 x 3 meals = $5.40/week for vacuum bags.
Culinary Class FAQ
Q. What types of Culinary Classes does Windy Plum Farms provide?
A. Windy Plum Farms provides multi-topic and single-topic classes and classes for children. Multi-topic classes last three hours and cover a range of related culinary concepts and skills in depth. Single-topic classes last one hour and cover a one subject in depth. Children’s classes are two hours long. Classes may also be part of a series. Series classes usually have a prerequisite that you attend earlier classes in the same series. You will receive a discount if you sign up for all classes in a series.
In addition to the format of the class, classes can be public, private or off-site:
Public In-Store Classes
These classes are open to the public and are held at our store on a regular basis. In addition to our standard classes, Windy Plum Farms will be hosting guest chefs periodically who will make their special skills and talents available to you. Our in-store classes have a maximum seating of 15.
Private In-Store Classes
You can request a private class at our store. Private classes reserve the store for you and you guests (minimum 6 people). The chef can teach you any of our standard classes or you can request a special topic to meet your interests or needs. Private classes are great for team building events or just having a special night with some friends. Private classes have a maximum seating of 15.
Off-Site Classes
Off-site classes are conducted at your home or at a facility that has a kitchen. We bring all of our own equipment, all ingredients and clean up afterwards. All of our children’s classes are off-site classes.
Q. What happens during a class?
A. Our multi-topic classes are a combination of lecture, cooking demonstration, visual presentations and handouts. Many classes include some hands-on activities. The chef is available through out the class for questions-and-answers. Our single-topic classes primarily focus on cooking demonstrations with discussion interspersed through out. Children’s classes focus on cooking demonstrations and hands-on activities.For all of our classes, each student receives handouts covering all the information detailed in the class.
Q. What classes are offered?
A. You can view the list of all of our standard classes here or our public class calendar for a list of scheduled public, in-store classes. You may also make special requests for private or off-site classes on a topic of your choice.
Q. What do culinary classes cost?
A. Multi-topic classes start at $55 per person for in-store and $65 per person for off-site. Single-topic classes start at $25 for in-store and $35 off-site. In addition, off-site classes have a setup fee usually of $25. Kids classes start at $15 per child.
Q. What do culinary classes cost?
A. Multi-topic classes start at $55 per person for in-store and $65 per person for off-site. Single-topic classes start at $25 for in-store and $35 off-site. In addition, off-site classes have a setup fee usually of $25. Kids classes start at $15 per child.
Q. What is the minimum number of students required to hold a class?
A. We require at least six students for offsite or private classes, four students for public classes. A class will be canceled if we do not have enough students.
Q. How do I see what classes I have ordered and registered for?
A. When you log into your account, you will see a list of all orders and registrations. Ordered classes are those for which you have requested a registration. Registered classes are those for which Windy Plum Farms has confirmed your registration.
Q. How do I cancel out of a class?
A. You can cancel out of a class up to 48 hours before the class begins. Log in to your account to view the classes you have registered for and click on the cancel link next to the class. To completely remove the registration from the list, click on the delete link which appears after you cancel the class.
Q. How do I pay for the class?
A. In-store classes must be paid for with 48 hours of the start of the class to confirm your reservation. Off-site classes may be paid in advance or at the start of the event.
Q. If I miss a class, do I get a refund?
A. Sorry, Windy Plum Farms cannot provide refunds for missed classes. You will, however, receive a credit towards future culinary classes.
Q. Do I need to sign a contract?
A. Off-site classes require that you sign a contract. Windy Plum Farms will send you the contract and you must sign and fax it back to us. You can track the status of your contract in the list of order/registered classes visible when you log into your Windy Plum Farms account.
Q. Do you serve wine at your classes?
A. Many of our classes are offered with wine or beer pairings. Wine and beer is usually priced by the glass and some classes include a complementary glass of wine or beer.
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