Last week, I gave a little background on how I was introduced to the concept of Dream Dinners. I continued going to Dream Dinners for a few months, but then my visits started to taper off, as I’m sure happens to so many other customers.  Life seems to bombard you with things and it becomes more acceptable to have McDonald’s for dinner than a healthy meal. But then how did I transition from customer to employee?

Readers might not realize how many of the Dream Dinners employees actually started as customers. I started thinking about it a few months after I had quit my previous job.  I had received the monthly newsletter from the SO (store owner) and in it, she mentioned that she was looking for some part-time help. I emailed her, stopped by for an interview, and was hired.

Working at the store was a HUGE change for me.  I was leaving the engineering world that is (stereotypically) filled with middle-aged nerds with less than normal social skills, and entering a world of more sociable and younger moms.  The SO and my co-workers were like me – but maybe not quite as nerdy.  For customers of the store, they’ll know what I mean when I say that every day I went to work, I went to a positive, fun-loving environment, where I got to interact with like-minded people.

Now that you have a history of how I came to be a Dream Dinners store employee, upcoming posts will include fun stories about life on the other side of the wall (you know you’ve wondered what happens when we take that bin of artichokes back for refilling) as well as some useful tips to help assemble your meals.  Feel free to share your own stories about your Dream Dinners experience – just shoot us an email or leave a comment!

Some of our readers may not realize that before (and technically – after too) we were customers of Dream Dinners, we (or more accurately – I) actually worked in a local Dream Dinners store. I worked there for about a year, and let me tell you, there’s a whole lot of stuff’ going on in the kitchen that you never see and you’re not aware of. I thought it might be fun to share a couple of stories that shed some light into the life of a Dream Dinners employee.

Before I start, the first step is to share the background. To maintain privacy, I’ll be using secret code names for my follow employees and the store location.

My story with Dream Dinners begins in the spring of 2006. I was walking back from dinner when I passed the window for the store. The colors were bright, there was a big blue and green bird with a fork on the window, so I thought ‘hm…I wonder what this is.’ I peeked in and that’s when I met the SO’s mom (who will now be known as the SOM.) SOM explained that her daughter was the store owner and launched into a description of Dream Dinners – preparing your dinners, freezing them, cooking them, etc. It sounded super cool for someone who 1) works and doesn’t feel like cooking when she gets home and 2) doesn’t really even know how to cook anything but spaghetti and rice.

A couple of months later, I took the plunge and had my first Dream Dinners session:

• Mango Curry Chicken
• Crispy Sesame Chicken
• Herb-Crusted Flank Steak
• Steaks with Garlic & Herb Butter
• Cashew Chicken
• Ginger Teriyaki Meatballs

And with that, the story begins…

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