Kitchen Social Meals-to-Go is located in a renovated home at the corner of First and Beverly Streets in Casper, and it's easy to spot by the large porch and bathroom, which still has a tub built in. But all other signage is gone, replaced by stainless steel appliances and the smell of something cooking.
The brainchild of local registered dietitian Carla Case, Kitchen Social was born after the pandemic slowed business so much that Case couldn't reasonably continue teaching cooking classes at her previous location in Wolcott Galleria.
Case turned it into a meal preparation business, with new menus offered each month and customers able to choose dishes, desserts and even dog treats to pick up or have delivered.
“We have a wide range of ages, from 20-year-olds to around 80-year-olds,” she said of her clientele on a recent Thursday morning, as two of Case's employees prepared food in the compact but tidy kitchen, accompanied by upbeat music playing in the background.
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“I think it was at the beginning of 2021 (the pandemic) and people didn't want to go out to eat, so I think we fit a niche market of a lot of families.”
Customers can order and pay online or pay in person by credit card, check, or cash. If you pay online, you can also pick up your meal in a cooler on the porch after closing time if it's busy after 4pm.
Case, with her hair in a ponytail and silver dangling earrings in the shape of dog's paws, is showing the Star Tribune staff her month's menu. It's a double-sided piece of paper with “Hello, June” written in a cursive font across the top against a sun. A headline above the menu listing reads, “Quick and Easy.”
This is followed by “Summer Vegetable Pasta Salad,” “Watermelon Gazpacho,” “Barbecue Chicken Chili,” and more. There are other categories, too, including things you can warm up in the slow cooker or in the oven.
Kitchen Social also serves meals in single-serving bowls in reusable containers.
Every month, Case reviews and reevaluates her menu for the next 30 or so days, taking into account what produce is in season, what people want to eat based on the weather (soup is popular in the fall, while kebabs and cold salads are popular in the summer), what dishes were on the menu for the same month the previous year, and the activities people will be doing that month.
“Creating a new menu is really a monthly challenge. I do tend to recycle,” she told me at the Kitchen Social offices. As she pors over websites and magazines, she also has to think about how much of an ingredient each meal needs. Too many ingredients makes the kitchen less efficient.
Case likes to buy produce from Sam's Club, Natural Grocers, and local farmers markets when he can. He gets his beef from Frank's Butcher Shop. He grows some of his produce and herbs in pots on his front porch, where he grows mint, cilantro, basil, peppers, tomatoes, and more.
“I just do a little bit,” Case said, laughing as she stood in front of the plants. “I just do a little bit of this.”
Inside, she led the Star Tribune staff into a compact but tidy kitchen area. Employees were preparing food behind a chin-height counter. Trays of cookies decorated with red, white and blue sprinkles in celebration of the Fourth of July sat on plates. Through the kitchen was another small room with a large sink. Shelves filled with ingredients lined the wall behind it.
The building's framework reveals that it was once a home, but the tour proved that its history doesn't overshadow its current condition: The stainless steel appliances gleam, and the floors are practical for a commercial kitchen.
But it's not all grey and multi-purpose: signs with phrases like “Let's Eat” and cooking measurements hang on the walls.
“When all four of us are out here, we're dancing around each other,” she said, “but we've gotten used to it.”
Ask Case what she plans to do when she graduates from college, and it probably won't be this — she says she wants to be a nutritionist, not a chef — but she finds it fulfilling.
“It was a big challenge for me to actually cook for other people,” she says, “and I never thought I'd get a degree and be able to do this, but I'm really happy that it did.”
Jordan Smith is the Casper and Natrona County reporter for the Casper Star Tribune and can be reached at 307-266-0513, Jordan.Smith@trib.com or X @jordansmith_js.
