It’s been a wild year for the Deborah Miller Catering team.

It seems like just yesterday I was setting up for a 1,500-person holiday event at The Hammerstein Ballroom with two of my colleagues. That was back in December of 2019 and it gives me the chills to think of that many people closely crowded together in today’s world..

Fast forward nearly 9 months later and here we are. Deborah Miller Catering stayed busy during the peak outbreak of COVID-19 in NYC, driven by a mission to help frontline workers and emergency responders with high-quality, nutritious, and comforting meals. During this time, through our initiative coined Cater Because We Care, we raised over $25,000 and donated over 2,000 meals throughout the city.

As New York City worked hard to flatten the curve, our sales team started to check in with clients to assess how corporate offices would approach reopening. After several difficult conversations, we learned that many of our core clients have pushed their reopening plans to 2021 and even then, their strategy is constantly evolving in response to the volatile nature of COVID-19.

While battling with a steady decline in corporate catering revenue, we found ourselves brainstorming ways to stay relevant and make an effective pivot in our business model. This pivot started with an emphasis on developing a low-cost, contactless catering menu for essential workers required to return to offices throughout the city. With this new menu, we clearly defined our policies and procedures relating to sanitation and social distancing practices, and offered a plethora of healthy, individually packaged meals. Following extensive testing and promotion, we discovered a lot of unease and hesitation surrounding corporate catering as so many clients associate us with large-scale events with open buffet concepts. Furthermore, several offices that are currently open have forced their employees to fend for themselves when it comes to breakfast and lunch.

This was not the response we were hoping for or expecting, so we decided to shift our focus once again to a comprehensive home meal delivery program. We’ve coined this new offering Kitchen to Kitchen. To make this happen, we’ve partnered with a platform called Menuu, which allows customers to order directly from our kitchen and place individual orders based on their personal dietary preferences. Kitchen to Kitchen features a wide array of entrees, side dishes, soups, salads, pre-set meal boxes, breakfast items, desserts, and even a kids’ menu!

We initially planned to focus solely on the pre-set meal boxes but quickly learned that customers want the ability to customize their food selections. So while the meal boxes still remain the core offering with this program, we’ve expanded to include a vast selection of a la carte items such as soups, seasonal salads, mini dessert jars, individual appetizers, and so on. If you know us well, you’ll be pleased to see we’ve featured our famous Kale, Parmesan and Dates salad and Homeade Granola as core items that should not be left out of your cart. Take that advice from the guy that used to eat bowls of granola & milk for breakfast, lunch, and sometimes dinner back in the pre-Covid days!

Our signature Land & Sea Meal Box includes:

Whole Rotisserie Chicken, marinated with freshly-squeezed Lemon Juice, Crushed Garlic, Fresh Rosemary, House Spice Blend
Greek Orzo Salad with Blistered Tomatoes, aged Feta, Cucumber, Pistachio & Mint Pesto
Grilled Teriyaki Salmon Filet
Suit and Thai Salad featuring Vermicelli Noodles, Crushed Peanuts, Shredded Carrots & Cucumber, Cabbage, Cilantro, Scallion, and Dried Shallot with a Thai Ginger Coconut Vinaigrette
Braised Short Ribs served with a Rich Burgundy Reduction
Three-Cheese Polenta Cakes
DMC’s Famous Kale Salad – massaged Kale, aged Parmesan Reggiano, chopped Medjool Dates, toasted Almonds, Lemon Vinaigrette
Sundried Tomato & Feta Quiche – perfect for breakfast or for an afternoon snack!
Homemade Vidalia Onion dip with Heirloom Carrots
Homemade Granola with gluten free Oats, toasted Coconut Flakes, dried Cranberries, Raisins, Mixed Nuts

We also off 100% vegetarian meal boxes, and light versions are offered (1 entree selection instead of 3) for nearly half the cost.

The signature meal box is designed to feed a couple over the course of the week, though we understand everyone has different appetites. Heck, I could probably eat this entire box in one week just by myself, but I’m a big eater. If you find yourself on the Menuu platform and are unsure of portion sizes or how much to order, we have a dedicated team of account managers that are here to help guide you through the process. We know this food better than anyone, and are confident in our ability to make the best decisions possible when it comes to menu selection and suggested pairings.

The program is very versatile because there’s an excellent mix of high end, decadent foods such as the Braised Short Rib and Cheesy Polenta Squares, and simpler items like Chicken Noodle Soup and Meat & Cheese snack platters. So whether you’re hosting a small party of friends and want to prepare an elevated dinner, or you just want some comforting snacks to tide you over for the week, we feel this program will be an exceptional fit for you.

This service is currently available to all of Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens, as well as Jersey City and Hoboken over in New Jersey. Our goal is to reach as many people as possible with a rotation of available days that would service each region.

We thank you for your support, and hope that our Kitchen to Kitchen home delivery program brings you some value and happiness during these challenging times.