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STANTON — Chefs operate in a variety of ways. Most can be found in smoky, bustling restaurant kitchens, but some — like Shannon Hekrdle — can be found behind their home counters prepping meal kit boxes for others.
A Full Plate, Hekrdle’s year-old meal-prep business, has pulled customers from all over Northeast Nebraska — primarily Stanton and Norfolk — to its meal kits because of their convenience factor of avoiding grocery shopping and endless hours of cooking. Hekrdle previously worked as a full-time landscaper and related to the feeling of being overwhelmed.
“I hated coming home from work, having to cook, and then doing dishes. I felt like the whole night was gone,” she said. “Then I thought, ‘What if I could do that for people so that they could enjoy their evenings?’ ”
And that is where the inspiration for her first business venture came from. Even the name itself, A Full Plate, stems from this inconvenience.
“It’s kind of a play on word. You have a full plate in life, so you don’t have time to cook, but I’m providing you with a full plate through my kits,” Hekrdle said.
Hekrdle’s part of a new breed of culinary entrepreneurs who are making a name for themselves from their home kitchens by using social media to promote their brands. She spent two weeks growing a Facebook page to promote her business after leaving her full-time position in August 2021. Since then, it has gained a steady following of more than 1,500.
Her shop now features a handful of Italian and Chinese favorites, casseroles, soups, salads and one dessert. She also makes seasonal menus for the holidays. During the Fourth of July, the fresh-faced business owner made meal kits based on barbecue favorites, potato salad, macaroni salad and a number of desserts.
“Honestly, it grew pretty quickly. I think there’s a big need for it,” she said.
Even for people outside Northeast Nebraska, the take-and-bake business model has gained traction in the culinary market and online.
According to a research report conducted by Market Research Future — based in the United States and United Kingdom — the meal-prep economy is expected to climb over $55 billion by 2030.
Grocers like Hy-Vee and Krogers are working to get their slice of this market by providing these services. Hello Fresh, Blue Apron and the names of other food-prep companies also have gained fame online.
In Nebraska, most of these businesses hail from Lincoln and Omaha, with a few others sprinkled throughout the state. Apart from Hekrdle’s business, there is another in West Point, making them the only meal-kit businesses in Northeast Nebraska.
As for the future of her business, Hekrdle is planning to prepare a wide variety of meals, including healthy kit options.
“It’s been good,” she said.
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