Inside her neat Oak Park home, Shirah Fish is layering lettuce, sliced avocado, broiled chicken and quinoa in the 20+ plastic containers spread along the kitchen counter. Soon customers will be picking up their lunches, and shell deliver the rest in the Oak Park/Southfield/Huntington Woods area.
People forget to take care of themselves. Moms are busy with their kids all day and lunch is the first thing they forget, Shirah said. Then there are people who work through lunch, especially if theyre working remotely.
Shes pleased to help with that. I prepare a healthy lunch for them. A healthy meal can keep them going, can prevent that sluggish feeling and gives them a good boost of energy.
Shirah keeps strictly kosher, although her enterprise is not under rabbinical supervision. She has always loved cooking, but the busy mom of six with a degree in behavioral psychology never thought it would be something she would do professionally. This job started by accident. In February, her friend Aliza Ancier shared her struggles finding drop-in childcare.
You probably wont find it, Shirah told her. I never found any either. What worked for me was to figure out the things I wanted to get done while my babies were in daycare and then pay someone to do those things.
Aliza shared she was too swamped to cook and wasnt eating healthy lunches.
You could totally pay someone to make you lunch, Shirah told her. Anyone would do that. I would.
Really? Aliza asked eagerly. Can you start Monday?
Shirah was taken aback. She hadnt meant it like that But after thinking about it, she figured she might as well try. It would probably be good for her, too!
Thats when Aliza mentioned she was gluten-free. Intimidated, Shirah reached out to her friend Samm Wunderlich for recipe ideas.
After offering some suggestions, Samm said, If youre already making lunches for Aliza, can you make some for me, too? Im gluten-free and vegan.
As Shirah prepared lunches for Aliza and Samm, she took pictures of the food and shared with her friends. Soon she was getting more requests. Things quickly snowballed and the week before Pesach, Shirahs newly named The Lunch Box was preparing almost 10 lunches every day.
As word spread, her happy customer branch grew and now Shirah is preparing about 100 lunches every week.
She also began preparing a Shabbat menu, which includes different kugels, gefilte fish, baba ghanoush and other dips, chicken soup and desserts. She recently even catered a bridal shower and has prepared platters for office lunches.
I tell my customers, whatever theyre interested in, just ask. If I can do it, Im happy to help, Shirah said. She began selling customized protein shakes after a customer requested it and has recently begun providing breakfast power bowls, which include steamed spinach and scrambled eggs on a base of rice and beans, with pico de gallo and guasacaca sauce.
Most of her clientele are people with some kind of special diet dairy free, allergies, gluten-free, vegan and there arent many kosher choices for them in Metro Detroit.
Out of all the kosher local restaurants, there are maybe two things I can order off the menu, Samm said, who is on a vegan, whole foods, plant-based diet. Shirah is filling a huge need. Its so convenient and shes been wonderful at accommodating my requests for modifications and has been very receptive of my feedback.
Samms favorites are Shirahs ethnic dishes. The lunches are great, but the best is when she makes an elaborate curry or urban tofu, something I wouldnt usually bother making myself.
Shirah creates a menu early in the week, with at least one type of Mexican bowl. So far, Ive never made the same thing twice, Shirah said. Shes always skimming magazines and cookbooks for new ideas and is discovering and using ingredients she never before knew existed.
Her daughter Lea, 15, works as her sous chef, but Shirah does the artistic presentation herself.
The best part is seeing people enjoying my food, said Shirah, who has received tremendously positive feedback. But the hardest part is that I dont actually taste my food. Its hard for me to gauge what will be popular because Im actually a really picky eater!
Lunches are a flat rate of $15 per day. Follow The Lunch Box on Instagram @thekosherlunchbox or on Facebook. For the weekly menu or more information, call, text or WhatsApp Shirah at (248) 607-4549.
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The Lunch Box: A New Option for People on Special Diets Detroit Jewish News - The Jewish News
