Photo above: Tony Makar and his mother Dolores Ziccarelto team up every Monday to cook lots of gourmet meals to be distributed on Tuesdays. Here, Ziccarello shows off some organic carrots to be used in a ratatouille dish. Photos by Bob Sofaly.
By Amy Rigard
Almost anyone can appreciate a healthy home cooked meal. When it can be enjoyed without the shopping, prepping, cooking and cleaning typically involved in putting a meal on the dinner table, that’s even better.
Enter Gourmet on Wheels, a local business that’s been delivering fresh, individually prepared meals to Beaufort County homes since 2009 and is seeing a lot of growth recently.
Gourmet on Wheels isn’t like other meal delivery services advertised online or on TV.
Rather than receiving a box with individually packaged ingredients for cooking, customers receive fully prepared entrees and sides delivered in containers that can easily be microwaved or frozen for later use.
Meals are usually large enough for couples to share, and they are cooked with low salt and sugar substitutes. Gourmet on Wheels will be delivering larger family-size meals starting in January 2018.
Tony Makar, who worked for many years as a nursing home administrator and has previous restaurant experience, saw a need to bring healthy meals to those in the community.
The business has grown through the years, and now new moms, busy on-the-go professionals, people recovering from surgery, elderly residents and many others enjoy the gourmet meals cooked by Tony, his “100 percent Italian” mother who comes from Charleston, and a staff who loves to cook.
Prep work for the upcoming week’s meals begins Sunday nights, and Tony and the staff spend their Mondays cooking in the Pleasant Point Plantation club kitchen. Meals are delivered Tuesdays to customers who choose from a menu of options that’s posted online about four weeks at a time. Local delivery is free.
Many Gourmet on Wheels customers, including Beaufort resident Kit Harley, order meals every week. Harley has been enjoying the individually prepared meals for nearly two years.
“I live alone, and it’s no fun to cook for yourself,” Harley said. “It’s so nice to have a healthy, really good meal prepared every day.”
For Makar, knowing that his business is making a difference in the lives of area residents is rewarding. He hopes to continue to grow the business and potentially expand one day beyond Beaufort County.
To view menus and order meals, visit www.beaufortscmealdelivery.com.
