Phillipsburg, NJ
Camp FoodService
Q: How are you different from other food service companies?
A: Chefmeals LLC is a foodservice management company that has a successful track record with Chef Joe with many years in the camp business. When it comes to high volume or low volume camps, Chefmeals is the new upcoming foodservice management company that you can trust, which means BETTER FOOD, BETTER MOOD and awesome culinary professionals. We are not your typical corporate foodservice management company that operates several camps nationwide. We believe in growing organically right here in the Lehigh Valley Pa & Pocono Pa area with camps that are looking to pivot away from the normal(Old way of handling foodservice) foodservice operation and having a company like Chefmeals that will handle A-Z when it comes to Camp Foodservice Operations. Word of Mouth is our best sales pitch, from our clients! Chefmeals believes in hiring great quality people that believe in our vision, not only do we train our staff on safety and sanitation, menu development, the handling of allergies and other dietary restrictions, but most importantly, what it means to work in a Camp Scene. All of our leadership staff are Servsafe Certified and Allergen Certified. This translates to a client driven company that you can count on.
Q: How do you determine the cost of a Foodservice Management Contract?
A: Cost is broken down with how many meals a week, days per week, staffing, complexing of meals served (Expeditions, Crate Meals, BBQ etc) and specialty foods(allergens). Furthermore, we take our time to understand your needs.
Q: Am I locked into a long term contract?
A: Unlike other companies in the biz, all Chefmeals contracts have seasonal contracts (summer, off season, retreats etc). We will do our best to keep our clients happy, but if you're not happy, then we are not happy.
Q: How much input do I have on our food?
A: We are flexible to accommodate as much as you want. You’ll sit down with Chef Joe to plan everything from weekly menus to reviewing special event food options. If you have a food preference for a meal you think your camp will love, let us know. They welcome collaboration when planning meals. Also, our cycle menu system and weekly staple items make it easier than ever to communicate Camp fan favorites with our team.
Q: How does Chefmeals maintain a fresh menu variety?
A: Chefmeals leadership team works off their system with many recipes that Chef Joe has developed with his own culinary books and systems so we are always innovative in the market. This keeps menus fresh, locally sourced as we can, with a wide variety wholesome delicious scratch made foods. Most importantly Kid Friendly Foods with minimum process foods with our meals.
Q: How does Chefmeals reassure proper safety and sanitation in your kitchen?
A: All staff are trained in food safety and possess ServSafe® certification. Our team conducts an open and closing checklist to make sure all aspects of serviced areas are up to our standards when it comes to sanitation and food safety. We also trained your international staff and support staff that will be working alongside our team to make sure Food Safety & Handling of all products are being done the proper way!
Q: Does Chefmeals maintain ethical practices with registration and insurance?
A: Your Camp Organization will not have to pay or file a claim on your workers’ compensation policy if Chefmeal staff gets hurt. We carry Workers Compensation insurance and also maintain general liability insurance limits in case of unforeseen loss, and we ensure that sales tax is paid monthly. If you're non-profit, then we don’t need to file anything besides having your form(ID) on file for tax purposes.
Q: How do we handle special events at camp?
A: We love a good party to provide awesome services for, and while it’s Chefmeals plan to have all other extra service charges included in the price of service, each division of camps’ requirements for such event(s) are not uniform. Costs will vary due to the projection of the event, number of folks, menu, labor, rentals, etc., and with the frequency/number of events held throughout the summer months. Additional cost and services for these events will be agreed upon in advance for these events. The camp's upper leadership must approve all additional charges and services. We offer full service food truck for any event at camp ranging from baked goods, ice cream, street tacos and much more!
FAQS
Camp FoodService
Q: How is the camp billed?
A: We are flexible, when it comes to accounting. We typically billed in (2) payments for summer months. One in the beginning of the off season, and another during the season. We handle all invoicing, purchasing etc for your camp foodservice. We also can set up Camp Accounts with Purveyors and you handle the billing. We are flexible! We accept cards on file to charge or certified business checks or money wire, whatevers works best for both entities. There will be a service fee added to any credit card transaction to off-set the cost of using any cards.
Q: What if I have any Food restrictions or dietary needs?
A: The staff that services food restrictions are trained to handle a variety of special dietary needs. Please ask your camp liaison team how best to communicate those needs. For any camper, staff or administrator of a camp whose dietary needs cannot be accommodated, the camp leadership and Chefmeals will define a process to meet those needs.
Q: How do I inquire about camp foodservice and any questions regarding foodservice?
A: You can email or call/text Chef Joe here.
Q: How did Chefmeals LLC Camp Food Service Management start?
A: Chef Joe began this journey after working a few camps in 11 years as Foodservice Director, Head Chef, Food-Service & Housekeeping Coordinator for Princeton Blairstown Center, URJ Camp Harlam and Chestnut Lake Camp while working directly for the camps in summer and off-season. The idea that food, service and client driven services in the camp community could be improved was what motivated our founder Chef Joe to start our new services. Since 2022, positive word of mouth has propelled Chef Joe into a local food service management company located in Lehigh Valley Pa. We are serving all Lehigh Valley & Pocono Pa areas. We can feed from 70 ppl (3 times a day) up to 900 ppl (3 times a day).
Q: Where do you purchase food products from?
A: We purchase our fresh ingredients from a variety of sources from local farmers, purveyors and broad line distributors companies. Each of our markets present different opportunities for fresh products and we take advantage of these opportunities. The great part about contracting with Chefmeals LLC is that we work directly with the vendors, order the groceries, and pay all the bills!
Q: What if we are a nut free facility, can you still accommodate our needs?
A: Yes, absolutely we will tailor a menu system that reflects no risk of those foods for your whole camp organization.
Q: Do you do pre-planning in the off season for the upcoming season?
A: Yes, this is the best time for us to do so, getting you ready for the busy summer ahead with menu cycle, vendor relations, setting up kitchen, deep cleaning and organizing kitchen etc.
Q: Do you break down the kitchen and get it ready for off-season?
A: Yes, we will work with your Maintenance Department when it comes to breaking down the kitchen for the off season.
Q: Do you do catering or food service management for off season camps and retreats?
A: Yes we do, this will vary on availability and dates that you are looking to be booked for services.
Q: Do you have options for picking eaters?
A: Yes, we know how hard it is for picky eaters so we typically have alternative foods that most kids will eat like pasta, eggs, sandwiches etc. We encourage a picky eater to try the food, you never know if they will like it. So we do our best to have these staples ingredients available upon request for those picky eaters.