SupperBell launched its gourmet dinner delivery service at the beginning of this year, offering a range of chef-driven entrees, appetizers, salads and desserts delivered fully assembled to your door — most requiring only a few minutes in the oven before being table-ready. Chef-restaurateur Frank Bonanno, who many know from his eateries Mizuna, Osteria Marco and Luca (to name a few) and from his PBS series Chef Driven, has been consulting on the operation since February but has now stepped into the role of culinary director and is helping launch a new menu with executive chef Cristino Griego, who signed on with SupperBell in April.
Bonanno says his decision to join SupperBell was the company's ability to offer the "quality of food up to my standards — good food, quality ingredients and quick delivery. We can deliver restaurant-quality food at a reasonable price."
He and Griego have teamed to offer a range of dishes — marked on SupperBell's website with photos of the chefs — suited for solo meals or family dinners, ranging from single-serving New Orleans-style catfish with collard greens and rice ($11.95) to appetizers like roasted whole artichoke ($6.95) and "Colorado caviar" bean salsa with fresh lime zest and sriracha-salted tortilla chips ($6.95). Family dinners include a whole roasted pork loin with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables — enough to easily serve four for $22.95.
Griego, whose previous experience includes heading the kitchen at the Bistro at Stapleton, notes that all of the dishes are cooked based on the number of orders received by 3 p.m. each day and then are blast-chilled for delivery, ensuring that any of the foods needing oven heating maintain the proper texture and flavor. Proteins are cooked closer to medium-rare so that they won't overcook when heated at home; instructions come with all dishes, which are delivered in oven-safe compostable containers. Griego and his kitchen team prepare everything in-house daily, so most dishes come with fresh flourishes like aioli or chimichurri and produce from the same vendor that Bonanno uses for his upscale eateries.
Customers can sign up on the website — or on SupperBell's new iPhone or Android apps — and order dinner any time before 3 p.m. for delivery between 4 and 7 p.m. (based on the time chosen). While the delivery area covers most of Denver city limits, CEO Dave Fantz points out that if you work in Denver but live outside of the area, you could request delivery to your office to take home for dinner. Menus are written each weekend so that customers will see what's available at the beginning of the week.
"It's food people want to cook at home but don't have the time," Bonanno adds. "I'm really proud of these dishes. The catfish dish is one that I make for my kids all the time...and the short rib is out of this world."
SupperBell's new website design and apps launched today; the company also plans to soon relocate to a new, larger kitchen with technological improvements to increase delivery efficiency and enhance the customer experience.