Grab your forks as we dig into the story behind Hamden, Connecticut’s The Strong Kitchen. We’ll discover why this prepared-meal service stands out (hint: chef-prepared meals made with the finest ingredients). We’ll also learn how this business came to be. We’re sitting down with chef/owner and good friend of Backyard Road Trips, Luke Serwinski, about the origin of this business and what it provides to the community.
The Strong Kitchen combines many facets of Luke’s interests, both personal and career-wise. As far back as his first job, at Stop and Shop in Norwichtown, he realized that he did not want to spend his life working for someone else. Upon graduating from high school, he enrolled in the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. He credits Alton Brown’s cooking shows for his initial interest in the culinary arts. He soon realized that the restaurant industry was nothing like those shows. “The environment is kind of like chaos, but my personality is that I like to take chaos and try to organize it.”
Beginnings
Luke honed his culinary chops at Sconset Cafe in Nantucket. He refers to his tenure there as “one of the best experiences of my life.” He then worked at Arrows in Ogunquit, Maine, which at the time was ranked the 14th best restaurant in the United States. Describing the food prep process at Arrows, Luke explains, “Everything was done from scratch. We’re making bacon, we’re pressing apples to make apple cider.” This was at a time when words such as “scratch kitchen” and “artisanal” were not in the everyday vernacular.
After that, he started in the kitchen at the Captain Daniel Packer Inn in Mystic, Connecticut. At only 22 years of age, he was asked to be the head chef. Knowing how encompassing that would be, he declined the offer. “I wasn’t ready. I wanted to do other things. such as travel. And I even had the inkling that maybe I don’t want to be working in a restaurant.”
Next Steps
Luke then pivoted for his next step along the Strong Kitchen career path. He decided to go back to school for exercise science. He landed a job at Reliance House (now Reliance Health) in Norwich for five years while earning his degree. First, an Associate degree at Three Rivers Community College, and then at UConn. “Dave (Burnett) and Kerry (Bilda) were amazing, allowing my schedule to be flexible so I could go to school and at the same time work. I am forever grateful for that.” Soon after, tragedy struck. His stepdad passed away. Feeling disenchanted, Luke felt as if he were done with Connecticut. He was all set to venture across the country to San Diego. Then one of the coaches from Cressey Performance (where Luke had interned) told him about a gym in Hamden called Tuff Girl Fitness.
A Move to Hamden
Luke ended up moving, not across the country, but across the state to Hamden in 2013. He enjoyed his time working at the gym. In the end, he did not feel he was the perfect fit for them. What he did notice, though, when he was coaching clients, was that fitness and eating well did not always go hand in hand. Although many of his clients were exercising regularly, when they went home, they would eat terribly. Common themes he heard were, “I don’t know what to make. I don’t know how to make it. I don’t have time. I don’t like cooking. I don’t want to cook.” It dawned on him then, “What if I made food and brought it to the gym?” Thus, the idea of the Strong Kitchen was born. At this time, no one was doing meal prep service.
Asking Christa Doran, owner of Tuff Girl, and Mike Ranfone, who owns Ranfone Training Systems, if they would want to partner with him, they both said yes. Over the next few years, Luke expanded with meals in about 20 area gyms. He presented the idea of supplying the gyms with a refrigerator. This way customers could select this location for their food pickup. At this time, the kitchen that the Strong Kitchen was operating out of was the Soup Girl in Hamden. Soon, there was a need for more space, more cooking, and more refrigeration.
Looking for a New Home
Upon looking for a permanent location, Luke eyed a spot on Whitney Avenue in Hamden. The landlord, William Esposito, owned multiple properties throughout town, and even though he had a reputation for being a stickler, he gave Luke a great deal for the rent for the property. Other businesses moved out of the building on Whitney Avenue. This allowed Luke to swoop in and occupy those, too. Esposito happily continued to rent to this young business owner.
A Changing World
Now with a brick and mortar to call their own on bustling Whitney Avenue in Hamden, the Strong Kitchen continued to grow….and then Covid hit. Ironically, during a time that many businesses shuttered, the Strong Kitchen had an altogether different experience. As Luke shares, “For us, business-wise, it was good since no one was leaving the house! We had a big influx of business, so much so that we ended up focusing only on home delivery and stopped pickup at the gyms.”
Unfortunately, just like small businesses worldwide, Covid closed many of the gyms that the Strong Kitchen was supplying meals for. Additionally, with 22 refrigerators in 22 gyms, much of the time was spent repairing faulty machinery throughout the locations. COVID presented an opportunity to shift the business model away from the pickup form to the home delivery system. This, in turn, led to less overhead as they were able to control their own deliveries.
Although COVID presented many more hungry mouths to feed, it was difficult for the Strong Kitchen on other fronts. Luke recollects, “Sometimes there would be no beef. I had to go to BJ’s, where I got to know the butcher. When an order of ground beef arrived, he’d give me a call. I’d go buy it all since we couldn’t get it from our traditional purveyors. It doubled our workload. Sometimes there would be no broccoli in the local restaurant depot, so I’d have to drive up to Hartford to get it.” After COVID, though, the business started to cool off. “It took a real hit; we probably lost like 50% of our customer base.” Luke knew he had to adapt, and fast.
A Fresh Food Force
Since then, the focus of the Strong Kitchen has been to build a business to provide a service to people that is more than just convenience. After a bit of soul searching, he had to figure out who the target customer was. He honed in on young professionals or parents who have disposable income and want to maximize their health, but either do not have the time or interest to cook. With their Hamden location, strong candidates included employees of Yale University. Using a variety of target advertising has helped spread the Strong Kitchen word.
Although Luke didn’t have a background in marketing, he had to learn quickly to adapt as a small business owner in the 21st century. Utilizing social media has been a boon to his business. The other facet is showcasing the quality of the food at the Strong Kitchen. Instead of offering large price reduction incentives for the initial Strong Kitchen voyage, they let the food do the talking. The combination of fresh ingredients, along with a meal plan that caters to one’s individual needs, at first bite, you will see why the Strong Kitchen is head and shoulders above the competition.
Helping Busy People Eat Healthy
The mantra of the Strong Kitchen is, “We help busy people eat healthy.” Enough said. Meals that coordinate calorie control, sufficient protein, and at the same time taste great are the keys to the Strong Kitchen’s success. They mostly focus on whole foods to maximize nutrition. In speaking about the menu options, he explains, “It can’t be steamed broccoli and plain baked chicken. It has to taste really good. We make our healthy meals so they have a theme with a specific vision in mind for each meal, with all the components going together.”
Thus, people don’t subscribe to the Strong Kitchen solely for convenience, but for taste. That’s where sustainability comes in. “Anybody can eat healthy for a week, but can they do it for six months? That’s where we come in. We have eight individual menus with nine complete meals each week. This brings it to a total of 72 meals, and offers them over a rotating menu of eight weeks. We couldn’t do that if we were making 30 different meals like other food prep services.” With this variety and convenience, customers are hooked.
If you’re driving around the central part of the state and see a van with an “SK” logo reminiscent of a throwback baseball team, it’s the Strong Kitchen. With two refrigerated vans in their fleet, it sure beats the days of delivering meals in cooler bags. Every little detail has been accounted for. The containers used for the meals are made of recycled plastic, which are both microwave and oven-safe. They also extend the shelf life of the meals. The packaging reduces spoilage and provides increased durability.
A Home in Hamden
Even though Luke never made it to San Diego, his adopted home of Hamden has treated him well. The original Tuff Girl gym, where the Strong Kitchen initially sold its meals, is actually where Luke met his wife, Gabriel. Gabriel is the head baker and sous chef and runs the day-to-day kitchen operations at the Strong Kitchen. Luke credits Mike Ranfone, whose gym is right in the area and initially let Luke train there when first moving to the area, as a mentor to him, as well as Dr. Marko Lujic, both of RTS Health.
The Strong Kitchen is moving from its Whitney Avenue location to Sanford Street in Hamden in an industrial complex that includes RTS Health.
The Strong Kitchen Info
Busy? Want to eat better? Live in the greater New Haven area? Then do yourself a favor and try a meal plan from the Strong Kitchen.
If you’re interested in learning more about the Strong Kitchen, check them out online or in person at 1650 Whitney Avenue in Hamden, Connecticut, currently, and soon at 109 Sanford Street, Building B in Hamden.
For more Backyard Road Trips in the New Haven area, check out Barcade, a Central Connecticut Road Trip, and the Best Coastal Towns in New England.
