Booking · menus · deposits · cancellations
No surprises, in either direction. Here is how a booking starts, how menus get agreed each week, and exactly what happens if your plans change.
2-week minimum
All new weekly meal preparation clients begin with a two-week minimum service. This allows us to establish your family's preferences, fine-tune portion sizes, and create a meal plan that fits naturally into your routine. After the initial two weeks, services may continue on a weekly basis or be adjusted to best meet your household's needs.
Menus are provided in advance for approval. Minor adjustments can usually be accommodated before shopping begins, ensuring each week's meals reflect your family's preferences and dietary needs.
$100 first-time
A booking deposit reserves your place on my schedule and allows me to begin menu planning and purchasing ingredients specifically for your household. $100 deposit for all first-time clients.
Kitchen Cradle understands that plans occasionally change. If you need to cancel or reschedule a service, the following policy applies:
Whenever possible, I am happy to accommodate rescheduling requests, particularly in cases of illness, family emergencies, or unforeseen circumstances. My goal is always to work with clients while also respecting the time reserved for your household.
Catering and private events work a little differently: a 50% deposit holds your date, and it is non-refundable within 14 days of the event. See catering
Not for weekly meal preparation, and the reason is practical rather than commercial. New weekly clients start with a 2-week minimum, because the first week teaches me your portions, your preferences, and which meals actually get eaten, and the second is where that shows up on your table. After those two weeks you can continue weekly, pause, or change tiers. Freezer meal sessions and catering are one-off by nature, so if you want a single burst of food rather than an ongoing rhythm, a freezer session is very likely the better fit.
Your deposit is fully refunded, or moved to a future booking, with 48 hours' notice or more. Between 24 and 48 hours, half the deposit is refunded, because the menu is planned and the shopping is often already done. Inside 24 hours the deposit is non-refundable. Illness and family emergencies are their own category: tell me what is happening and I will do what I can to move things rather than charge you for them.
You get to, every week. Menus go out in advance, and minor adjustments are usually easy before shopping begins. If something on the list is not going to get eaten, saying so is genuinely useful rather than a bother.
Your tier's weekly rate and that week's grocery receipt are settled per week of service, and groceries are always billed at cost with receipts provided. So there are only ever two numbers to think about. The rhythm that suits your household is one of the things we agree on the consultation call, before anything is booked.
Nothing is booked, and no deposit is taken, until we have talked it through and you know exactly what you are saying yes to.
Free, 30 minutes, no obligation.