About 

Dinner by Six (Db6) is fresh, healthy and delicious meals - anywhere you are!

Db6 is a fresh meal/catering service that offers the healthiest and most family/environment-friendly "take-out" in Ottawa. Db6 serves:
  - highly nutritious food prepared from scratch using a rainbow of produce and many plant-based proteins every week
  - home-style and international dishes that can be enjoyed by flexitarians, vegans AND kids!

FAQ

How is Dinner by Six different than any of the popular meal kits available these days?
Dinner by Six meals are ready to eat with lots of protein  and vegetables per serving. No cooking required and less dish washing leaves more time for other things.
The multi-meal package makes a great gift for someone who is sick or has just moved.
The ready to reheat meals are also handy for a super-easy dinner party for your weekend. 

How are meals packaged?
I care very much about the impact of my business on the environment and aim to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and waste.
Most dishes are served in lighter plastic containers, which I take back (clean) to re-use as many times as possible. I rewash these at high temperatures before sending them out to customers again.
Your package may come in a plastic bag or a  re-usable thermal zip bag, or a box, depending on circumstances. 

Where do you purchase groceries?
Almost all groceries come from Costco Business Center here in Ottawa, since the range, price and quality are all excellent. What I can't get at Costco, I get at a Loblaw or an affiliate, or a Metro store.
I have looked for nearby sources of responsibly raised and ethically slaughtered meat but so far none of the marketing groups for local farmers offer large packages of fresh product for my larger-scale menu. The marketing companies I have contacted are focused on "small household" consumers and package their meat products in single or double portions. Furthermore, they are frozen at the time of delivery. For superior taste and texture, I insist on buying non-frozen meats in packages > 5 kg.

Where did the idea for Dinner by Six come from?
Dinner by Six was created by me, Allison Padova, during the time that I was a particularly stressed out and over-worked while my kids were very young. I imagined that having a great dinner - one that my kids would also eat - on the table by 6 pm and no dishes after would make the day-to-day so much easier. Turns out, I was right!

What does meals that "everybody" can enjoy mean?
Well, perhaps that's a slight exaggeration, but there are menu options to accommodate almost every taste and dietary restriction. The meals are kid-friendly in flavour and presentation and there are a variety of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free dishes.
In order to offer high protein vegan dishes, the menu is no longer totally nut-free.  Also, some ingredients (particularly sesame products, other seeds and dried fruits) are processed in facilities where nuts are also processed. Finally, the kitchen is not nut-free.  So, unfortunately, someone with a deadly nut allergy will not be able to enjoy this food.

Do customers have to pay in advance or commit to a certain number of meals?
No commitment is necessary but $40 is the minimum order and there is an extra charge for delivery. There is convenient customer parking right at my front door.
Credit cards are accepted for online orders (processed by Square at no extra charge to the customer), as well as e-transfers and cash for email orders.

What are the guiding principles of Dinner By Six?
Serve highly nutritious food! Food is fuel for your body first and foremost. Db6 offers nutritionally dense meals that also promote longevity.  All Dinner by Six meals contain plenty of lean protein and vegetarian  protein, lots of fibre and a colourful range of fresh vegetables, which is essentially the Mediterranean diet.

Make food delicious and approachable. I put lots of time and effort into developing the best flavours and textures. I package food in a way that accommodates fussy eaters. For example, sauces are often packaged separately so that kids can avoid sauce or control how much they try. I aim to serve dishes with broad appeal.

Offer a great service at a reasonable price. The prices I have established JUST cover the costs of food and my labour (at $25 per hour).  At the moment, the prices do not include any overhead (rent, utilities). If I find a commercial partner to cook and package the food, menu and pricing should not increase by more than 15%. More cooks working in a commercial space is expected to generate efficiencies that will mostly off-set overhead and the additional labour.