People often wonder, “Is there really a Victoria or is this just some kind of marketing gimmick?” The answer is, “Yes, there really is a Victoria! And that’s me.” I’m a real person just like you, who had struggled for years to get good home cooked meals on the dinner table for my family—until now. Here’s my story and why I became so passionate about helping others like you to do the same.  When I was growing up, my mom would make dinner every day. No exceptions. The food was always fresh, homemade and delicious. And believe it or not, my whole family would gather around the dinner table every evening at the same time to talk about our day. Going to a restaurant, if ever, was a special treat. My mom didn’t work outside our home. She was a full-time homemaker. She truly enjoyed taking care of us and was a great cook. Now I’m a mom myself and when I look back, I realize she spent an inordinate amount of time preparing meals. First, she planned a full menu for the week. Then shopped. Not at one store mind you…but at the meat market for the best quality meat, at Phyllis’ produce store for the best vegetables and at the grocery store for all the other little items she made sure we had on hand.

This was her way of showing us love…buying the best ingredients possible and giving us a good home cooked dinner every night. For each meal, she would prepare the ingredients ahead of time so that dinner would be ready at the same time every day! She made it look effortless, so naturally, I grew up assuming I would do same for my family one day. But that’s not how life turned out for me—or for a lot of people I know

I know how hard it can be to get dinner on the table

Things are different these days. At my house, dinner isn’t served at the same time every day. Everyone in my family has a different schedule, so dinnertime fluctuates. On some days, I just couldn’t get everything ready, even though it was right in the refrigerator. I’m embarrassed to admit that good food actually went to waste because I didn’t have time to prepare it! For a while, I cooked on the weekends and warmed food up during the week, but I lost an entire day during the weekend. And that’s not how I wanted to spend my free time.

 I started to wonder, “How can anyone prepare home-style dinners? I mean, who has the time or energy these days?” Well, after 20 years of helping food manufacturers like Sara Lee, Kraft, Quaker Oats, Hormel, Tyson Chicken, and many, many others, develop their marketing and promotions, I learned one very important lesson––you and I are not the only ones who can’t always manage to “do it all.” And it doesn’t matter if you’re a homemaker or work outside the home, people today just seem to have less time to cook.

We provide the dinnertime experience––and so much more––without the hassle.

I thought. “Getting dinner on the table would be so much easier if I just had someone who could plan the menu, do the shopping, prep all the ingredients, and most importantly, clean up afterwards!” And just like that, the idea for Victoria’s Kitchen was born! As it turns out, “necessity really is the mother of invention.” We do what you would do if you only had the time!

 My time spent working at Taste of Home Magazine (the nation’s largest cooking magazine) taught me another really valuable lesson, one that is the foundation for my business. And that is, that despite a growing interest in gourmet cooking, most families really just want to eat “home-style” meals… the same kinds of dishes, we all ate growing up. I think part of the reason these meals are so treasured is that no matter how many times you make them, you always know, they’re going to turn out great…time after time. These tried and true dishes really give us a sense of stability. Something that’s sadly lacking in this fast-paced, uncertain world. Maybe that’s why they call it “comfort food”? Whatever the reason, I realized this is precisely the kind of food I wanted for my own family, and to provide for yours.

One cannot think well, love well, sleep well if one has not eaten well.--- Virginia Woolf

 That’s why I put together a team of home economists to develop and test recipes that would be satisfyingly delicious and incredibly nutritious. I also made it our mission to continually stock favorites that your family will love. But truly, it’s about more than just helping you put delicious food on your table. I really want to bring families back home around the family dinner table to share wholesome, high quality meals—just like I did when I was growing up.

May you eat well all the days of your life!

Wishing you the very best,

Vickie Hankes

Remember, we’re here to make life easier for you. So please let me know if there’s anything we can do to make your experience at Victoria’s Kitchen more enjoyable.