Alissa Brooks
Mother/daughter team Alissa Brooks (left) and Nancy Olsen.
A few years ago, Alissa Brooks’ aunt was going through chemotherapy. Her uncle “didn’t know how to cook at all,” so Brooks decided to help out by making some big batches of meals that the couple could store in the freezer and reheat whenever they needed a quick and easy dinner. “They just loved it,” Brooks says. “It helped get them through.”
Brooks did the same thing when a neighbor got hurt and needed help feeding her four children while recovering. The neighbor was similarly delighted with her care package, and word was starting to spread. “Suddenly people were asking, ‘Could you just make some meals for me? I don’t have an excuse, but could you make them?’” Brooks says. “So my mom and I decided there’s a need for this.”
Brooks and her mother, Nancy Olsen, launched Meals by Cassoulet in November 2017. Working out of Christine’s Kitchens, a shared commercial kitchen space at 2817 East Washington Ave., they prepare from-scratch batch-style meals that customers can store in the freezer for up to three months. “We take the work out of it for people,” Brooks says.
Alissa Brooks
Yes, it’s Brooks’ and Olsen’s homemade pasta, drying on racks.
Neither Brooks nor Olsen has formal culinary training. Brooks worked as a teacher and school administrator for nearly two decades, and Olsen had a four-decade career in banking. But the two have been cooking together for years and have perfected some beloved family recipes. Specialties include enchiladas, tater tot casserole, breakfast sandwiches and homemade pasta.
Meals by Cassoulet offers dozens of options for breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as an array of side dishes. The menu changes monthly. Meals come in portions for two, four and six people, and larger party packages are available. Customers order online and pick up the meals at Christine’s Kitchens or at pick-up sites with partner businesses in Janesville and Sun Prairie. Brooks hopes to open a retail store within the next year.
“Things are going really great, we have a lot of repeat customers,” Brooks says. “Some are empty nesters, some are big families; several single guys have become regulars. We’ve had a couple big orders from people who are just helping out a friend.”
