About Us
Our Ideology
It is our goal to offer fully prepared, affordable, and approachable meals to the Grosse Pointes and surrounding area. We believe that a freshly prepared, well balanced meal is the cornerstone of a healthy and happy lifestyle. We encourage more time spent around the table with family and friends. With our hectic schedules, taking time out to prepare weekday meals is the primary roadblock. We remove that roadblock and wish to be the catalyst that gets friends and loved ones around the table more frequently and with better food.
Our Business
We keep it very simple. Since 2013 we have been offering Grosse Pointe (and surrounding communities) one entree for each weekday Monday-Thursday and one soup selection. Menus are posted Friday evening for the following week. All meals are prepared completely from scratch with a stern eye to meticulous technique. We use only fresh, hand selected ingredients. Yes, I am at the meat, seafood, produce, and grocery wholesalers two to three times weekly to insure the quality of our ingredients. No big trucks dropping off at our kitchen. Our meals are prepared by a small team of restaurant trained chefs. We have all spent over half of our lives in professional kitchens. Small team, over 75 years combined professional experience.
There is no need to sign up for the entire week, no minimum, Simply pick and choose what you would like from the week’s menu. You can order directly from the website, or if you don’t have a PayPal account you can email your order to: chefabner@yahoo.com and pay using Venmo (@Brian-Brenner-9), Zelle (chefabner@yahoo.com), or the old fashioned way with cash or check (payable to Brian Abner Culinary) upon delivery. All orders are delivered fully cooked, portioned, and refrigerated; so all you have to do is warm up when dinner time arrives. Simple reheat instructions are provided. Deliveries are Monday (with Monday and Tuesday selections) and Wednesday (with Wednesday and Thursday selections) afternoon between 2:00 and 5:00. Once we have your delivery address we can provide a more accurate delivery time estimate, though it fluctuates slightly week to week depending on volume and location of deliveries. As life can be unpredictable, many clients prefer to leave out a cooler so that we don’t miss you. It’s that simple.
Our Story
I’ve always had a love of cooking. Starting as a young kid helping my dad in the kitchen at home and continuing through my college education. While working towards my degree in chemical engineering, I consistently devoted way too much time to cooking in my apartment kitchen. Immediately after getting my engineering degree, like most engineers, I got a job washing dishes at a restaurant. Just to see what restaurant life was like. I was hooked immediately.
Back then Val was working her way through college in that same restaurant in Royal Oak. That’s where we crossed paths. She stood out immediately as she would smile vivaciously to the customers then walk back to the kitchen and scream and the cooks. Val could keep the guests happy and us cooks in line. It was quite a task. I was smitten. We’ve been together over 20yrs. now.
In the interim, I pursued my culinary goals training at several of the areas iconic restaurants. The Golden Mushroom, Opus One, and Tribute during the era that Takashi earned his James Beard “Best Chef” honors. Valerie got her RN and spent a decade working midnights in the NICU at Hutzel Women’s Hospital downtown. After leaving my last position as Executive Chef at Bayview Yacht Club in 2013 we started Brian Abner Culinary to provide other busy families with an affordable option for a well made dinner.