MK Takeaways Offers Chef-Prepared Meals That Are Ready to Heat and Eat at Home

MK Takeaways opened its doors early in July, offering fresh meals made from scratch by husband-and-wife duo Michael and Karen Stanley, available for pickup or delivery.

The Broward-based service offers a wide variety of meal options on a menu that’s laid out similarly to a restaurant's. Customers can choose from starters, soups, and salads; entrées (including sandwiches); and desserts. Each option is available as a single portion or family meal that feeds four to six.

Michael Stanley discovered his love of cooking in college as the kitchen manager of his Kappa Sigma fraternity house at the University of Illinois, where he learned that cooking is the way to people’s hearts. After earning a degree in finance, he decided to attend the Culinary Institute of America and has been cooking ever since.

Karen Stanley, on the other hand, was raised in the hospitality industry; her family founded an international foodservice supply company in 1955. Growing up she vowed not to join the family business, but Michael convinced her to join him and create a new one.

In their commissary kitchen in Sunrise, the duo prepares starters like a Mediterranean salad medley that includes a feta and artichoke salad, tabbouleh, hummus, and more ($17); spinach and artichoke dip ($11) with homemade tortilla chips ($11); and grilled chicken wings tossed in a choice of sauces: Asian barbecue, lime chipotle, honey garlic, and rosemary jalapeño ($7 regular/$10 large/$21 family).

Entrées include "Oh My Cod" beer-battered fish and chips ($16); mesquite-grilled ribeye ($24/$76) and barbecue baby back ribs with tamarind barbecue, roasted beets and kale apple slaw ($26/$80). Sides are $7 each and include charred broccolini, Red Bliss mashed potatoes, cottage fries, and coleslaw.
The Li’l Kosher Dogs hold a special place in the hearts of the chef duo, both of whom grew up in Jewish homes and came away with a lasting fondness for Hebrew National kosher hot dogs. MK Takeaways offers bagel dogs made with Hebrew National weiners in three versions: plain, “everything but the bagel,” and garlic Parmesan.

To end on a sweet note, the dessert menu includes key lime pie, strawberry shortcake, and peach cobbler (all served in Mason jars), as well as the Joey Bag o' Donuts.

The dishes are packaged and ready to be finished in a residential oven or microwave; they can be stored in the refrigerator for up to four to six days.

Customers can place same-day orders as late as 6:30 p.m. by accessing the company's website, or through Postmates, Seamless, Grubhub, and UberEats. MK delivers directly to most of Miami with a $50 minimum order, and ordering via the website allows one to access special incentives, including a loyalty program.

This isn’t the Stanleys' first South Florida food concept. They also own Yummy in My Tummy, a healthful school-lunch program that services approximately 90 schools across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties.

As they had with Yummy in My Tummy, the culinary entrepreneurs found a need and created a delicious way to fill it.

“Once COVID-19 hit, we realized that everything we ordered from restaurants didn’t come the way we anticipated, and meal delivery services required pre-ordering," Michael says. "For procrastinators like us who wanted a good-quality meal, we couldn’t find any options."

“Our core belief is that people want good food, and we are happy to be the people who deliver it. Started in our kitchen, finished in yours. That’s the Takeaway,”  Michael says.

MK Takeaways. 12691 W. Sunrise Blvd., Sunrise; 954-358-2414; mktakeaways.com. Available for pickup and delivery Monday through Friday.