Gourmet meals to go coming to East Memphis in December

Le Jardin Gourmet To Go is preparing to open its doors in the Chickasaw area of East Memphis just in time for the holidays, offering gourmet meal pickup, meals to go, online how-to videos, specialty catering, and online ordering under the guidance of local Chef Karen Roth, who formerly worked at Alchemy with Chef Erling Jenson.
 
Le Jardin’s meals will include items like crab cakes and braised beef short ribs, with appetizers like candied bacon and spinach artichoke dip.
 
“We’re going to have a core of products like chicken marsala and eggplant parmesan that we will offer fresh or frozen,” said owner John Matthews. “Every week we will introduce one or two new entrees. We’re trying to take it a little more upscale than what is offered locally.”
 
Entrées will be available in small and large sizes, with small feeding two people and large feeding four to five, and everything will be sold a la carte, including sides and desserts.
 
“We’re also going to pair wine with the meals,” said Matthews. “I think it’s a market that no one else is really servicing. We’ll have sambuco, for example, and lamb ribs with tzatziki sauce, so it will be comparable to eating out at a nice, upscale restaurant but for far less.”
 
Matthews sees few people serving the low carb-no sugar diabetic market, so he hopes Le Jardin can tap into that arena. One of Matthews’ sons is diabetic, so he had to learn how to prepare healthy meals for him as he was growing up.
 
The eatery’s target delivery market to start out will be from Highland Avenue to Downtown, and future possibilities could include satellite distribution areas to serve other areas.
 
“There’s also a lot of senior citizens who don’t want to get out and navigate the traffic, so we hope to be able to service some of their needs as well,” said Matthews. “Eventually we’ll set up weekly plans, with standard delivery of meals for three nights for example.”
 
Matthews spent 30 years in the food exporting business, working primarily in Australia and countries in the Middle East. He retired for a few months but started going stir crazy. That’s when he and his wife, Karen, had the idea for healthier, more upscale take-home meals. 
 
“We like to cook together and we also like to go out to eat, but sometimes you don’t want to do either,” said John. “At Le Jardin, we use local ingredients and prepare the meals here. It’s convenient, you can have it fresh or frozen.”
 
The front section of the 1,300-square-foot space (owned by Loeb Properties) will be a gift area, with gourmet food products including Olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pickled asparagus as well as kitchen items like cutting boards and cocktail napkins.
 
The store’s grand opening will be on Dec. 1 for walk-in pickups, and they will begin with delivery to Chickasaw Gardens and expand out from there.