An “innovative gourmet” from Baltimore has relocated to Lewes and is starting a meal delivery service.
Chef Barry Fleischmann’s “contemporary cuisine with a slight Mediterranean flair” is expected to be available for delivery in the Lewes, Rehoboth, Milton and Harbeson areas beginning in June.
Fleischmann has been in the restaurant and catering industry for decades. The 65-year-old spent much of it as chef for catering company Innovative Gourmet before trying his hand at brick-and-mortar. He owned Rachel New American Cuisine in Baltimore’s Federal Hill from 2017 to 2018.
When the pandemic hit, Fleischmann and his partner, Mindy Fisher, began providing meal deliveries and saw immediate success. They called it Scratch Mill Kitchen, and once they made the decision to move to the Delaware beaches, they started planning to take the meal delivery service with them.
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“We thought the demographics in the Lewes/Rehoboth area would lend itself perfectly for what we had been doing,” Fleischmann said. “So we decided to jump in with both feet.”
He uses the words “contemporary” and “fusion” when describing his food, but prefers not to give it a label. Some of his dishes include roasted whole baby chicken, shrimp sauté, pan-seared Atlantic salmon and Asian noodles with vegetables, egg and tofu.
“People ask me, ‘What’s your favorite cuisine?’ and I hate to be smug, but it’s good food. It’s what looks the best and freshest,” Fleischmann said.
Scratch Mill’s delivery area will include Lewes, Rehoboth, Milton, Harbeson and possibly other towns. Meals cost between $15 and $26 per person.
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Fleischmann said he’s planning to begin service the first week of June, with customers placing orders by noon the day before deliveries on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. He hopes to expand service days in the future.
“It’s nine parts restaurant, one part like a Blue Apron,” Fleischmann said. “Where you order it but there’s no assembly. It’s prepared — just warm it. I’d like to think it’s as good as a great restaurant.”
Order forms will soon be available at scratchmill.com.
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