Why We Still Cook From Scratch Every Day

Our Kitchen · C&H Cafeteria

By 10:30 in the morning, our kitchen has already been working for hours. Vegetables are chopped, meats are seasoned, breads are rising — all before a single customer walks through the door for lunch. That's not a special occasion at C&H Cafeteria. That's every single day, at both our Kernersville and Durham locations.

We get asked sometimes why we don't just simplify things — buy pre-made sides, freeze extra portions, keep a smaller rotating menu so the kitchen has less to manage. The honest answer is that scratch cooking takes more time, but it's the only way we know how to make food that actually tastes like something a family member made. We never use MSG, and pork stock rarely makes an appearance in our vegetable dishes — small choices, but ones that shape the flavor of everything on your plate.

Because we cook fresh, our menu changes regularly instead of staying frozen in place (literally). Some days that means more of a seasonal vegetable, other days a dessert someone in the kitchen felt like making. If you want to see what's cooking on a given day, our Daily Menu page is updated for both locations — lunch and dinner, seven days a week, with weekend breakfast in Kernersville.

Fast food doesn't have to mean processed food. It just means someone in the kitchen got started early.