Good To-Go

Jennifer Scism won Iron Chef, co-owned a celebrated Greenwich Village restaurant with chef Anita Lo, and spent years in New York's fine dining world. Her husband David Koorits worked as an ER nurse, wilderness therapy counselor, and ski patroller. When they moved to coastal Maine and started spending more time in the backcountry, the gap between what they could cook at home and what was available in a freeze-dried pouch felt absurd. In 2014 they started Good To-Go in Kittery to close it.

The premise is simple: backpacking food should taste like food a chef would actually eat. Not reconstituted sludge with "Thai" in the name. Scism develops every recipe using the same techniques she used in professional kitchens — building flavor through proper seasoning, quality ingredients, and cooking methods that survive dehydration and rehydration intact.

The meals use non-GMO ingredients, many of them organic, with no artificial preservatives or flavors. Options span pad thai, Indian curry, Mexican quinoa bowls, bibimbap, and classic American dishes. Most are gluten-free. Several are vegan. The ingredient lists are short enough to read without squinting.

Production happens in Kittery, where the team cooks, dehydrates, and packages everything. Distribution has grown from local outfitters to over 600 retail locations and direct-to-consumer online sales. The company has received support from Maine-based angel investors and state economic development resources, but remains founder-led with Scism as CEO and Koorits handling operations.

Good To-Go occupies a specific niche in the outdoor food market: restaurant-quality meals in a lightweight, shelf-stable format. The competition is mostly large food manufacturers treating backpackers as an afterthought. Good To-Go treats them as diners who happen to be 20 miles from a road.

Products

• Thai curry dehydrated meals
• Indian vegetable korma
• Mexican quinoa bowl
• Classic marinara with pasta
• Bibimbap rice bowl
• Oatmeal and breakfast options
• Herbed mushroom risotto
• Smoked three-bean chili

Why We List Them

• Co-founded and led by chef Jennifer Scism (Iron Chef winner)
• All meals developed and produced in Kittery, Maine
• Founder-led company with no corporate parent
• Restaurant-quality ingredients and technique in backpacking format
• Non-GMO, gluten-free options, no artificial preservatives
• Maine-based operation supporting local economy