"No problem," said the banquet chef, nodding his head "Just follow the instructions and you're good to go."

For more than a decade, Pacific Beach Hotel has offered a "Heat n' Eat" turkey dinner that has grown in popularity over the years.

"We'll do 550 of these dinners," said Risa Meyers, the hotel's senior catering sales manager. "We've already sold 100 packages and that was early in October."

The appeal to this holiday heat-and-serve turkey dinner is its sheer convenience. No shopping. No waking up at dawn. And no fussing all day in the kitchen.

Priced at $79, the Thanksgiving dinner to-go can feed six to eight adults. The package comes complete with a 10- to 12-pound roast turkey, garlic herb mashed potatoes, sausage stuffing, giblet gravy, buttered Island-style succotash, candied yams with marshmallow topping, cranberry relish, pumpkin pie and sweet bread dinner rolls.

To place your order, call the Catering Party Hotline at 921-6137.

"We start out a few days ahead of Thanksgiving," Todino said. "And on Thanksgiving Eve, we'll prepare all the sauces and by the evening, we'll starting packaging everything."

Getting 550 turkey dinners ready for pick-up is no easy feat. But according to Todino, they do it in about eight hours.

"We've got this down pat," he said. "Everyone has a role and everyone knows what that role is."

Sharla Mack's part — which she shares with fellow managers Herbert Yamamoto and Renee Nishimoto — is to take orders for these turkey-to-go meals.

"This includes taking my own," smiled Mack, who has ordered this turkey dinner to-go for the past two years. "I've already got my turkey reserved. It's just so much easier, especially if you have to work like I do that day."

Patrons will be able to pick up their turkeys on Thanksgiving Day, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

"It's like a drive-thru," Yamamoto said. "They pull up to the curb; we put the box in their trunk; and they drive away with a smile."

Banquet chef Jay Todino will oversee the preparation of 550 turkeys.

"We've tried to make this as easy as possible for people who don't cook," said Myers, whose youthful looks belie her 26 years with the company. "Even I can do this and I don't cook at all."

If you try to get one of these turkey dinners the last minute, fuggedaboutit.

"We have people calling the same week but we're already sold out by that time," Myers said. "So the earlier people place their orders, the better chances they'll have of securing their turkey."

On the day of pick-up, Myers, Mack, Yamamoto and Nishimoto will all be providing friendly curbside service.