This Thanksgiving, imagine falling into your favorite armchair, belly full of perfectly smoked turkey, homemade cranberry sauce, and herb-filled mashed potatoes, closing your eyes and smiling as you remember there is no mess to clean up. This year you can actually listen to Gramps’s post-meal back-in-the-day stories, and watch the aunts bicker about politics. You can sit back and breathe in the swirling tendrils of that gourmet chocolate pecan pie sneaking their way in from the oven.

Baton Rouge chefs are taking up the task this Thanksgiving of preparing traditional one-of-a-kind holiday take-home menus, so you don’t have to. Consider celebrating your Thanksgiving feast sitting at your family table while enjoying all your favorite staples straight from the kitchens of our city’s most accomplished chefs.

“We know how busy everyone is, and we know how important Thanksgiving is,” says BRQ Seafood & Barbecue, Executive Chef and Owner Justin Ferguson. “Our kitchen and team are putting in a tremendous amount of time and effort while they brine, smoke and prepare the turkeys, hams and all the fixings.”

Slow roasted, smoked, free range, or fried, you can pre-order your whole turkey with sides now at BRQ, L’auberge’s Bon Temps Buffet, or Ralph and Kacoo’s. Want to get your hands just a little dirty? Toss Indie Plate’s ready-to-cook marinated and butchered turkey in the oven for an hour and dig in. Minimize the pre- and post-meal work even more by ordering Galatoire’s Thanksgiving Box Lunches, disposable, individually boxed meals with a choice of pork tenderloin or roasted turkey breast and sides.

These gourmet take-home options give you the chance to sit back and enjoy all of your favorite Thanksgiving classics with a little twist of something special: sweet potato purée with spiced pecans, cranberry sauce infused with a touch of satsuma, green bean and mushroom casserole, and more.

Open to taking a step away from tradition? Gourmet Girls Thanksgiving carry-out menu includes options such as lobster mac & cheese, wild mushroom and brie savory bread pudding, and shrimp Parisiane.

With plenty of delicious options to choose from, this Thanksgiving, take a break from the kitchen and instead focus on the conversation and company of friends and family.