While restaurant ordering is an option, some of us over anxious people aren’t sure about the safety factor. These business platforms have built a bridge to aid ordering in from home chefs 

It’s been a year into the pandemic, and we have adapted to life from home. I, too, am sitting at home, and counting days. On a work call one day, my team was discussing how they miss eating their favourite food outside, and I also started craving some good food that isn’t made at home. I looked at different apps to order, but stopped for a second to think if it is really safe to order at all. I was sceptical, and my anxious self started looking for alternate options. 

The concept of home chefs and home businesses gained popularity during the pandemic. And so, business platforms and apps have also come up, where they curate home chefs you can order from, making life a hell lot easier. Sanjhi Rajgarhia is the co-founder of a platform called FoodCloud, and created FoodCloud to recognise the immense talent in the home kitchens of India. “At FoodCloud, we wanted to make food available to customers via the convenient option of home delivery. The cherry atop is that we are encouraging female entrepreneurship in the country.”

These platforms provide you with the best options to choose from. Conosh, which is operational in Bengaluru and Delhi, curates some interesting food menus. Vaibhav Bahl, the co-founder of Conosh, says, “Since the platform offers an array of curated menus, a lot goes into planning the winning menu.”

Ankur Gupta, who is associated with Conosh as a home chef, runs a small business named Totally Baked. He says that he heard about the platform from a friend, and feels that the platform has “inspired many home chefs to come forward and choose to become a part of this amazing food network.” Priyanka Jagaty, another chef working with Conosh, says that she wanted to be a part of it because they gave her the freedom to explore her cuisine, and believed that she would do justice to it.

Dial-a-Meal is another such platform that operates as a quality home delivery service provider. Talking about how their business is unique, Niloufer Minocherhomji, MD and founder of the company, says, “Home chefs undergo an induction programme to understand the business. We have different regional chefs thus offering a variety of cuisines. Meals are prepared only once the order is received, so it is always fresh.”

Chef Meenu Thakur is one of the chefs associated with Dial-A-Meal, and says that the best part about being associated with the platform is “when you get reviewed and appreciated for the food you make. Even any suggestions for improvement helps.” 

Anjana Bhasin, associated with FoodCloud appends, “Earlier, people did not have so much confidence in home chefs, but now with the pandemic since last year, they have more confidence in us. They feel that it will be more hygienic and we will take more precautions. It has definitely helped the business move.”

Tushar Garg, co-founder of The Yummy Idea, says they are helping home chefs get maximum benefit out of the platforms. “We are giving these chefs a certain kind of training. Chefs like Natasha Gandhi, Ashish Bhasin, and Ranveer Brar have had personal interactions with these chefs, and told them how to put up their profiles. They taught them about the pricing,” said Garg.

Rachna Rao, the founder of Chefs Buddy, says the platform has made it very easy for food businesses to take their business online, by creating a digital kitchen. Rao adds that word of mouth works great for them and now the app “is already being used all over India”. They have registered from more than 1,000 cities and towns, and Rao plans to keep making the app better for more food businesses and home chefs to join.

Cravings addressed, personalised, and satisfied.