The next Gordon Ramsay… could be down the street whipping up your Bolognese. Shef, a platform for ordering home-cooked meals, announced plans this week to expand nationwide. Shef is kind of like DoorDash minus the restaurant (individual “shefs” offer their specialities). Think: someone three miles from you whips up butter chicken in their kitchen.
Heating up: Shef raised nearly $74M last year, and though it’s available in just 11 states, this week it started allowing cooks across the US to apply to list their dishes.
Home is where the tart is: As of last year, several states clarified their rules to allow for the sale of certain types of homemade food. Shef says all 50 states now allow it.
Like an Uber side hustle but for chefs… Shef brings a creative twist to the gig economy. The startup said demand “has grown dramatically,” both from home cooks looking to earn extra $$ and from consumers looking for “more affordable, healthy” options. Shef isn’t the only one whipping up fresh delivery concepts:
Fresh takes on classic recipes can stand out… The delivery biz is still booming above prepandemic levels, but the classic restaurant-to-door model is already supersaturated. Apps like DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates are all competing for the same market share. But now companies are popping up with new twists on the time-tested delivery concept, which could help them stand out in the crowded market.