The Company
CEO Pat Vihtelic created Home Chef to provide everything you need to bring more delicious meals and moments to the table, no matter how busy you are. Home Chef is based around the idea that enjoying a home-cooked meal should be an easy and delicious experience. Simplicity is their mantra which they back with their intuitive and inspirational meals. Check out their blog to explore what's in season, ingredient features and recipes, drinks, learn how to entertain, simplify, nourish, and be a pro in the kitchen.
You can set up your taste profile to get personalized meal recommendations and plan meals up to 5 weeks in advance. The meal options are diverse and you can even customize each one. Each week also has the option to add a fresh fruit basket or a smoothie. You can also skip weeks if you are not home or know you will be eating out a lot one week. The first box comes with a binder where you can save your recipes for future cooking. Each recipe page has an image of the meal, a brief description, a list of ingredients in your box, prep and cook time, difficulty level, and spice level on the front, plus step by step instructions with photos on the back.
The Meals
I was able to try three meals: BBQ Shrimp Pizza with pico de gallo, Chipotle Refried Lentil Flautas with queso fresco and sour cream, and Lemon Thyme Chicken Orzo with kale and grape tomatoes.
BBQ Shrimp Pizza:
I never buy shrimp for myself so this flatbread felt very gourmet even though it was so easy to prepare. The flatbread was crispy, the shrimp were firm and juicy, the barbecue sauce was in the perfect ratio, and the pico de gallo added a nice freshness. This was a very easy meal to throw together. The only downside is that it is not good for leftovers or for travel.
Chipotle Refried Lentil Flautas:
This meal was my favorite because I would never personally make it, but it was delicious and fast to throw together. The chipotle, lentil, cheddar filling was cheesy and flavorful, the sour cream added a nice creaminess that balanced the kick of the chipotle, and the salsa added a pop of fresh produce. The instructions said to pan-fry the flautas, but I just wrapped them up and took them to go as an easy and portable meal.
Lemon Thyme Chicken Orzo:
Though this meal was the least creative of the three, it still hit the spot. The chicken was juicy and flavorful, the lemon and thyme brought the dish together, and the kale, tomato orzo served as a perfect base with its colors, carbs, and crispness.
Q&A:
I was able to ask Maris Callahan, the Senior Public Relations Manager, a couple questions about Home Chef:
Allison Walter: What makes Home Chef different from other meal delivery services?
Maris Callahan: Our customers love Home Chef because we offer them convenience, simplicity, variety and of course, delicious recipes. Every meal kit includes the fresh ingredients you need to make simple recipes that will taste great, and every part of the process is incredibly easy -- from selecting your meal to preparing the ingredients to sitting down to enjoy your meal. You can subscribe online to have weekly meals delivered to your door, or you can pick up a box at your local Kroger grocery store and have everything you need to get dinner on the table in 30 minutes. Some people love to plan their meals in advance, and others want the convenience of a Home Chef meal without having to plan ahead, and our customers appreciate that flexibility. We are also the only meal kit to offer a customizable experience on homechef.com. Our Customize It feature allows customers to have even more flexibility in deciding what's for dinner by providing the choice to change and upgrade ingredients on select recipes. In fact, according to an independent third-party study, Home Chef has the highest rate of customer satisfaction among leading meal kit companies.
AW: Does the company aim for its sources of food to be sustainable?
MC: We know sustainability matters to our customers when it comes to sourcing ingredients and packaging materials. We work hard to ensure that our products are consistently high quality and we source responsibly as often as we can. We use packaging that is recyclable or reusable, and also keeps the food at a safe temperature during the entire journey from our facility to our customer's home.
AW: Where do the chefs get recipe inspiration?
MC: Our chefs come to us with diverse backgrounds in hospitality and food service and years of experience in professional kitchens. They draw inspiration from their personal experiences cooking for restaurant patrons, hotel guests and even their own families at home. Our chefs are also inspired by world cuisines, seasonal ingredients and their own favorite dining experiences.
AW: Is the company interested in expanding to desserts?
MC: Our goal is to offer customers everything they need to get a delicious meal on the dinner table in under an hour. What our customers value most is quick and easy cooking that does not involve special equipment or extensive kitchen experience to create a great meal, every time. Baking is as much a science as it is an art. Since we can't guarantee that same experience in under an hour, we haven't made it a core part of our service.
AW: Who does Home Chef see as the face of their company? What is the typical Home Chef customer?
MC: There is no typical customer! Home Chef is perfect for people in every stage of their culinary journey whether you are someone who is learning to cook in your first kitchen or an experienced foodie looking to save time, try new recipes and explore tastes of new cuisines. Our customers are the faces of our company and we take every recipe and every piece of feedback we see very seriously to offer the best possible experience, every time.
AW: How does Home Chef tackle food waste?
MC: We only source what we need. Each box includes the exact ingredients in the right proportions to cook your meal -- if you need six ounces of an ingredient, you'll get six ounces instead of a whole jar that will go bad if you don't use it for something else.
Home Chef provides scrumptious meals that are simple and delicious to prepare. The recipes are diverse, but consistently satisfying. Too scared to make Beef Wellington at home? Home Chef has your back, and will take you through the process step by step so that you can become a professional home chef.