Picture this: You’re in your favorite pair of Derek Rose silk pajamas, Ketel martini in hand. The smell of freshly baked garlic bread hangs in the air as you and a Michelin-rated chef put the finishing touches on what promises to be the best pasta puttanesca you never thought you could make—especially in your own kitchen.
This can be your dinnertime scenario, thanks to Cozymeal, a fine-dining meal prep service that’s elevating in-home dining by enlisting the private services of professional chefs around the world.
“I started Cozymeal after experiencing many restaurant environments, where the atmosphere was too loud, the quality of food was mediocre, and there was never an opportunity to interact with chefs personally,” says Cozymeal CEO Sam Nasserian. “I wanted to provide a solution to these problems and connect guests with top chefs by creating an intimate one-on-one culinary experience.”
A Cozymeal dinner Photo: Courtesy of Cozymeal
Combining the Amazon ethos of convenience for foodies with discerning tastes (not to mention the desire to Netflix and chill instead of eating out), Cozymeal pairs its clients with top chefs to make five-star dinners in their own kitchens. The average home-meal cooking class starts at $95 per person; to cook with a Michelin-quality chef, the starting rate is $105 per person. What is considered “Michelin-quality,” you ask? Cozymeal offered up the LA–based Chef Pierre, a former protégé of Alain Ducasse, as an example of the caliber of professionals with whom it works.
“We have curated a big selection of top local chefs in every city, where many of our chefs are current and former executive chefs of Michelin-starred restaurants, best-selling cookbook authors, and current and former chefs of celebrities,” Nasserian says.
Cozymeal—which is currently available in 26 US cities, including New York, LA, San Francisco, and Atlanta—is coming of age at a time when traditional meal-kit delivery services that come with the promise of cooking like a gourmand appear to be on a downswing. According to a recent report by Eater.com, companies like Blue Apron and Hello Fresh have seen a steady decline in membership subscriptions due to oversaturation in the meal-kit delivery marketplace.
“There’s not really any other company that offers the large selection and high quality of culinary experiences with chefs as we do,” Nasserian says. “There are some providers who offer culinary experiences in certain cities but not with the big selection we have, the quality of chefs we have, or our stringent vetting process.”
For now, Cozymeal’s bread and butter continues to be its private cooking classes and corporate team-building events. However, it will soon be offering food tours and expanding into 50 more cities both domestically and internationally by the end of 2019.
