Plated Brings DIY Dinners to Your Doorstep

Stephanie Nguyen Nov 8, 2012 Tweet

Queue the doorbell. For decades, Papa John’s and your favorite Chinese takeout place held a permanent spot on your speed dial as your go-to carry-out places. Times have changed since Plated entered the scene last month as the new dinner delivery and subscription service.

Yes, many of us would rather cook. But the thought of going to the grocery store to fulfill a recipe requiring one-off ingredient investments, like three bay leaves and half a teaspoon of sherry vinegar, just isn’t worth it. For city dwellers, soccer moms, Food Network fanatics or those with grocery store-phobia, Plated reestablishes the simple joy of cooking delicious 30-minute meals. Sign up for two, three or five pre-packaged meals fully equipped with ready-to-cook locally-sourced gourmet ingredients curated by a monthly featured chef. Starting at $10 a meal, choose the Seared Tuna Sushi Bowls, Chorizo Tacos or Pasta Carbonara with Edamame.

“Food e-commerce is the final frontier of e-commerce,” explains cofounder Nick Taranto. “This is an enormous opportunity of a generation to impact how we see food and how it’s produced, delivered and consumed.” This unique retroactive model of grocery shopping frames the competition as the classic take-out joint, frozen dinners, and the way people make food right now. “There’s no one currently doing what we envisioned,” says Taranto.

In the next few weeks, Plated will be launching a vegetarian vertical and is looking into Paleo-style options for the starch-averse. Meal options are also diverse in the quantities that can be delivered. For those hosting Thanksgiving, fear no more. For $24 a person, they’re offering a dinner party box option with mashed sweet potatoes, slow-cooked sausage stuffing, and of course, the roasted turkey.

“Our users are most excited about recipes with some sort of story born in people’s kitchens as opposed to more avant-garde recipes, reinforcing a more crowdsourced approach,” says co-founder Josh Hix. As the service grows and the platform matures, chefs of any level will be able to build a profile, share their creations, and build an audience. Soon, Plated will be the place for professional and aspiring home chefs to shoot their creations to the world.

For taste buds belonging to busy people everywhere, this could be the start of something divine. Sign up and stay up to date on weekly menus, or stay up to date with the latest @Plated.