Chefs without borders: now anyone can cook for the crowds.
What if we told you that there is a way, if you’re as industrious as the Dutch founders of a website called Tweetjemee, to buy meals from your neighbors? Frankly, if such a service existed I’d harass Miriam every day for her spinach and mushroom soup or her delicious-looking sambusaks.
For every lousy cook like me, there are hundreds of Miriams who have sensational culinary skills just waiting to be shared. Tweetjemee cooks have an opportunity to do just that, while everyone else in the neighborhood can enjoy a home-cooked meal without the hassle of going out to a restaurant.
This is how it works:
Tweetjemee set up a website where budding chefs post images and descriptions of their meals, I’m guessing each day. They also post their prices and preferred collection times. Buyers can then browse posts from people in their neighborhood, place an order, and pick it up at the agreed upon time.
Payment goes to the website’s founders, and then is disbursed to cooks on a monthly basis. A 30% fee covers the listing and admin, 10% of which – we especially love this part – is donated to the World Hunger Project.
Springwise writers note that this system lacks commercial food quality controls. True, but it’s safe to say that men and women cooking at home are as unlikely to poison customers are they are their families, but I suppose anything is possible.
The benefits seem to outweigh the detriments. Such a scheme can foster incredible bonds in a community – since stomachs and hearts are closely related – and keeps money within the community. And it’s super eco-friendly. Restaurants can be a source of tremendous waste and consume tons of energy to heat and cool.
I’d almost say there is a chance for better quality control with home-based food sales, particularly if there is a feedback system. If Joe Randolph consistently produces tainted food and customers were able to point that out, then JR’s business would dwindle very quickly.
So, for all the world’s Miriams (I hope my sister-in-law is reading this), why not get your foodie groupies together and let the rest of us get a taste of your delicious, and wholesome home-cooking?
:: Springwise
Recipes that will make your mouth water:
2 RECIPES: Cool and Hot Arabic Almond Milk
A Classic Recipe for Muhamarra Red Pepper Spread From Aleppo
Holiday Recipes: Make Your Own Ricotta
Author: Tafline Laylin
As a tour leader who led “eco-friendly” camping trips throughout North America, Tafline soon realized that she was instead leaving behind a trail of gas fumes, plastic bottles and Pringles. In fact, wherever she traveled – whether it was Viet Nam or South Africa or England – it became clear how inefficiently the mandate to re-think our consumer culture is reaching the general public. Born in Iran, raised in South Africa and the United States, she currently splits her time between Africa and the Middle East. Tafline can be reached at tafline (at) greenprophet (dot) com.
My better half, Avner, cooked for people in the US when we were there for a year. He got the best compliment that I ever heard for a good dish: “This moussaka tastes like it was made by someone who loves people!”
And he does…
What a terrific idea. It is a bit like a similar person to person car rental idea being tried here in California – but yummier!
This already works on some level in Israel – I’ve ordered many different kinds of home-cooked meals from people – making organic, vegan and macrobiotic cooking from their kitchens. Controls like kashrut and food safety would be hard to maintain unless there was a standards body checking kitchens once and a while.