HomeChef Raghida Haddad Cuisine

WoodSpoon was created by Co-Founders Chief Executive Officer Oren Saar (formerly of Boston Consulting Group) and Chief Marketing Officer Merav Kalish Rosengarten (formerly CMO of AnyVision) in January 2019. Completing the WoodSpoon team in 2020 is Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Lee Reshef, the former Head of Global Marketing Programs at Google, who is spearheading the expansion of WoodSpoon operations to Queens, Brooklyn, New Jersey, and Philadelphia.

Oren and Merav have created WoodSpoon as a platform for customers to enjoy a wide variety of homestyle meals from over 300 Home Chefs, allowing people to enjoy home cooked meals from their homeland and give the chefs an opportunity to share their craft with the world and flourish in their own businesses. The most popular cuisines on the platform are Israeli, Caribbean, Italian, and American, with many Home Chefs offering flavor fusions.

The heart of WoodSpoon’s business model is the Home Chefs, whom the company helps with logistics, pricing, payment, delivery, marketing and provides packaging to build their businesses. Unlike many other gig-economy jobs, WoodSpoon has created a space that allows partner chefs to earn a living wage while providing support and helping to build their own businesses at home. While the platform provides infrastructure, the direction and cuisine of each business is entirely up to the chefs providing them with the freedom and creativity to design their own menus and offer their own personal specialties to customers.

Chefs range from culinary school educated professional chefs to home cooks and those who dream of opening their own restaurants; each with their own story that can easily be found on their WoodSpoon profile. Every delivery arrives in beautifully designed sustainable packaging with a handwritten note from the chef.

Highlighted Chefs:

Raghida Haddad (Tate’s Kitchen) was born in Beirut, Lebanon and now lives in Brooklyn. Her offerings spotlight her home country as well as the Middle East as a whole. The recipes were inspired by her mother and grandmother, and she uses high quality ingredients in her generously portioned dishes that have options for vegans, vegetarians, and gluten free customers. Some of her highlighted dishes include Lahmeh Mishwieh Kababs, two sizzling beef skewers served with hummus, sumac salad, and pita bread; Lebanese Rice, rice with toasted vermicelli and mixed olive oil seasoned with a blend of Middle Eastern spices and herbs; and Stuffed Peppers, roasted bell peppers stuffed with ground beef, rice, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan and feta cheese, herbs, and Mediterranean spices.

Kevin Martinez (Flavoroso) discovered his passion for cooking while serving in the United States Navy. He attended culinary school after his service and moved to New York where he worked at Nobu and Jean Georges. He now uses the platform as Flavoroso to serve Italian cuisine like Angel Hair Pasta with Shrimp, homemade pasta served with shrimp in a creamy white truffle sauce; and Rigatoni Bolognese, rigatoni pasta mixed with a Bolognese sauce, topped with grated to order pecorino Romano.

Yuhe Su (Daddy’s Got Chopsticks) was born in Northeast China and has made it his mission to share Northeast Chinese cuisine with New York City, as the genre is hard to find. His recipes are inspired by the meals he would have with his family. Yuhe Su decided to begin cooking at home during the COVID-19 pandemic as he was unable to visit China and enjoy these meals with his family. Highlights from his WoodSpoon offerings are Beefy Eggplant, stir fried ground beef and steamed eggplant in a traditional Chinese bean paste sauce, served with white rice; Sour Cabbage Lamb Noodle, lamb and pickled cabbage served in a bowl of homemade noodles.

WoodSpoon also has a number of pastry chefs and bakers: Esther Saad (Esther’s Kitchen), a Mexican born chef who studied at the French Culinary Institute (now the International Culinary Center) and serves baked goods that feature flavors from the old Jewish kitchens of Eastern Europe with Mexican flair like European Ruggelach, walnuts, chocolate and spices in a wonderfully light yeast bite size roll, and Cheese Croissants, miniature croissants loaded with a mix of Jarlsberg and Mozzarella cheeses, topped with Parmesan and sesame seeds; and Lena Derisavifard (Bibi Bakery), an Iranian-American born and raised in Texas who specializes in in Baklava, which is available in traditional, Hazelnut Chocolate, Coconut, and Cardamom Rose flavors.

The user-friendly application sorts by location providing customers with hyper-local options, allowing chefs to build a following within their communities. Customers have the option to schedule an order, order on demand, or place catering and family style orders through the application.

Website: www.eatwoodspoon.com/
Instagram: @eatwoodspoon
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/eatwoodspoon/