Meet the Eat In Chef Team: Ara
As you may already know, we’re working hard to bring you NYC’s best personal chef service. We’ve talked about the importance of knowing your chef in the past, but we want you to know the people behind Eat In Chef, too! To kick off our blog, here’s an exclusive interview with our Co-Founder/CEO, Ara!
What do you do for Eat In Chef?
I’m one of the masterminds behind Eat In Chef. Technically, I am a Co-Founder and the CEO. My role is to lead an incredibly innovative team that wants to leverage the relationship between food and technology in order to materialize a vision of helping people lead happier and healthier lives.
Our eating habits contribute to who we are as individuals. For over ten years, I cooked for friends and acquaintances as if I were their personal chef and remember their deep appreciation for healthy, home-cooked meals. Eighteen months ago, it hit me! If companies like Eat24 and Blue Apron can deliver food, why can’t we bring chefs to people’s homes and build endless relationships? Not one-off connections like Uber or our competitors, but a network of meaningful interactions between those wanting to live better and those committed to helping them. My Co-Founder, Larry, and I have been obsessed since.
What do you think makes Eat In Chef special?
Our platform is engineered for the chef. Our approach is simple — the better our tools, the better the client experience.
Our products help chefs enhance their marketability online, build a loyal client base, and empower them to establish a successful proprietary business. We’re like Salesforce meets Match.com, with a bunch of food thrown at it.
We are not here to reinvent the wheel of what a personal chef is, but we will bring every spoke into the 21st century, as well as help chefs navigate through its transformation.
How would you make use of a personal chef?
Ask her/him questions to learn about how to prepare different foods and how they impact my body. I’d create a lifestyle around newfound information. Dieting is not a lifestyle. Practicing good eating is.
What’s your favorite food/dish?
Braised short rib in red and port wine sauce and pappardelle pasta. I’d certainly settle for potato puree and roasted asparagus instead of pasta, though.
What are your favorite restaurants in NYC?
My favorites must have an eclectic selection of wines and cocktails to accompany their menu. A few favorites are: Forest Hills Station House, Sons of Essex in the LES (Lower East Side), P.J. Clarke’s in Midtown, Taqueria, the Upper West Side’s Jacob’s Pickles, and Amor Cubano in East Harlem.
What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
I enjoy reading the news. My free time is usually on the weekends before 11AM. I love catching up on U.S. politics, business in emerging markets, and anything food-related. Prior to starting Eat In Chef, I enjoyed hiking and visiting wineries throughout the tri-state area.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I recently met a successful serial entrepreneur for lunch. He told me, “There are two kinds of risks every new company faces: (1) market risk, and (2) execution risk. You do not have an execution risk. You have a market risk. Average Americans aren’t ready for your product.” I respectfully disagreed and stated, “We’re overdue.”
The problem is not a market risk, the problem is that most food-related companies continue to target high-end audiences. An entire class of people continue to be overlooked. We’re here to introduce a service to a market that believes personal chefs are only for the rich.
For more info about Eat In Chef, visit our website at eatinchef.com or send us a note at info@eatinchef.com. Also, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and updates!
