Bringing Chefs to Your At-Home Dinner Table

Special occasion dining has changed throughout the decades, from starched white tablecloths to chef’s tables in the kitchen to even the latest food truck turned dive bar—but one thing that has never changed is the importance of the relationship between the diner and chef. There is a feeling that great chefs inspire with their food—and when it’s a special occasion, diners want that magical culinary experience to accompany their celebration.

This is how I found myself dreaming up the idea of INTUEAT—simply out of necessity. My fiancé, now-wife, had finally agreed to move in after years of long-distance dating. I wanted to create an intimate and romantic atmosphere for her first night in our apartment to celebrate the occasion. After exploring numerous options, I concluded that hiring a personal chef to come into our home and prepare an intimate dinner for two was the best solution. Ultimately, my request for a chef went unanswered. What seemed like a standard request highlighted a gap in the market to me. There was no particular website or marketplace to find vetted chefs who were passionate and responsive to requests. But shouldn’t there be?

Building the concept from the ground up

I pursued a career in the food and beverage and hospitality industry because food has always been an essential part of my life. Growing up, I had the privilege to be around my mother’s family, which was highly diligent and entrepreneurial. They instilled the values of hard work and leadership while inspiring me to contribute positively to society. I knew from an early age that I would never be entirely content working for others in life, forcing me to pave my path through my entrepreneurial journey. I went back to college and attended Johnson & Whales University, Denver Campus, where I learned much about creating and managing a business from my professors. During my time there, I connected with the culinary school, where I met some great aspiring chefs that helped me build the concept of INTUEAT from the ground up.

After my experience, I decided to start a small-scale catering company with an easy-to-use app in Denver, CO. After going live in November of 2019 as Chef Connect LTD. The concept saw some success as we had received requests to cook for professional athletes, socialites, and many well-respected individuals in the Denver community. Unfortunately, the initial pandemic shut down in March 2020 quickly derailed our success. After seeing how COVID-19 impacted struggling chefs and hospitality professionals, we decided to pivot our operations to a buy one, give one meal delivery out of a restaurant we rented on a month-to-month basis. During this time, we also realized the need to shift our original business model to a more scalable concept focused on highlighting these incredible chefs across the United States. With this shift, we decided to rebrand, and INTUEAT was born.

When I came up with the idea for INTUEAT, I was ecstatic to provide a way to connect well-established chefs who were passionate about providing custom in-home experiences with diners who were equally as impassioned about curating the perfect experience. By providing a more elegant solution to finding a private chef in the digital age, INTUEAT’s vision is to inspire our culinary artists while exceeding our diners’ expectations with the wonders of elevated culinary delights.

McKinsey reports that the global food delivery market has nearly tripled since 2017, and in the United States, nearly doubled since COVID-19. Although the pandemic shuttered many brick-and-mortar restaurants, it didn’t stifle diners’ appetites for something special, something above par, something that simply didn’t come in a plastic container.

Bridging the gap currently

Online platforms have been bringing people together for decades. I decided to use this successful business idea to do the same for chefs and diners. At INTUEAT, we know there is no better place to create lasting memories with family and friends than around your dinner table, and because of this, we’ve ingrained that core belief into our business model.

As an entrepreneur within the food and beverage industry, I wanted to ensure that each chef could showcase their passion and talents and for diners to have a memorable experience. INTUEAT celebrates the diverse group of chefs on our platform who inspire the food and beverage industry, but we are also providing them with a new way to grow their clientele and pursue their passion outside of the restaurant walls through intimate and artisan experiences. Food makes the world go round, and I hope to continue to inspire the individuals who are the foundation of the industry with new opportunities to showcase their passion and feel supported.

Regardless of size or occasion, every INTUEAT experience is cultivated to be the bedrock upon which unforgettable moments are built. That’s why INTUEAT has adopted a rigorous vetting methodology to qualify our chefs and ensure that every client can feel comfortable and at ease when inviting any of our chefs into their homes.

With INTUEAT your Chef does the shopping, cooking, and cleaning while bringing the tools they need, including the tableware. All you’ve got to do is tell them when, where, and what you want to eat. The INTUEAT experience is one you and your guests will be sure to remember for dining experiences to come, whether it’s date night, a family dinner or a Sunday brunch.

Written by Leonardo De Aguiar.
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