Freshly, the Nestlé-owned US meal delivery service, has launched Chef’s Special by Freshly, a new menu of limited-edition meal collaborations from renowned global chefs. 

According to the company, the meals tap into the growing need for “bold, adventurous eats with trending flavors and unique ingredients.”

With the launch, Freshly customers can enjoy destination dining for a night at home with ready-to-eat cuisine from chefs Jet Tila, Kwame Onwuachi, Sean Brock and Kristen Kish. 

“This is the first time Freshly is collaborating with chefs outside of its in-house meals and R&D team. We’re excited to gain insights and customer feedback on the experience to help us determine further growth in this area,” Mike Wystrach, CEO of Freshly, tells FoodIngredientsFirst. 

The meals are single-serve and built on a foundation of better-for-you, whole-food ingredients. “Continuing to offer more variety is a priority to us, and one way we can do that by tapping into chefs’ unique expertise and authentic cuisine. We’re taking their concepts and commercializing them to offer artisanal at scale.”

Restaurant-style dining at-home
In addition to the company’s propositions of convenience, taste and nutrition, variety is a key component of customer satisfaction. 

“We’re always striving to provide our customers with a unique, at-home culinary experience, so creating an opportunity to sample dishes from renowned chefs from all over the US is a natural fit for those goals,” Wystrach explains.  

“For example, some of the more adventurous dishes we’re offering through our chef collaborations allow us to tap into their authentic cuisines with a trusted source behind them to deliver the best product and experience to our customers.”

Pandemic gives meals a makeover
While consumer demand for craft and artisanal foods has steadily increased over the past years, Wystrach expects to see growth in this space as consumers seek to liven up their pandemic pantries. 

“But while many took up cooking for entertainment early on in the pandemic, after more than a year into the at-home revolution, instant is back, and convenience is key,” he maintains. 

People are burned out from cooking every day, and while they don’t necessarily want to make food themselves, they’re still looking for ways to make mealtime more exciting, he affirms. 

“Though some people may not feel comfortable eating out in a restaurant yet, they’ll still want to recreate these authentic food experiences at home. Whether this comes in the form of our new Chef’s Special collaborations or from people buying ingredients online, this trend is here to stay.”The chefs’ meal concepts were built from their own unique story – from regional cuisine, ingredient spotlights and cultural identity. (Pictured: Chef Jet Tila)

Collaborating on cultural cuisine
Through these collaborations, Freshly provides chefs with an opportunity to expand their audience, not replac it, and for customers to sample signature dishes from across the country. 

“With travel plans taking a backseat for many amid the pandemic, we’re working with these chefs to meet consumers wher they are and give them access to exclusive restaurant-quality meals at home,” explains Wystrach. 

The four chefs are renowned for specializing in authentic cultural cuisines – and Freshly wants its customers to experience their creativity and innovations first-hand, just as they would in a more traditional restaurant-dining experience. 

“After more than a year of eating at home, consumers are looking to make dinnertime feel more exciting, and these meals provide that opportunity without the challenge of navigating a new or unfamiliar recipe on their own.”

While single-serving prepared foods have always existed, over the past few decades, attention to health, nutrition and the effects of eating too much processed food has stigmatized them as a low-quality, unhealthy last resort for many people, Wystrach flags. 

“But with more people staying home during the day and in search of easy meal options, convenience has made its way back onto the priority list,” he continues. 

A deep dive into the dishes
Chef’s Special by Freshly meals will be available beginning April 5, starting with Jet Tila. Each chef’s meal will debut for a limited ten-week period as part of Freshly’s rotating weekly menu of over 35 meals. The menu will feature: 

• April - June 2021: Chef Jet Tila’s Kung Pao Steak with Basmati Rice & Toasted Cashews.
• June - August 2021: Chef Kwame Onwuachi’s Escovitch Steak with Jerk Broccoli, Peppers & Coconut Rice.
• August - October 2021: Chef Sean Brock’s Oven-Roasted Pork Chop. 
• October 2021 - January 2022: Chef Kristen Kish’s Sliced Beef Brisket.

Like all Freshly meals, Chef’s Special by Freshly entrees arrive already prepared and can be heated in the microwave for three minutes with no chopping, cooking or cleaning required. 

“We’re thrilled to welcome these celebrated chefs to the Freshly kitchen to recreate their restaurant-quality meals at scale and give our customers a taste of their cuisine no matter wher they are.” Wystrach says.

“For this series, we aimed to work with chefs who we were not only inspired from a culinary standpoint but also those who had unique stories to tell and are making a cultural impact in their communities,” he further explains. 

The Chef’s Special range by Freshly offers restaurant-style dinners at home from celebrity chefs.At-home consumption rises
“The majority of the US is eating at home right now rather than dining out, and chefs from all over are getting creative to meet consumers wher they are,” Chef Jet Tila comments. 

The launch of Chef’s Special by Freshly comes at the heels of Freshly recently being acquired by Nestlé USA, the launch of FreshlyFit and a year of tremendous growth for the company. 

The move came as the at-home eating market gained popularity amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In January, Wystrach told FoodIngredientsFirst that convenience had made its way back onto the priority list of ready meals, with people frequently searching for easy meal options while spending more time at home.