After a long day, not all of us are mentally or physically prepared to face our kitchen, and the thought of the too-oily pad Thai you had last Friday and the Thursday before that is just as uninspiring. Now, there’s Food by Us: a new website and app which seeks to protect you from this experience.
After roaring success in Sydney, the Food by Us team have landed in Melbourne. This is an electronic 'food sharing' platform; the first of its kind. It goes like this: anyone can sign up to be an at-home chef, sell their creations online then have them delivered to buyers by Food by Us couriers. The aim is to give “people the chance to share their amazing food” as well as giving buyers an “authentic homemade experience,” says Food by Us co-founder Ben Lipschitz. It’s all about fostering a “food-making community”. Don’t be fooled, this isn’t UberEats and it’s not a restaurant service. But it's also not trying to be.
Whether it’s a vegetable Biryani, vegan lasagne or Nutella-fudge cupcake that you’re after, Food by Us has you covered. Lipschitz has found that Lebanese, Persian, Indian, Chinese and Mongolian are among the most popular cuisines on offer, and says that buyers find dishes "authentic and home-cooked", unlike commercial offerings that he believes are sometimes "watered down" to cater to the masses. Food by Us isn’t as instant as Deliveroo. Lipschitz suggests you pre-empt your cravings by ordering at least one day in advance. The makers do not have the same resources available to them as restaurants and cafés; like you, they have jobs outside of the kitchen which they need to plan their orders around.
Aspiring cooks must undergo a regimented two-tier approval process by both Food by Us and their local council. An online application must be lodged and the food is then quality tested by a panel of accredited persons. The local council is then responsible for ensuring hygiene and safety guidelines are complied with. “Once on the platform, there is mandatory reviews from all buyers,” says Lipschitz. This is further heightened if the buyer chooses to ‘pick up’ their food direct from the maker, rather than utilising the courier service. If they haven't delivered what was promised, makers may have to face the wrath of a disappointed curry (or worse, wedding cake) buyer on their front doorstep.
In a way, Food by Us is attempting to revive the “communal” nature of food sharing that has been lost in our ever-growing desire for efficiency. It’s a return to our humble roots, with people cooking for people – the cyber version of your local farmer’s market or school fair bake-sale. With this in mind, don’t you think it would be nice to have your dinner cooked by your neighbour one night week rather than eating a mass-produced, defrosted lasagne?