New Connecticut food delivery service offers healthy meals from local chefs
4 min read
Keto cheesecake from Manchester. Cold-pressed juices from Mystic. Vegan pasta from New Haven. Kombucha from Danbury. All delivered to your home in one order.
That’s the concept behind My Local Chefs, a new culinary startup by Vanessa Sena, which launched July 5. Sena’s platform brings together Connecticut chefs, bakers and producers who create fresh and healthy foods, and delivers products to customers around the state on a twice-weekly basis.
“I wanted to do something that was an Amazon-type feel, but for people who wanted healthy food,” she said. “I started inviting myself to all these Facebook groups, and I was seeing what people were asking for. People are out here looking for healthy food, and it’s not [always] easily attainable. Or you’ve got to drive all the way across the state to get it.”
Sena envisioned a “one stop shop” concept for healthy options, accommodating customers with specific dietary needs. The 18 chef/producer partners she works with offer vegan food, gluten-free products, keto items, juice cleanses and meal-prep services for assorted lifestyles.
Customers must place orders by 11:59 p.m. on Monday for Thursday delivery, and by 11:59 p.m. Thursday for Monday dropoff. Chefs bring their products to a central hub, and drivers deliver orders from there. The service is available all over Connecticut.
Current chefs include Al Williams of Sweet n’ Savory in Windsor, who crafts gluten-free cupcakes with vegetables and superfoods; Chris Haylett of Fire & Spice in Hartford, who specializes in vegan Jamaican food; and Lori Weisenbach Cornett, whose Make It GF business, based in Canton, is certified gluten-free for those with celiac allergies. Mallory O’Conner of Macaroni with Mal in New Haven makes vegan rustic pastas, like ravioli with seasonal fillings, and Sharyce Graham of Manchester creates decadent keto-friendly cheesecakes.
Liz and Ian Ceppos of Cross Culture Kombucha in Danbury offer the gut-friendly fermented beverage, and Liz Alina of Karma Kitchen in Mystic makes cold-pressed juices and juice cleanses. Salomey Adomako of Ezra Wellness in Simsbury, an RN and certified nutrition counselor, sells a keto-compliant almond “bread” and Kim Prada of Tribe Power Bites in Manchester creates healthy energy snacks. Kelly and Derrick Caisse of KDCrop Farms in Chaplin are known for specialty relishes, jams and pickles, and Vibrant Farm of Bantam provides fresh produce.
Jordanian chef Amir Orjani, will join the slate in August, offering halal meals, and Dorjan Puka of Doro Restaurant Group and Doro Marketplace will offer artisan multi-grain breads, fresh salads, rotisserie chicken, sides, dips and signature hummus from his West Hartford Mediterranean restaurant, Zohara. Yawovi Simpini of Art Food Love will bring Afro-fusion cuisine to the lineup in August as well.
Meal-prep services by James Bannon of Box Bistro and Chevon Schand of Preppers can accommodate certain lifestyle needs, including paleo, dairy-free and low carb. Chef Chrissy Tracey will join the chef lineup in October, with plant-based food.
Sena said a kosher chef will also come on board. She’s working with a vendor who prepares organic baby and toddler food. There will even be meals for furry friends, with the addition of Paul and Lynn Gallant of Paul’s Custom Pet Food later this fall.
Though the current participants are located throughout the state, in Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, New Haven and Tolland counties, Sena said she’s looking to get a larger geographical representation, with more chefs and producers in Middlesex County and potentially more from the New London area. She has other cuisines in mind that she’d like to see represented: Filipino, Thai and Indian, as well as fermented foods like kimchi.
The platform helps the smaller businesses with marketing and networking, Sena said, where they may not have capital or the skill set for advertising campaigns. The website will soon showcase individual profiles of each producer
“They make a really good product, but getting it out to the consumer, especially outside of their county, is really tough,” she said.
The pandemic, and its effects on the food and beverage industry, drove Sena’s mission as she worked to launch My Local Chefs, she said.
“Seeing how vulnerable the restaurant industry is, it was another catalyst to basically get me thinking that there’s got to be way for us to be self-sustainable,” she said. “Not to be as vulnerable, at least. If there’s a way for these chefs and restaurateurs or small food businesses to diversify and to still be able to reach families and homes, that’s ideal. We don’t ever want to be in the position that we were in last year.”
Learn more about My Local Chefs at mylocalchefs.com.
