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For the culinarily curious of NYC

post #1 of 4
5/11/10 at 8:43pm
Thread Starter 
I haven't spent as much time browsing the forums outside of the Men's Clothing and B&S folders, but I get a sense that there is a healthy group of foodies (and New Yorkers) here. I've set up a service that might be of interest to some of you, depending on your level of knowledge and curiosity about food. It's a simple and, I think, novel idea: dine out with a chef in NYC. Cheffle.com It's a casual, informal way of learning more about the food you enjoy. Not quite a private cooking lesson, but also nothing to clean up at the end! I'm still looking for more chefs, but the ones on board are enthusiastic about the idea. Happy to hear any feedback! Best, Colin
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post #2 of 4
5/12/10 at 12:12am
It's a pretty neat idea, but it's pretty expensive - You are paying for an escort (who will, presumably not give you a bj) and buying their dinner? A few ideas - try to figure out how to hit a corporate demographic - any way it can be used to get priority reservation in some restaurants? ALSO - do you have to do it on weird nights? How come the chef isn't busy working? Do you get to pick the chef?
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post #3 of 4
5/12/10 at 6:32pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoRon View Post
It's a pretty neat idea, but it's pretty expensive - You are paying for an escort (who will, presumably not give you a bj) and buying their dinner? A few ideas - try to figure out how to hit a corporate demographic - any way it can be used to get priority reservation in some restaurants? ALSO - do you have to do it on weird nights? How come the chef isn't busy working? Do you get to pick the chef?
Thanks for the feedback! As far as the price, it becomes a much better deal if you have a group willing to chip in. That also fits well with your comment about targeting a corporate demographic, which is something I'd like to do. I am a huge proponent of valuing the time and knowledge of others. I was an architect, so the original idea was to find something that I could do that fit the Cheffle model. Architecture, though, isn't a very consumer-friendly product. Food is! I would like the site to integrate with OpenTable at some point, somehow. I'm not sure how priority reservations would work, but that's not a bad idea. No, you don't have to do it on weird nights. I think the chefs have been very self-selecting so far, with half being students and half being non-traditionally employed (I'm very sympathetic to both groups). Availability is a concern, but you can certainly pick a chef if you see one that you like. Regarding your escort comment, well, I don't think that will be an issue! People have asked if I'm going to add photos of the chefs, and I'll probably continue to play it safe by not doing so. Look at it this way: you are paying for someone who knows much more than you do about something that interests you. That's always valuable. Best, Colin
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post #4 of 4
5/12/10 at 6:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by seeclark View Post
Thanks for the feedback! As far as the price, it becomes a much better deal if you have a group willing to chip in. That also fits well with your comment about targeting a corporate demographic, which is something I'd like to do. I am a huge proponent of valuing the time and knowledge of others. I was an architect, so the original idea was to find something that I could do that fit the Cheffle model. Architecture, though, isn't a very consumer-friendly product. Food is! I would like the site to integrate with OpenTable at some point, somehow. I'm not sure how priority reservations would work, but that's not a bad idea. No, you don't have to do it on weird nights. I think the chefs have been very self-selecting so far, with half being students and half being non-traditionally employed (I'm very sympathetic to both groups). Availability is a concern, but you can certainly pick a chef if you see one that you like. Regarding your escort comment, well, I don't think that will be an issue! People have asked if I'm going to add photos of the chefs, and I'll probably continue to play it safe by not doing so. Look at it this way: you are paying for someone who knows much more than you do about something that interests you. That's always valuable. Best, Colin
so to sum up my strategy - Start w/ corporate clientele (get to know some PR folks/ event planners that do these corporate get-togethers) .. that will diffuse the price a little Work w/ partners to get priority seating (seems like you have a good opportunity here with emerging ethnic places, especially since many of the chefs seem to be ethnic focused). This becomes a 2-way street - you can get a kickback for bringing in business I would assume the ultimate goal, if you become successful, would be to get into some of the premiere NYC Chef's tables and arrange for the celebrity chefs to be there
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