Chinese startup lets you hire a nearby chef to cook a meal in your home

China has a wide range of food delivery options, both online and offline. Popular restaurants typically have either a couple delivery drivers on hand or go through a third-party delivery service like Ele.me, which just closed a US$350 million investment.

But for those who prefer home-cooked meals without actually having to cook, a young startup has emerged to fill that demand. Hao Chushi, which translates to "Good Cook", lets users hire nearby chefs and cooks to come to their home and make a meal right in the customer’s own kitchen. The startup announced it has raised RMB 5 million (US$800,000) in angel funds and will soon close a US$5 million series A round. Founder Xu Yan disclosed the funding to iYiou, but did not mention who the investors are.

After registering on the app, users can hire nearby chefs and cooks on Hao Chushi in a similar on-demand manner as they would hire a car driver on Uber. The model is similar to Kitchit and Kitchensurfing in the US. The app has four pricing tiers depending on the number of people he or she will be serving: RMB 79 for a romantic dinner for two; RMB 99 for a family supper of four; or RMB 169 for a small house party of eight (that’s about US$13, $16, and $27). Those prices don’t include ingredients or cooking utensils, so once a booking is made, the chef will call the customer to confirm he will have everything he needs as well as any food allergies or other taboos. If anything is missing, the chef will pick it up on the way.

Customers can filter by the type of Chinese cuisine they prefer – Sichuan, Hunan, Shandong, etc – and choose specific dishes. The app currently operates in three cities: Shanghai, Beijing, and Hangzhou. Like UberBlack drivers, cooks arrive appropriately outfitted with aprons, shoes, and chef’s hat. Payment is made through the app.

Cooks and chefs on the app get the freedom of choosing their own work schedule and trying out different types of cuisines, rather than making the same dishes every day in a restaurant. To maintain service quality, customers can rate and review the chefs’ performance after dinner.

In case you were wondering: no, the cook does not wash your dishes for you.

Hao Chushi launched in September 2014, and Xu says the number of orders soared to its highest point on New Year’s Eve. He didn’t give any exact user or sales metrics, but did say almost all of the money goes directly to the cooks. More value-added features will be added later to help monetize the app. The upcoming funding round will go towards expanding to more cities and improving service quality.

See: Food delivery startup from China ingests $30M investment led by Tencent

(Source: iYiou)