Not too many days ago, Daman Kohli and Sanny Chaudhary, founders, CookGourmet.co, an online portal that delivers step-by-step recipes and pre-portioned ingredients, for you to prepare gourmet dishes at home, watched the movie Chef. It was an inspiring afternoon, after which the two of them laid back on their comfortable black lazy boy couches to think. There was silence for a while, which was then broken, not by words but a bout of sudden laughter. They were both thinking the same thing. “You cannot contain food within the fortified walls of upscale restaurants. Everyone should have access to world cuisine,” we both echoed, “and here we are, turning that desire into reality, every single day.”
The menu at www.cookgourmet.co changes every week. “Gourmet ingredients like soba noodles, tamari, mirin, avacado, Sugar Snap Peas, miso paste and others, are difficult to find, our start-up takes care of the sourcing, making sure you get only the best. All you have to do is, decide what you want to make, and place an order,” says Chaudhary, who, along with his partner, has made sure to not include recipes that are found in your neighbourhood’s casual or fine dining restaurant. “The process of ordering also entails a customer learning more about new ingredients, some which they may have not heard of or seen before,” says Chaudhary.
Besides a good business sense, the thing that really helped the men to start a new business was their inherent interest in food. While Kohli has always been curious about exploring new cuisines, alongwith being an avid follower of cookery shows, Chaudhary has kept his yearning alive to constantly experiment with new dishes in his kitchen. “We also order from our website regularly. It helps us know how precise our instructions are,” says Kohli.
Chaudhary recently surprised his girlfriend by cooking her a pesto pasta dish with the help of Cook Gourmet box that was delivered to him. “I started cooking when she boarded the cab from the airport, and by the time she reached home, the food was ready,” he says. Besides that, you can choose from Pan-seared and Pan-baked Pesto Chicken with Tomato Mozzarella, Broccoli Naped in French Mornay Suace with Garlic Bread, Vietnamese Bun Cha with Seared Tofu, Mushroom Stroganoff with Herbed Rice, Basque Chicken in Red Wine with Olives, served with Paprika and Rosemary Potatoes, Marrakesh Vegetable Curry with Baguette, Tofu, Broccoli and Red Bell Peppers in Peanut Sauce, Spicy Red Chile Enchiladas in addition to a lot more.
So, go on, and order what you fancy the most.