DALLAS — Shef, an online marketplace that enables talented local cooks to earn a meaningful income selling homemade food in their communities, announced today that it has expanded to Dallas, following launches in Houston and Austin last year. While Shef has launched in Dallas with exclusively Indian and Pakistani cuisine, a wider variety of global offerings will be made available to the region in the coming months.
“We’re thrilled to bring Shef to Dallas and offer customers access to unique and hard-to-find regional dishes from across India and Pakistan – all homemade by talented cooks in your community and delivered to your door,” said Shef co-founder Joey Grassia. “Dallas is home to so many thriving immigrant diasporas. It’s an honor to help members of Dallas’s Indian and Pakistani communities share their culture through food, and we look forward to offering more cuisines in the future.”
Dallas’s cohort of shefs represents more than 10 Indian regions/states, as well as Pakistan. Shef Priya grew up in the town of Visakhapatnam in south India. “I underestimated how much I would miss the food from home after moving to the United States,” said Shef Priya. “To alleviate my homesickness, I took on the challenge of recreating my grandmother’s classic dishes – tangy tomato rice, comforting pongal, and organic aloo chole curry chickpeas masala. I have loved sharing a taste of my home with family and friends and am excited to be able to offer it to the wider Dallas community.”
Shef Sree Lalitha, from South India, spent most of her childhood standing beside her mother as she cooked in the kitchen. Today she cherishes the unique spices from her homeland and enjoys experimenting with both new and traditional dishes. Meanwhile, Shef Nazra is known for recreating her family and friends’ favorite Punjabi dishes, but uses a special spice blend to take the flavors to a whole new level.
Shef has skyrocketed in the past year with over 1.6 million meals served across the U.S. and more than 30,000 applicants to sell food on the platform. 75% of cooks on Shef are women and 80% are people of color. Shef currently operates in 10 states and serves more than 60 million people across San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Boston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C, Maryland and Virginia and includes Padma Lakshmi, Tiffany Haddish, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and chef Aarón Sánchez among its investors.
Local regulations vary by region but, at a minimum, all cooks on Shef are required to pass an accredited food safety certification exam, undergo a food quality assessment, and be subject to regular food quality checks. In regions that have not yet implemented home cooking laws, cooks are required to prepare food out of commercial kitchens or other legally permissible facilities.
About Shef
Shef is an online marketplace for local, homemade food. Shef helps talented cooks who are food safety certified connect with customers in their community and earn a meaningful income selling their homemade dishes. With its wide selection of global cuisine, including unique and hard-to-find regional specialties from across South Asia, Latin America, Africa, and the Middle East, Shef delivers a taste of home for those missing it, and a world of flavor for those looking to try something new. The service is currently available in several markets across the United States, including San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Virginia, and Atlanta. To order food from a local cook in your area, or for more information on how to become a shef, visit www.shef.com.