My Shef Review – Meal Delivery from Local Chefs
Our Shef review dives deep into this new meal delivery service that offers delicious food made by local chefs. Keep reading to see photos of my order and what my experience has been!
If you’re a busy professional or a busy mom, finding the time to prepare meals can be challenging. Between work, family, and everything else on your plate, who has time to cook?
Enter Shef: a meal delivery service that connects customers with local chefs in your area. With Shef, you can have your favorite home-cooked dishes delivered straight to your door. Options range from a diverse selection of ethnic cuisine to organic meals to quick bites – all available within a few clicks.
In this Shef review, I’ll share with you my personal experience ordering from the platform, share a few pictures of the food I ordered, and provide a few considerations so you can determine if Shef is right for you.
What is Shef?
Shef is a meal delivery service that delivers pre-portioned, home-cooked meals.
What makes Shef stand out from other meal delivery services like Doordash and similar is Shef allows home chefs to join their platform! This means you won’t find food sold by restaurants on Shef, but homemade meals made by people in your community.
Customers can browse through a range of cuisine options, from Mediterranean, Mexican, Asian, Southern, and Indian-inspired meals, and so much more.
They also have a ton of vegan and vegetarian options, including family-sized meals.
Shef is part of a growing movement to build a more inclusive food system for all. We are proud to support and champion advocacy efforts to expand home cooking laws across the country so that talented cooks everywhere can earn a meaningful income from their own kitchens. In the three years since we delivered our very first order, we have now expanded to serve more than 70 million people in 11 states and nearly 3 million dishes have made their way onto tables across the country. Each prepared with love and care by passionate neighbors and reminding us that there’s no taste like home.
Shef
How Does Shef Work?
- Go to shef.com and register for a free account.
- Select your preferred delivery date.
- Browse through the food options available for delivery that day and fill your cart with your selection.
- Check out and wait for delivery day!
- Shef will send you a text notification when your delivery driver is on the way. They will usually give you know a 3-hour delivery window, typically between 3-6pm.
- Heat your meals and enjoy!
By taking the hassle out of meal planning and shopping, Shef makes mealtimes more enjoyable, convenient, and personal.
The Variety of Meals Offered by Shef
When it comes to meal delivery services, one of my main concerns is whether or not there was enough selection. After all, I get bored with eating the same options week after week. I was glad to find that this isn’t an issue with Shef!
They have an expansive variety of meals, ranging from Mediterranean dishes like Greek lamb pita pockets and falafel salad bowls to Mexican dishes like pork carnitas tacos and turkey chili verde bowls—and so much more!
Plus, they offer vegetarian meals as well as gluten-free options. I found it easy to find something everyone in your household can eat.
Shefs are aunties and abuelas, immigrants and refugees, stay-at-home parents and restaurant dreamers. Together, they represent countries around the world, from Algeria to Korea, to India and Venezuela. And the best part? Shefs are your neighbors, passionate local cooks in your community who are doing what they love most — sharing their food and culture with you.
Shef
What I Bought Through Shef (+ Photos)
Here’s an example order for my Shef delivery last week.
On Friday, I placed my order through Shef, with delivery scheduled to arrive on the following Tuesday (my busiest day of the week). I ordered from 3 different Seattle “shefs” and chose:
- Chicken Biryani With Boondi Raita
- Chickpea Curry
- 2 pieces of Roti
- Matar Chawal
- Egyptian Dolma (Stuffed Vine Leaves)
- Superfood Ethiopian Injera (Flatbread)
- Ethiopian Misir Wat (Red Lentils)
Delivery came promptly at 4pm on Tuesday, and everything was packaged super well.
What I appreciate about the delivery is despite the fact I ordered from 3 different people, everything came in one insulated bag.
I even received these sweet handwritten notes from some of the chefs and a bonus cookie and 2 bottled waters!
We dug into everything that night for dinner, with enough leftovers to last us each 3 more meals.
Of all the dishes, I only found the Egyptian Dolma to be too salty. All the other dishes were truly wonderful. I especially loved the Ethiopian Misir Wat and Chicken Biryani the most. They were so incredibly delicious and better than similar foods I’ve had at actual restaurants! A definite 10/10.
The Quality of Ingredients
All the chefs on Shef pride themselves on using quality ingredients for all of their dishes—and it shows! While not every “shef” uses organic ingredients, it’s not hard to find ones that do.
As far as the quality of the dishes goes, I find them to be of comparable flavor quality to that of a restaurant selling similar foods.
That said, it’s worth noting that some of the foods will come cold to protect their freshness during delivery. This means you’ll need to heat up a few of the things you order, which may be a dealbreaker for some people.
But for us, a few minutes in the microwave is not a big deal. We usually take this time to set the table and by the time we’re done, the food is ready!
The Convenience Factor
One of the best parts about ordering from Shef is how convenient it is!
I love that I can pre-order all the food weeks ahead of time to arrive at my doorstep when it’s convenient for me!
And as I mentioned, I love that no matter how many shefs I order from, my deliveries will come in one bag on the scheduled date.
No more stressing over what to make for dinner on a busy day or having to head out late at night just so I can pick up groceries- all the hard work has been done!
Shef Review Verdict: Is Shef Worth It?
Overall, my experience with Shef has been a solid 9/10. I think Shef is an attractive option for busy people who enjoy eating different foods from various cuisines. I especially love that all the foods offered on Shef are home-cooked meals, which I think busy people often miss.
Of all the foods I’ve ordered from Shef, only one has been “meh.” Everything else has been so flavorful, filling, and delicious! Delivery has always been prompt, and I would absolutely keep ordering from them.
Did you enjoy reading our Shef review? Or have you tried Shef for yourself? Let me know what you think in the comments below – I’d love to hear!!
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