Connecting culinary professionals and foodies in the world’s first prepared foods marketplace.
Pitch
BookOfCooks is a new Web startup connecting culinary professionals and foodies in the world’s first prepared foods marketplace. Users can browse the site easily and at no cost on BookofCooks to find local “cooks” who meet their needs, while chefs can showcase their cooking talents, meet like-minded professionals, and earn money as they are matched with potential clients. Whether users are in search of gluten-free, vegan, or organic cuisine, are eager to join the slow food movement, or are nostalgic for a taste of their hometowns, BookofCooks is a comprehensive directory to fulfill any culinary need.
Team
BookOfCooks was created by Julian Mellicovsky, a self-proclaimed food tourist who loves to experience assorted cuisines from his frequent travels around the world. In response to his own quests to sample regional flavors, Julian took his passion for food and developed a site to help connect people looking for particular types of food or experiences.
Technology
Incorporating the latest social networking technology, the Web site serves as an online community to help people locally find professional chefs, caterers, specialty foods and more within a particular region. The BookofCooks platform delivers resources and technology for consumers, foodies, and chefs allowing them to connect with like-minded individuals and potential customers both locally and online. The platform allows users to: • Find A Cook – Users can order prepared foods from cooks in their areas; search by location or food type to find specialty cooks in other areas; review and share their experiences with others while rating the chefs • Be a Cook – Culinary professionals can set up their own free online restaurant/bakery; chefs can upload menus, licenses and videos; cooks can showcase their cooking skills and earn money while building a customer base
Business Model
BookOfCooks is determined to keep its content and services free by using advertising, affiliate programs, an online store and market research to generate revenue.
Competition
BookOfCooks is the first of its kind to create an online marketplace for home-cooked and prepared foods in a virtual storefront.
Milestones
Since our launch in June, we plan to increase the amount of users, both consumers and culinary professionals, signed up on the site. Eventually, we would love for BookOfCooks to be the go-to resource for people looking for specialty foods, or just for someone to cook a delicious meal for them.
Conclusion
BookOfCooks is such a unique and innovative site that combines aspects of social media, the Yellow Pages, Craigslist and Yelp-like features into one resource to help consumers find cooks to meet their culinary needs locally or while traveling.
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There are so many awesome things to say about BookofCooks. The idea reminds me of a Timothy Ferris blog I read about his friend hiring cooks on Craigslist. This is timely with the economy and so many people looking to pick up extra money this site could really take off! The UI is great and I love that they use Google Maps API and FB connect. I hope they get more press and to start getting more people signed up. Sort of the chicken and the egg dilemma that can only be solved by time or outstanding marketing. I hope there business model works well enough to keep this going until it becomes a hit. They really need to figure out a way to get this into the hands of cooks who may or may not be web savvy. Great concept now they just need people on the site.
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