Plated Delivers a New At-home Dinner Experience to Northern California

NEW YORK, Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Plated, a gourmet meal kit delivery service, is now serving northern California. From Monterey to Sonoma, the wine country is becoming the dine country with chef-designed recipes and fresh ingredients delivered directly to local doorsteps. Beginning this month, consumers can visit www.Plated.com to view and order from the weekly menu of five balanced meal options. Based on the selected menu items, Plated will deliver all the perfectly portioned fresh ingredients needed to make each meal.

"We know people are interested in creating a delicious home-cooked meal but they either don't have the time or would rather avoid the trouble of coming up with new dinner ideas and having to go to the grocery store every week," said Nick Taranto, chief executive officer of Plated. "By giving consumers everything they need to create a delicious meal, Plated is bringing the joy back to cooking and making dinnertime easy and fun." Founded in late 2012 by Taranto and co-founder Josh Hix, Plated is now available in the Northeast, Midwest and northern California.

In a region known for fine dining, Plated brings the gourmet meal experience home with meals with chef-designed recipes and restaurant-quality ingredients. Past chefs have included Bay Area restaurateur Michael Mina, Jason Roberts and Gabe Thompson, and meals have ranged from Cornmeal Crusted Cod with Citrus Romaine and Sweet Potatoes to Italian Pork Sausages with Balsamic-Roasted Grapes and Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

Plated encourages camaraderie in the kitchen by providing perfectly portioned ingredients, step-by-step instructions and easy-to-follow photos with each meal order. Menus are designed to include a range of cooking techniques and often incorporate exotic ingredients like ground sumac or za'atar spice. The range of flavors, styles and ingredients aim to educate and inspire the at-home chefs in a fun, convenient way. Meals can be prepared in thirty minutes or less by both skilled and novice home cooks.

Ingredients with Integrity
Plated utilizes fresh, seasonal vegetables and the finest cuts of meat in their meals – much like what consumers would find at the local farmer's market or butcher shop.  The company strives to provide responsibly sourced ingredients to northern California residents by working directly with local vendors such as GreenLeaf—a sustainable distributor of fresh produce, voted "one of the best places to work in the Bay Area," and Sea2Table, which partners with local fishermen from small-scale, wild fisheries to provide delicious seafood direct from the source. Additionally, all meals are shipped from a distribution site based in Oakland, CA.

Each meal contains a generous helping of fruits and vegetables and is specially curated to be low in saturated fat; a typical entree falls between 600-800 calories. Estimated calorie counts are also listed on the weekly menus. In addition, Plated offers weekly gluten-free and pescetarian options to help meet the varying needs of modern lifestyles.

Cooking Up Innovation
Since its launch less than a year ago, Plated has generated a loyal following from consumers and investors alike. Support for the startup has come from many outlets, including silicon valley- with Facebook co-founder Andrew McCollom investing. By delivering fresh ingredients paired with better-for-you recipes, Plated fulfills a growing demand for high-quality food options that are convenient and more affordable than takeout. The company also highlights the growing trend of the at-home chef by offering unique recipes utilizing a variety of specialty ingredients. Since launching, Plated has grown 50% month-over-month. The company plans to expand beyond current markets to provide delivery services across the country beginning this fall.

Customers can place a la carte orders and choose the recipes they'd like or signup for a flexible subscription with an automatic delivery option. Prices range from $10 to $15 per plate. To sign up or receive updates on weekly menu offerings visit www.plated.com.

About Plated
Plated is a gourmet dinner kit delivery service that will transform the way people think about dinner. Plated provides chef-designed recipes and the accompanying pre-portioned, fresh ingredients to make gourmet dinners at-home in less than 30 minutes. Plated eliminates the hassle of recipe hunting and grocery shopping, allowing people to focus on the fun of cooking. With single order and flexible subscription options, customers can choose the exact meals they want to receive. Weekly menus feature a range of ingredients, flavors and techniques, enabling at-home cooks to discover quick, healthy and delectable recipes. To sign-up or learn more about Plated visit www.plated.com. People can also "like" Plated on Facebook.com/Plated, and share their Plated creations using #PlatedPics and following @Plated on Twitter or Instagram.

Media Contact:
Nora Sarrawi, Zapwater Communications
nora@zapwater.com │ 312.943.0333

SOURCE Plated