Ep. 124 - The Meal Kit Innovation Process with Claudia Sidoti, Head of Recipe Development at Hello Fresh

Today we have an exciting episode with Claudia Sidoti, who not only owned her restaurant at 19, but also wrote recipes for the Food Network, and now is the head honcho at Hello Fresh’s North America’s division. As many know, meal kits have gotten a ton of buzz too, but I always wanted to know how the R+D process worked. I asked Claudia how her team develops recipes and wow, I was super surprised how it works. With over 100 dishes ideated a week, while accounting for supply chain, portion size, and ease of use, Claudia’s description of the process was really informative. So get ready for a really cool episode on how to be a culinary super star. Whether you’re in the restaurant industry, magazine writing, or meal kit business. Wanted to give a shoutout to HelloFresh, I’m not sponsored by them, but they gave me some meal kits for free. With moving, I only used one, and they’re very good for the busy professional. If you have no time to go to the grocery store or plan dinner, these are worth it. For me, I can live off beans and rice and free steaks I find, so meal kits aren’t for me, but they can be for you.   About Claudia Claudia’s deep connection with food began in her grandmother’s kitchen and eventually landed her in the kitchens of Food Network where she was the Test Kitchen Director. For more than 8 years she directed the culinary content for Food Network Magazine, which reached over 13.5 million readers each month, and is the 2nd largest magazine in the U.S. From its inception, Claudia launched the magazine and contributed more than 3000 recipes. She also directed a host of other projects including brand extensions, such as Food Network Café’s and large-scale events and festivals. Her start as a young New York City chef and restaurateur at age 19 landed her recognition in Restaurant Institutions and Gourmet Magazine. After eight successful years in the kitchen at Onini restaurant, Claudia decided to shift gears and began food styling for television commercials, editorial and print advertising campaigns. Several years later, she launched Beauty & the Feast, a New York City catering company, which was noted in New York Magazine’s, Best Bests. Over time, the company added several divisions including a wholesale food department that supplied prepared foods to coffee bars and cafes including, Barnes & Noble. In addition, she launched Urban Market an international specialty food shop that featured authentic dishes, inspired by Claudia’s multi-cultural family, which also landed placement in the New York Times food section. As a marketing and catering director, she helped companies such as Eatzi’s, Cosi and Panera Bread, to grow their businesses. During this time, she also developed an interest in food and publishing. She began working as a freelance food writer for the New York Post and other publications in 2002. Currently, with over thirty years of combined experience, Claudia’s unique perspective gives her the ability to lead HelloFresh’s kitchen as the Head Chef and Head of Recipe Development.   Sponsor - BAKERpedia This episode is brought to you by BAKERpedia – your one-stop, resource that answers all your questions on industry trends, ingredient information, food safety and more. It’s shared knowledge, freely available, always. BAKERpedia.com – we do all the thinking so you can focus on your business. Sponsor – FoodGrads If you are even just a little bit interested in a career in food & beverage, you should join FoodGrads.  It’s an interactive platform where you can hear about different careers, hear from your peers, have a voice and share your story as well as ask specific questions and get feedback from industry experts across the sector. 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Call my friends at Icon and let them ReformulateU. 310-455-9876. Shownotes What do you tell people in a sentence or less?: I lead the culinary team of developers at Hello Fresh 5 people on the team Permalancer Freelancer What do you look for in freelancers?: expertise in the industry, temperament, people who work fast-pace Because of the changes in jobs, freelancers are becoming more available and I can hire them for their creativity Not all chefs are recipe developers, not all recipe developers in chefs How to make a Hello Fresh recipeFirst comes down from the top: choose the categories on what needs to be filled We analyze the constraints and the assignments (you must use pork tenderloin, or you must feed a family of 4) We then see what’s actually doable, we have time constraints, kitchen equipment constraints, to vet out the recipe Give the recipes to the team and split into categories. Not only that, but we have to itemize the portions. Each chef has a unique style which must be translated to the consumer. Usually this a week-long process. We use external focus groups to find out what they want How many recipes do you do a month?: Around 100 a month. Not all of them are through the process What’s one of the more popular dishes?: American comfort food dishes like pork chops, burgers, meatloaf Difficulty: We really take pride on how to make the dishes hassle free How do you cook a potato wedge efficiently: 425 in an oven, not too much oil, salt and pepper, roast for 20 minutes. Claudia’s website Steps it took to get to where you are today?: They weren’t not really steps, but dancing I opened up a restaurant at 19 The restaurant industry will teach you how to rush and think fast Grew up in Chelsea (NY?) 8th Ave was becoming restaurant row. I was fortunate enough to meet a chef who was just opening a restaurant. And I forced myself to become a chef. I acquired skills by learning from others and working really hard. How long did you work in the restaurant industry? I worked for 8.5 years at that restaurant What advice would you give someone who wants to open a restaurant: Understand your idea and understand your cost. “Are we actually making money on this dish?”. Most chefs don’t understand recipe development After the restaurant gig, I did a lot of freelance from writing to recipe development. I met a freelancer at the Food Network and we swapped jobs. I worked for the Food Network for 8.5 years and started with their first food network magazine What’s the best way to meet freelancers?: There are networking specific events and alliances such as culinary alliances, women in restaurant tourism, media tourism has a lot of events as well. Staying in it and word of mouth is best. Tips for recipe development: It’s extremely fast pace. 120 recipes per issue. Extremely rigourous testing. Pay attention to food trends and take inspiration anywhere We want people to innovate and build confidence and inspire them to take more risks My Food Job Rocks: The people. Not only my team, but the suppliers we work with and the customers we work with What type of food trends and technologies are exciting you right now?: Food waste and trying to reduce waste in the kitchen What are some initiatives Hello Fresh is doing for waste?: There isn’t really a waste component because everything is portioned very well. The beauty of meal kits One thing in the food industry you’d like to know more about?: Sourcing, and the impact of where our food is coming from and who is it being fed to Who inspired you to get into food?: My grandmother What’s your favorite kitchen item?: Wooden spoon and zesters. I like very simple food tools. At hello fresh, all you need is a cutting board, a knife a pot, a pan, and a baking sheet What’s your favorite food: Pizza. So much I built a pizza oven. Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to go into the food industry?: Wear a bunch of different hats and find out what fits the best. There’s a lot of opportunity to failure. How can we find you?:  Twitter: https://twitter.com/csidotifood Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/csidotifood/