Few things are quite as stressful as hosting the holidays at your place—maybe delivering a speech right after four cups of coffee and a bran muffin. But hosting the holidays comes in at a close second. There’s the coordination with family and friends, the part where you have to actually make the house presentable, figuring out what to do with the kids/dogs/cats, and—of course—the food.
This year, personal gourmet dining startup Kitchit wants to take some of the stress out of your holiday season by taking care of the food situation for you. Kitchit, the company that created the concept of “bespoke dining,” announced Tuesday that it is debuting a new set of “Home for the Holidays” curated menus.
Essentially, it’s like getting your holiday dinner catered—but by world-class, top-of-the-line gourmet chefs. The site allows members to quickly and easily order up a classic Thanksgiving meal for 20, or a gourmet Chanukah meal for four. Kitchit takes care of everything from shopping for the ingredients to the cleanup afterward (the part I resent the most).
And, if you’re trying to out-do your uppity sister-in-law who made a lovely Tur-Duck-Hen for your in-laws last year and a tofurkey for your vegan nephew, getting your meal from Kitchit gives you bragging rights to having your food made by world-renowned chefs from top restaurants, such as The French Laundry, Gary Danko, Chez Panisse, Babbo, and Per Se. How satisfying would that be?
Each holiday package comes with a full menu description, an overview of the service style (individual plating or family-style), pricing info, and a full chef bio.
Because it is a fine dining experience brought to your home, the service isn’t cheap. It starts at $50 a head and goes up from there. And like other luxury services, such as Gilt Groupe, membership to the site is by invitation only.
The company declined to tell me how many members it currently has, or how many events it has held, but CEO Brendan Marshall says Kitchit is gearing up for a nationwide expansion in 2012. Currently, the service is only available in the Bay Area.
