Grubhub surprised all three private kitchen pitch competition runner-ups with FREE private kitchens at The Hatchery for 6 months each.
WEBWIRE – Tuesday, December 5, 2023
After an evening that saw four Chicago-based food and beverage entrepreneurs present business plans on how they will grow their restaurant concept and share samples of their food at Grubhub x The Hatchery Chicagos private kitchen pitch competition, Seth Bradley and Ryan Van Voorhis of Nude Dude Food were named the grand prize winners. The competition took place at The Hatchery, a nonprofit incubator dedicated to fostering successful food and beverage businesses on the West Side of Chicago, during its annual fundraiser on Friday, Dec. 1.
Alongside Bradley and Van Voorhis, Anwar Jebran of Honeydoe Authentic Mediterranean, Earl Moore of Uncle Earls BBQ, and Valerie Vedral of The Vulgar Vegan also pitched their business concepts at the competition. Three of our four restaurants currently work out of The Hatcherys shared kitchen. All finalists brought unique dishes to the table the catch was samples had to be presented in delivery-friendly packaging to ensure it would be just as tasty at a Grubhub diners house as it would at the restaurant.
To evaluate our finalists, our expert judging panel was made up of Grubhubs CEO Howard Migdal, two local chefs and business owners Taylor Mason of Taylors Tacos and Krissy Ashley of Cleos Southern Cuisine, and Chicago-based food influencer Jeremy Joyce of Black People Eats. Our judges took many factors into consideration when selecting our grand prize winner everything from how they will leverage delivery as a solution and an opportunity to grow their business to the taste and display of their food.
The highlight of the first place prize is one year free access to the Grubhub private kitchen at The Hatchery Chicago. While all finalists were meant to go home with a prize of some kind, Migdal shared a surprise when announcing the winners. Because the remaining three finalists presentations and food were equally impressive, they all received what was initially meant to be the second place prize rent-free access to a private Grubhub Kitchen at The Hatchery for six months.
This event celebrated the start of Grubhubs partnership with The Hatchery Chicago, and our shared mission to help local restaurants build and grow successful businesses means we have a lot of exciting work ahead of us too, said Dave Tovar, Senior Vice President of Communications & Government Relations at Grubhub. We know how challenging it can be to get started in the restaurant and hospitality business, and are excited to have the opportunity to support our hometown entrepreneurs by providing all four finalists free private kitchen space at The Hatchery.
All four of the pitch competition finalists will move into their private kitchens at The Hatchery in early 2024. In addition to the private kitchen space, the finalists will receive wraparound support from The Hatchery and Grubhub, including access to schedule a professional food photoshoot, business review check-ins with the Grubhub team, and more.
While the pitch competition was a big success, Grubhubs partnership with The Hatchery is just getting started. In addition to providing all finalists rent-free kitchen space, Grubhub is also developing new educational materials to guide entrepreneurs interested in using third-party delivery to grow their businesses, providing philanthropic support through the Grubhub Community Fund to The Hatcherys Sprouts Incubation program, and working with The Hatchery to improve the onsite delivery pathways so more entrepreneurs operating out of the facility can leverage Grubhub to expand their business.
We are beyond excited to work closely with Grubhub to create more streamlined pathways to success for startup food and beverage entrepreneurs in Chicago, said Natalie Shmulik, Chief Strategy & Incubation Officer, ICNC/The Hatchery Chicago. The four private kitchens Grubhub awarded our finalists will be instrumental in helping local brands build viable and sustainable businesses. Congratulations to all of the entrepreneurs!
As we move into 2024, Grubhub looks forward to seeing this exciting partnership with The Hatchery grow while also finding new ways to support independent restaurant owners and help create new opportunities within the hospitality industry in our hometown.
May 25, 2022 | International
FEHD largely completes vetting of applications for fifth and sixth round of Anti-epidemic Fund with subsidies disbursed to catering sector, commercial bathhouse and places of public entertainment sectors
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To provide further relief to the sectors directly affected by the tightened social distancing measures, the Government launched the Catering Business Subsidy Scheme, the Food Courts Subsidy Scheme, the Commercial Bathhouse Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme and the Places of Public Entertainment Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme under the fifth and sixth round of the Anti-epidemic Fund (AEF), and the Dishware Washing Trade Subsidy Scheme under the sixth round of AEF. A spokesman for the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) said today (May 24) that the FEHD has received about 20 920 applications and about 20 150 applications for the relevant subsidy schemes under AEF 5.0 and AEF 6.0 respectively, and completed vetting of a total of about 41 010 applications, with a total of around $4.976 billion in subsidies disbursed so far. The amount disbursed accounts for 99.9 per cent of the total amount of subsidies.
The spokesman said, “The remaining cases that have yet to be completed are mainly related to re-issue of licences or pending supplementary information or documentary proof to be provided by the applicants. These applicants should follow up the relevant matters or submit the required documents as soon as possible so as to complete all the procedures.”
The Catering Business Subsidy Scheme under AEF 6.0 provides a one-off subsidy ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 to eligible licence holders of general restaurants, light refreshment restaurants, marine restaurants and factory canteens in operation according to the floor areas of the premises as specified on their licences, to provide relief for catering premises providing dine-in services. For each eligible catering outlet which is also running a karaoke establishment, nightclub and bar or pub and has closed the whole of its licensed premises as directed under the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirement and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F), it is eligible to apply for an additional one-off subsidy of $50,000 according to the respective business.
The Government also provides financial support to licensees of eligible food factory licences in food courts inside shopping malls. Each licensee of an eligible licensed food factory in operation is eligible for a one-off subsidy ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 according to the licensed area of its premises.
Separately, the Commercial Bathhouse Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme provides a one-off subsidy of $100,000 to each eligible licence holder of a commercial bathhouse. The Places of Public Entertainment Licence Holder Subsidy Scheme provides a one-off subsidy of $100,000 for each eligible holder of a places of public entertainment licence (excluding cinema operators eligible under the Cinemas Subsidy Scheme) and $20,000 for each eligible holder of a temporary places of public entertainment licence. Under the Dishware Washing Trade Subsidy Scheme, each eligible dishware washing operator will be provided with a one-off subsidy of $80,000 or $150,000 according to its average monthly water consumption.
Jul 30, 2021 | International
SFH appeals to catering, market, hawker and cold store staff to get vaccinated (with photos/video)
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The Secretary for Food and Health, Professor Sophia Chan, attended a health talk on COVID-19 vaccines organised by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) at Lai Chi Kok Government Offices today (July 30) to encourage catering, market, hawker and cold store staff to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
The FEHD invited Dr David Lung, a specialist in clinical microbiology and infection, to serve as the guest speaker. Around 170 members of the trade participated. During the talk, Dr Lung explained to the participants the principles of the vaccines, their protection and need-to-know facts, etc. He also addressed enquiries on vaccination at the question-and-answer session.
In delivering her remarks, Professor Chan said, “The global pandemic situation remains severe. In face of challenges posed by mutant strains, we count on our citizens to fulfil their civic responsibility and receive vaccines extensively in order to strengthen the immunity barrier in Hong Kong. I strongly appeal to individuals from various trades and organisations to get vaccinated in support of the “Early Vaccination for All” campaign proactively, with a view to protecting themselves and their families.
“Practitioners of catering businesses, markets and cold stores are important stakeholders. In light of their job nature or the possibility of coming into frequent contact with the public, vaccination is of utmost importance to protecting their as well as the public’s health and ensuring the normal operation of the relevant businesses,” she added.
Professor Chan also reminded participants to continue to comply with the relevant regulations on prevention and control of disease in a concerted and persistent manner, as well as to maintain personal and environmental hygiene continuously with a view to ensuring cleanliness of the premises and food safety.
The FEHD reserved quotas at Lai Chi Kok Park Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre and Kwun Chung Sports Centre Community Vaccination Centre for participants to receive vaccines immediately after the talk. Staff members were also present to assist participants to book a vaccination session for the second dose. For those who were unable to get vaccinated today, FEHD staff also helped them to book a session at vaccination centres to receive vaccines later.
