The new Black Bean and Banana flavor is declared jar scrapping and finger licking good during a recent product test.

Munchery’s Organic Baby Food, announced just two-weeks ago, have been receiving a lot of positive responses. Bay Area babies are enjoying a taste bud sensation, and their parents could not be more pleased. Having a freshly made product that is crafted using only pure organic ingredients is a tremendous benefit to parents who want to feed their babies freshly made food from scratch but need a break from the peelers, steamers, blenders, etc…. and the associated mess involved with making baby food from scratch. Delivered daily in BPA-Free WECK jars that can be returned for credit and recycled, Organic Baby Food is a great addition to the Munchery menu.

As promised, the flavors will change with the season. In fact, Chef Linda Edson has just added some new flavors available that celebrate summer produce while adding the boost of strong proteins and heart healthy grains. These new flavors are part of the 3-pack combinations that are currently available to be ordered today. They include: Loch Duart Salmon, Quinoa and Blue Lake Beans, Banana and Black Beans, Butternut Squash and D’anjou Pear , and Ground Turkey, Farro and English Peas. As well, emerging household favorites Yellow Peach and Basil and Braised Carrots and Fennel are still available.

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We are excited to announce the launch of Munchery Organic Baby Food, an extension of our mission to reinvent the personal chef. As parents ourselves, we know all about the adventures of feeding our young ones. Between three of us on the Munchery team, there are 5 children between the ages of 1 and 7. We’ve all dodged incoming spoonfuls of oatmeal, coaxed our little ones to “take one more bite,” and have cleaned countless bottles, Sippy cups, and bowls. Clearly, we know the challenges of feeding babies, and that is just the feeding part – preparing nutrient-rich baby food from scratch, using whole ingredients, is a chore all in itself.

To make all of this happen, Chef Linda Edson has joined our Chef team to help us develop the young palates of tomorrow with her handcrafted baby food. Chef Edson comes to Munchery with a very interesting background and significant experience cooking in notable institutions, including San Francisco’s Restaurant Gary Danko and Axis Café, where she is the Executive Chef. On top of having stellar skills in the kitchen, Linda is also a Mom who shares our desire to feed children food that is based on the purity of the ingredients. No additives, no preservatives.

Munchery Organic Baby Food is prepared in small batches with care. The unique flavors will change with the seasons, but the food will always be packed with nutrients galore, sugar/salt free, and will come to our customers freshly made. This is not only a wonderful option for our customers with children, but also a terrific gift that can be given to your parent friends and family members via Munchery Gift Certificates

All of the meals come in reusable glass jars to ensure the purity and freshness of the ingredients. A $1 deposit is included in the price of each jar of food, but we have made it very easy to return the jars for a full refund of the deposit. This is not only ecological, but also cost-effective. For more information about the jar returning process, please visit our Baby Food FAQs.

Feeding a baby healthy solid food is a game in itself. It’s actually an adventure that requires patience, lots of love and an arsenal of high quality food. Going forward, Munchery will take care of the cooking and let our customers handle the feeding part (although we have some tips). We are pleased to be able to offer the Munchery experience to little ones and parents alike.

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The Olympics are well underway and you’ve probably plotted out ways to watch all of your favorite events either at home during primetime or perhaps even clandestinely on your work computer. We don’t judge that sort of thing. We love divers, wrestlers and gymnasts too! By all means watch away. But while you’re cheering on the best of the best we hope you’ll be dining on our gold medal fare.

To that end, we’ve decided that when Team USA wins, you’re going to win too!

Each morning, Monday – Friday, during the Olympic games we’ll post a collage of select events on our Facebook page. Each time Team USA takes home a gold medal in one of the events indicated on our post we’ll choose a random comment or like attached to the post to win a free meal (a $20 value). If we post images from 6 different event categories and Team USA wins 8 gold medals, then 8 of you will score delicious dinner credits. Note: Each Munchery customer can only win one meal per day.

Pretty easy, right? Essentially all you need to do is make sure you like us on Facebook. We’ll do all the heavy lifting and double round-off backflips. You just have to sit back, root for Team USA and hopefully take home a delicious meal on us.

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Chef Levine may hail from New York and root for the Yankees but 15 years ago he moved to San Francisco with his wife and two daughters and, like many, left his heart here. Steven has worked at a number of impressive establishments on both coasts including The River Cafe, Aureole, The Quilted Giraffe, Zoe Restaurant, Freestyle in Sonoma and most recently The Cosmopolitan in San Francisco. He’s definitely come a very long way from precocious childhood attempts to make his favorite breakfast while his family slept. The corn and eggs turned out a little on the crispy side and well…frankly inedible, but I’m sure he always remembers to add butter to his frying pans now.

Chef Levine describes his cooking style these days as Contemporary American Cuisine. To Steven this means combining the best local, seasonal ingredients; utilizing classic techniques while incorporating different ethnic influences that make culinary sense on the plate. We think his debut dish is a perfect example of this culinary mission statement. How pretty does this salmon look? We can’t wait to check out how cooking the fish in a corn husk effects the flavor. While we’re all anxiously awaiting Steven’s arrival in the kitchen today let’s get to know him, in his own words, a little bit better.

Which celebrity chef would you most like to cook with and what would you want to prepare?

Not a big fan of “celebrity chefs,” but I would love to cook with Anthony Bourdain. We grew up around the same time, same place, same attitude. I think we would cook a whole pig and proceed to only eat the crispy skin.

Your cousin from out-of-town has a long layover at SFO. He hops in a cab and texts you wanting to know the one thing he has to eat in the city before he rushes back to the airport. What do you tell him?

I would definitely recommend that my cuz should either go straight to the counter at Swan Depot or phone ahead to order the roasted chicken at Zuni.

Do you feel as though you have a signature dish? If so, what is it?

If I were to pick a “signature dish” I would probably pick my sautéed day-boat sea scallops on oxtail risotto with black trumpet mushrooms and truffle oil. I think I’ve said “Pick up scallops,” more than I’ve said “I love you” to my wife. Sad huh?

Invite five famous or infamous folks (they can be alive or dead) to your dinner party. Who are they and what will you serve them?

The 5 people I would invite for dinner would probably include John Lennon, Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, Joe Strummer and Teddy Roosevelt. The dinner would consist of whatever Teddy shot that day!

Which of your cookbooks has the most pages covered in olive oil and flour i.e. which one can’t you live without?

My go to cookbooks are probably The Joy of Cooking and The Cake Bible. They both stand the test of time.

In your opinion, what are a few ingredients that we should definitely shop for at farmers markets and which should we leave to the supermarket aisles?

I would almost always look to my local farmer’s market for all fruits and veggies. I wish there were more local butcher shops and fish mongers like in the old days. Supermarkets are getting better, but should be used mainly for dry goods.

Which newly in-season product are you most excited to start slicing and dicing?

This is a no brainer: Heirloom tomatoes, summer pole and shell beans and Brentwood white corn!

Think back to to your high school cafeteria days…what lunch lady “delicacies” used to make it onto your plastic tray?

Luckily I never had to rely on the “lunch ladies.”  I always packed my own lunch.

If we peeked inside your fridge right now what would we discover?

I cook for my family everyday. It’s my career and hobby so my fridge runneth over at all times!

What ingredient do you least like to work with?

My least favorite ingredients to cook with are also my least favorite to eat: liver and fava beans. My apologies to Hanibal Lecter.

What’s your favorite place to brunch in the Bay Area?

We don’t mention the “B Word” in my house!

What artist or album do you like to rock out to while you’re cooking?

The tunes that I cook with are usually some old school punk rock. The Ramones, The Clash sprinkled liberally with some Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash garnished with the new Jack White and Tom Waits.

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Things are growing as fast as ever here at Munchery, and we’re eager to share with you an important change in our pricing model that will be coming soon.

Since we launched out of beta almost a year ago, we’ve been bringing greater value to all our customers, like the recent introduction of early bird pricing. We’ve also made a lot improvements in providing information about our food, even in terms of how it is priced. Seven months ago, we made a subtle but important change by separating out the delivery cost from the meal cost. There was more transparency, and the pricing model enabled us to expand into different Bay Area regions such as Marin and most recently, the Peninsula.

We want to take this a step further.

Currently, whenever you buy a meal from a chef, the bulk of the money goes directly to the chef. A small portion also goes to Munchery to handle logistics, meal packaging, operations, as well as everything else that makes Munchery the personal chef marketplace that it is.

Although the above financial calculation is simple to work out behind the scenes, we want to make this completely transparent to our customers.

Starting Wednesday, July 18th, the posted meal prices will no longer include Munchery’s revenue portion. Instead, it will reflect the full amount that the chef is being paid to cover ingredients, labor and facility costs. Munchery’s portion will be separated out as a Delivery & Service fee which will include the delivery charge as well.

What does this pricing change mean?
First, nothing changes in the net total of your meals since the Munchery Delivery & Service fee is simply called out separately from meal price, rather than being bundled in. In fact, there’s a good chance the total amount you paid for your meal will be even less than before (read on to find out how).

Second, the meal prices on our site will represent the actual proceeds that go directly to the chef who prepared it. By separating out the delivery and service fee from the meal price, you get a transparent ordering experience and are able to know the value of each part that makes the Munchery experience what it is. For us, this is actually a lot more important than it seems. Giving our chefs the ability to take ownership over their food, express their creativity, and be rewarded adequately for their talents is a high priority for us. The majority of chefs who cook professionally at restaurants don’t have this benefit. We think separating out Munchery’s portion from meal prices is the best way to accurately showcase the value of our chefs and the delicious food they make.

Third, with the new model, whenever two or more meals are ordered, your total order will actually be lower than before. A discount is automatically given on the service fee depending on the number of meals in your cart. The more meals you order, the greater the discount.

Here’s a comparison before and after this new service fee that shows you the savings:

How can I know what goes into the Delivery & Service fee?
When you add an item to your cart, you will see Munchery’s Delivery & Service fee calculated right in your cart. Just hover over it, and we’ll show you a complete breakdown of that fee, including delivery, the service fee that covers meal packaging, site operations, and any applicable discounts that you can get.

We hope you find these pricing modifications we’re making in the spirit of transparency as a refreshing change. As food is very personal, these efforts all go towards bringing the chef and the customer together. We’re eager to hear from you about what you think. Please send us your feedback.

Tri & Conrad
Munchery Founders

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Good news today! On July 10, 2012 we’re expanding our services to include those of you who live in the Peninsula. We’re very excited to be able to offer our fantastic meals to even more hungry locals. The below chart details the names and delivery fees of the additional towns that we’ll be bringing our goal of reinventing the personal chef experience to.

The full details regarding order cutoff times, how to arrange for drop off cooler service (when you’re not home), and pretty much any question you can throw at us can be found in our exstensive FAQ.

In addition, we would like to welcome our new friends in the pennisula with a special introductory discount code. Simply enter GOPENINSULA to receive 30% off your first order (see below for details). Think of it as a warm welcome to the Munchery family. If you’re still waiting for our chefs to begin cooking in your neck of the woods rest assured that there are more cities debuting very soon, but please leave us a comment so we know that you’re interested.

* 30% Discount code is valid for new customers only. Cannot be combined with another promotion or deal. Expires on 7/30/12. Order total before discount must be below $50.

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