Chefs prepare multiple meals in the client’s own kitchen.
For nearly a decade, Madison chef Lissa Turner was a stay-at-home mom who worked catering gigs for extra income. As her children grew she wanted to work more, but wasn’t interested in committing to the grueling hours most restaurant kitchens demand.
“A restaurant lifestyle is kind of tough to fit in with our family,” she says. About a year ago while searching for jobs, she discovered Chefs for Seniors — a Madison-based startup that connects professional cooks with elderly folks who need help with nutrition and meal preparation. The hours are more forgiving than a typical restaurant gig, and the company’s mission is admirable — it not only helps seniors stay healthy and independent, but also provides much-needed companionship to a community that struggles with isolation.
“It’s more than just a cooking service,” says Turner, who started with Chefs for Seniors last July. “It’s more personal than that.”
Co-founded in 2013 by father-and-son team Barrett and Nathan Allman, Chefs for Seniors now employs 13 chefs who serve about 150 clients, though the number fluctuates, Nathan Allman says. In Madison, the company charges clients a fixed fee of $90 per visit from a chef, plus the cost of groceries, which typically is $30-$45 per customer for 10-12 servings of meals. Chefs do the shopping and prepare the food in the client’s kitchen, storing the reheat-and-eat meals in containers provided by the company.
“There’s really a lot of different ways folks can use this service,” Nathan Allman says. The majority of clients do weekly visits, but others opt for bi-weekly meals or on-call services.
Nathan Allman launched the company when he was a 21-year-old student at UW-Madison, entering the idea in the school’s Burrill Business Plan Competition. He won first prize, which included $1,000 in startup funds plus mentoring. Over the last several years the company has grown and refined its business plan, expanding into Florida and participating in the prestigious Silicon Valley accelerator 500 Startups in 2016. “It was a great experience that helped us take the next step,” Allman says.
Now, the company is eyeing further expansion. This month Chefs for Seniors launched a new franchising opportunity that could bring the service to about 40 states. “Franchising is not just a great way for us to reach more seniors — which is at the core of our mission — but it’s also a really great opportunity for a chef who wants to do something a little different,” Allman says.
Franchising has always been a goal for the Allmans, but until recently it was secondary to executing the service. A 2015 NPR feature about the company generated buzz and inquiries from prospective franchisees, but “during the first few years we didn’t think we were ready,” Allman says.
But now, with the Florida branch doing well and the 500 Startups program completed, the company was poised to take the next step. Allman expects many of his franchisees will be chefs who will either execute the service alone or manage a small team of chefs. But he also anticipates interest from people who have management and sales backgrounds — likely in food service, but possibly in other industries, too.
“This is different from a lot of restaurant franchises,” Allman says of the venture. Opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant has “a tremendous fixed cost, but [starting a Chefs for Seniors franchise] can be less than $10,000.”
Allman’s goal for the next year is to sell 30 franchises and by the second year hopes that number will rise to 150. “So in three years we’ll have a presence in 40 states and be essentially nationwide,” he says.
Turner was excited when she heard the news that Chefs for Seniors was offering a franchise option. She’s been talking with her husband about the possibility of launching one together, but hasn’t quite committed to the idea yet. “Right now I’m really comfortable cooking for my clients, but I can’t say no to the future,” she says. “I think if the opportunity should present itself I would definitely think about it.”
For more info, see chefsforseniors.com or call 844-237-2433.