We have all been there: we get home after a hectic day at the office, we are exhausted, no energy but to just slip off our shoes and go lay on the couch. But we are hungry, so we reach out to Sherpa's delivery directory and get (most of the time) some unhealthy meal we regret of immediately when we get on our scale the following morning.
Well, it seems like we have got a quick fix here! Saucepan.co is now offering easy, semi-ready to eat healthy meals to be delivered to your house within minutes. To find out more about this new service in Shanghai I have tried one of their dishes myself (which I LOVED) and have also interviewed chef Patrick to get a bit more of an insight!
- Can you introduce us SaucePan. What is it?
Saucepan is a new healthy food delivery concept in Shanghai. We produce semi-ready meals that require a below 10 minute finishing at home in order to ensure maximum freshness on your plate. Most of our recipes are sealed in separate vacuum bags that are (re-) heated in a hot water bath for 5 to 10 minutes. This technique is not only very convenient and saves our customers a lot of time, it also preserves all the flavors and ensures that your food is at the perfect temperature. Basically you enjoy a healthy restaurant quality meal, as fresh cooked in your own kitchen, prepared within 5 to 10 minutes.
- Who is the team working behind Saucepan?
The core behind Saucepan are 4 people. Simon and Wolfgang are the founders and those who originally came up with the idea of Saucepan. To bring Saucepan to what it is today was, of course, also due to the great contribution of our Corporate Chef Patrick and our creative mind Alex, our web and graphic designer. Chef Patrick, who was brave enough to quit his promising career in the UAE to join us here in Shanghai has revolutionized our recipes and brought them to another level, which without him we would have never been able to achieve so quickly. Alex, who - with his team - is sitting in Paris most of the time is the creative mind behind all our web and graphic design. He is responsible for our very beautiful, neat and playful design line that is completely unique in the food tech industry worldwide.
- How did you come up with such a business idea?
Thinking about it it isn't a very far fetched business idea. Food delivery here in Shanghai is booming and so is the demand of healthy products. Not only in Shanghai but worldwide. What we realized is that there are no options for the many busy people in this city who don't have the time and patience to cook themselves to order a truly healthy meal, that at the same time tastes delicious and fresh. And that is what we are doing. We are giving all those who are forced to compromise their healthy eating routine due to time restrictions the opportunity to eat well, without any additional effort.
- Can you explain us how it works?
That is very simple. You access our website from your laptop or phone and place your order. We deliver our healthy dish box within an hour or any time you want. You follow three easy steps to finish your meal within less than 10 minutes and enjoy an amazing Saucepan dish! All you need is a pot with water and a stove. Some recipes may require a frying pan but definitely you will never need more than just one cooking utensil.
- Who is your largest clientele, expats or locals?
For the moment we have a larger group of Expats using our product, but we are also working on a lot of health education to show everyone in Shanghai how important it is to eat well.
- How often do you update your online menu?
We currently have a menu variety of 9 to 10 main dishes. Every Monday we post one new dish and take another one out to ensure no one gets bored of any recipes. So far we never had any comments that our variety was limited. In addition to our main dishes we also offer a variety of side salads, beverages and popular sweets.
- How do you deal with customer complains?
Coming from a long career working in diverse 5 star hotels around the world we take customer service very serious. We value customer feedback above all and use various channels to obtain direct feedback from our customers. It is imperative to know the full experience from the order process, to the delivery experience, meal preparation as well as taste. We have never had any serious issues for now but even minor comments are looked into immediately and worked on if required. A service like ours can never stop developing, changing and improving and this change has to be driven by customer feedback.
- Do you cover other cities other than Shanghai?
Well we are a very recent start-up and still trying to scale our concept within Shanghai. We are focusing to get everything right in one place before reaching out to other cities. The vision is, of course, to be available in multiple cities around China and other countries.
- Any upcoming projects for SaucePan?
The closest upcoming projects, besides many interesting promotions, are the expansion of our delivery zone. We cannot yet put a date on when we will be able to deliver all over Shanghai but we are working hard to make it happen as soon as possible. Also, we will launch many exciting updates on our website soon so there are many interesting features in the making.
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Since I LOVED this project and the whole concept behind it, I have decided to "join" the Saucepan team, by offering one of my healthy recipe! Starting from this week you will be able to purchase my " Seared Tuna Steak with Spaghetti and lemon reduction " with just a click!
Love
-LittleDani