Cultured Cooking Review

The final group that presented, Cultured Cooking, was in my opinion the best group out of our class (and I’m not just saying that because they brought in free food). The creators of Cultured Cooking were a group of culturally diverse people, and it definitely showed through their work. I really enjoyed that they decided to combine all of their backgrounds to make this website. The program, once a person enrolled, was a pretty elaborate concept to understand. The company would send four boxes, full of food and ingredients, to make a culturally appropriate dish for their ”country of the month.” The box would also include pamphlets and other fun facts about the country, so that the buyers of the boxes could “culture themselves.” Another cool thing is that for every box that is purchased, the company would also send one to a lower-income family that otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford the product.

This subscription service kind of reminded me of ipsy bags, a makeup service that I used to be subscribed to. The company would let you take an online quiz when you joined to see what products you were interested in, and then would send a custom bag full of makeup samples that were tailored to your interests and skin type.

There are a few ways that I think this group could improve their product. I think that their idea is very good, but they might be spreading themselves a bit too thin. It is a very ambitious idea to send four boxes a month, but they could simplify their process, and overall save on shipping costs by sending one or two instead. If you think about it, it’s a lot harder to ship fresh food in the mail without it spoiling, so if they only send one box a month with maybe two or three recipes, then they would simplify their whole process. The group also discussed tailoring boxes to different dietary restrictions and allergies, but I think that instead of fixing a few boxes, which would overall be a lot more work and time-consuming, there is a better option. Instead, they could post 6-7 meals on their website under the country of the month, with at least one that is gluten-friendly, doesn’t contain common allergies such as nuts and shellfish etc. Then, they could give their subscribers the flexibility and option to CHOOSE the meals that they want to be sent to them, therefore making them more excited for their box to come, while also allowing them to experience the authentic culture of the food they’re trying.

Overall, I think this project was a great idea with many benefits that the public could use.