These days, people have gotten used to eating at home. At the same time, because of work and other obligations, they may not have the energy to cook for themselves and their families. Cue the meal delivery service.
Over the past few years, there has been an explosion in this industry, with the likes of HelloFresh and Blue Apron dominating the market. However, these services don’t offer kosher-certified options. Now, Samuel Wrobel, who owns Shiloh’s in Pico-Robertson, has started a kosher meal delivery service, Dailycious, to fill that niche.
“Our customers don’t need to go grocery shopping, and they don’t need to spend hours a day cooking to eat at home or to bring meals to the office,” said Wrobel. “We take care of everything.”
Dailycious customers can choose to receive four to 12 meals per week; the more they order, the less the cost per meal. An order of four meals a week comes to $15.99 a meal, down to $11.40 for a weekly order of 12, plus shipping.
There are meat, vegan, gluten-free, keto and fish options and all are certified Kosher by OK Kosher. If a meal is cold, customers can eat it right away; hot meals are packed so they can be reheated in a microwave oven. The meals can be stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. Some of the options include chicken coconut curry, beef brisket, honey cumin salmon and seasonal vegetable salad. All the meals are dairy-free.
When Wrobel bought Shiloh’s in 2017, he realized that the kosher dining experience tended to be a bit old-fashioned, and needed to change. He’s bringing that attitude to Dailycious, too.
“I wanted to bring products and services geared towards a new generation of kosher eaters and adapted to the new ways of living,” he said. “It’s easy to find vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free fare these days. It should be just as easy to keep kosher.” Chef Thomas hasworked at several Michelin three-star restaurants prior to joining Shiloh’s and Dailycious.
“Thomas and I worked together to develop and adapt the processes used in high-end restaurants, like sous vide cooking, to this new project.” – Samuel Wrobel
“Thomas and I worked together to develop and adapt the processes used in high-end restaurants, like sous vide cooking, to this new project,” said Wrobel. “This allows us to have consistent quality in terms of protein cooking and to assure a level of meat tenderness that traditional cooking cannot.”
While the meals are made in Sun Valley, Dailycious is available all throughout California and several other states including Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada and Utah. By the end of 2022, Wrobel hopes to expand to the East Coast.
He pointed out that people can order meals from his company if they’re going on an airplane or vacation and need food.
“Forget about the hassle of bringing kosher food for a weekend in Palm Springs or Vegas,” he said. “Order on our website and we will deliver right to your hotel, or wherever you are staying.”
Some customers give their children the meals for school lunch. “[It’s] healthier and more balanced than what is usually offered in a typical Jewish school,” Wrobel said.
Celine Bonan, a Dailycious customer, finds it easy to keep her three sons healthy with the meals. “They love [the] veggies,” she said. “I can follow my diet. My husband can eat more healthy dishes.”
While Wrobel has been enjoying his new business venture, COVID has presented its fair share of challenges, including labor and supply chain shortages.
“We have experienced kosher meat providers that are telling us they didn’t receive their shipment of chicken and tray manufacturers telling us they have been waiting for their containers to be unloaded for two months,” he said.
Still, he is expanding his company, and he’s hopeful about the future not just for Dailycious, but also for everyone.
“When this crisis is behind us, the world will be different, shaped by the very challenges we have been facing.” – Samuel Wrobel
“When this crisis is behind us, the world will be different, shaped by the very challenges we have been facing,” he said. “I also think people focus, or at least try to focus, more on the truly important things in their lives: their family, their friends, helping each other and spending more time with [their] loved ones before it’s too late. So go enjoy your family, go FaceTime your friends and leave dinner to Dailycious.”
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