According to Statista, the online food delivery segment in South Africa was projected to reach $965m (R1.4bn) this year, with global statistics indicating restaurant take-out and delivery has taken a bite out of dine-in traffic, growing 300% faster over the past six years. It is this conundrum that inspired the birth of CloudChef, a platform that aims to support local chefs in dishing up and delivering fine dine-in meals.
“Looking at all the cyber initiatives related to staying at home, CloudChef offers restaurant-quality dishes at affordable prices so that you don’t have to leave your house to indulge in expertly-crafted, wholesome, world-class eating,” says Louis Buys, CEO of The Delta, a tech company that specialises in building ventures and startups.
Another side effect of Covid-19 is the 2.2 million job losses across South Africa that have knocked the restaurant industry. According to Buys, it is platforms like CloudChef that can help drive employment by allowing international and local professional chefs to showcase their menus through a dine-in experience.
