With some people (us) feeling a little too tired to go all out on a big holiday dinner this year, professional chefs are taking the reins.
Driving the news: Mandhir Singh, the CEO of Canadian private chef service Easy Platter, told The Peak that the company has seen a surge in business leading up to the holidays. He says that bookings for special events like dinner parties have roughly doubled this month.
- A similar trend is playing out in the U.S., where more people are outsourcing their Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year's Eve dinners to private chefs and planners.
Why it matters: The holidays may be a particularly busy season, but marrying restaurant cooking with the comfort of home has become a year-round affair. Since the pandemic, Singh says more people have been foregoing restaurants for privately hosted parties.
- Compared to eating out at a restaurant, private dinners can actually save people money in bigger groups. An event costs an average of $60 a person on Easy Platter.
Zoom out: A host of dinner party startups are leaning into more affordable solutions to help pull off dinner parties, by offering up menu ideas, plate rentals, and Spotify playlists.—LA