UCOOK

 Block four -part two 

After a busy start from the holidays, I had the privilege of experiencing the fun, innovative kitchen offices of  UCOOK! I have always wanted to experience the different branches in the food industry so I was stoked to be afforded this opportunity.
Let me take you on my exciting journey. 

As I walked into the office space, It felt a little daunting to see people working on their laptops and conversing about work - I am so used to my normal reality of walking into a kitchen and the constant rush before service...I was in for a whole different experience.

My days at Ucook looked the same most days and went like this: Monday to Thursday we got recipes to test that are forecasted from the week before. Plus minus 2-4 recipes to test every day. From 8:30 - 13:00, this is what I would be doing. Testing, taking photos, and inviting the food team to taste. Tasting would require feedback from all the members on how we can improve the dish (add or take) out ingredients that don't work to then finalize a meal kit worthy enough to send to customers. Nothing here is taken lightly as the standard is the best or nothing.
After recipe testing and consulting around 14:00, I'd find a desk and contribute to the brainstorming document that we all have access to. 
This document is a fundamental part of the dishes that eventually leave the warehouse. We work in quarters and weeks with specific guidelines to follow. For example, there are six categories in which meal kits are split into different proteins and we'll contribute a recipe too. So an "adventurous foodie" category with a subheading of a specific protein we must use like: ostrich meatballs. Sounds easy but you can't forget to keep other things in mind like seasonality, cost, and the different ingredients that go with that dish, "may it be too similar to another ingredient used in a different category?"  Just in summary, a lot of thought goes into a recipe idea shared on that document.
Fridays are when we share those ideas as a team to come up with the week's menu that will be tested soon.

Just a few of the dishes I've tested throughout my time here

                    

Every week is completely different from the other as new flavors are being tested and developed.
There is an onsite food styling team that the team gets to work with and I was so intrigued to see how that works, They offered to come to see how everything works from the cooking of the dish to styling and then taking a photo of the final product. No funny business here, everything is cooked and kept in its original form just to assure customers that what they receive will come out the same as the recipe card. 

Through all of this, I was joined in testing recipes with Jade, Jason, Hellen, and Kelly. The bigger team included Kate, Meagan, Eunice, Siyanda, and Morgan. I am grateful that I got to work with such a vibrant team. 

Testing team - prepping for shoot

I have learned so much from the dynamic team, and happy I got to see and experience the long hours of work that goes into every detail ensuring the customer is always happy and gets value with anything that they may purchase. 

See you....AP