Images courtesy of ChefsFeed.
Imagine having a chef as your personal guide to all the best eats. They’d share the hole in a wall spot they always go to for breakfast, their favorite place for when only a juicy burger will do, the best place to get paella.
Meet ChefsFeed: the must-have app for travelers who love to explore a place through food. Powered by chefs, the app is transforming the way people travel in relation to food.
“It’s the only app on my phone (aside from the New York Times and BBC) that I have using ‘push notifications,'” Jamie Bissonette said. “It’s dope to see what’s recommended in different neighborhoods when I am traveling, and when I’m in my own cities.”
As a chef and the partner of Coppa and Toro, Bissonette spends a lot of time traveling and in addition to being a user of ChefsFeed, he’s one of the 1,500 chefs contributing to the app in North American cities and food destinations that include New York, Montreal, Charleston and Napa to name a few.
Chefs are invited to contribute to the app and media network, which Bissonette describes as a modern, food-loving version of Fanzine: it includes recommendations (not reviews) by professionals, as well as videos and other tidbits based on experiences. ChefsFeed CEO Rich Maggiotto believes that since other chefs invite the chefs to participate it maintains the quality of the recommendations as the news chefs and the dishes they reccomend become extensions of a chef’s palette and therefore brand.
“It’s a black book guide that evolved to allowing experts to take their knowledge outside of the kitchen, Maggiotto said. “It’s a phenomenal resource.”
ChefsFeed is one of a number of food apps and startups that have exploded in growth in the past few years all aiming to change the way we experience food. But in a crowded market Maggiotto believes ChefsFeed not only cuts through the noise but appeals to a mobile first, urban audience.
“We use tastemakers to tell us the hole in the wall places. It’s not that this is the best restaurant it’s that if you want pasta carbonara this is where you have to for for it.” Maggiotto said. “It’s authentic and easy.”
And it’s not solely travelers that will find ChefsFeed useful. Those with a serious case of wanderlust can use the app’s “feed me,” tool. It geo locates you to tell what dishes chefs have recommended at what restaurants within walking distance or lets you take a journey through food in one city by looking for a specific type of dish or type of eating such as best dishes to order in the fall.
Here are Bissonette’s fall picks for New York:
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Restaurant: The John Dory, 1196 Broadway (at 29th St.)
Dish: “Carta di Musica,” or a thin, cracker-like sandwich filled with dried salted fish roe bottarga and red chile.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJq6I0yhGMl/
Restaurant: Noodle Pudding, 38 Henry St., Brooklyn
Dish: Any and all pastas. And the tripe!
https://www.instagram.com/p/z-OAgdEmNQ/
Restaurant: Upland, 345 Park Ave. S (at 26th St.)
Dish: ‘Nduja pizza and steak tartare
https://www.instagram.com/p/BBBBUjSuZ8g/
Restaurant: Egg Shop, 151 Elizabeth St. (at Kenmare St.)
Dish: Eggshop B.E.C. (bacon, egg and cheese) burger and the “Spandex” breakfast bowl (poached egg, miso quinoa, avocado, pickled carrot, greens and gluten free tamari)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BKG89GigeYZ/
Restaurant: Dizengoff, 75 9th Ave. (inside Chelsea Market)
Dish: Lamb hummus and the shakshuka
