Meal delivery services are a big business in China; we can't count how many different companies have capitalized on the demand for convenient dining. For most, the model involves couriers picking up meals from restaurants and speeding back to the customer, but newly launched Via Stelle couldn't be more different.
Founded with a vision to bring food from Michelin-recognised and international award-winning restaurants into the homes of customers, this world-first food platform has enlisted the help of some of the most cutting edge voices in fine dining to create its roster of rotating dishes, prepared in a central kitchen in downtown Shanghai by chefs with experience in Michelin-starred fine dining kitchens.
After accessing Via Stelle's app directly on WeChat, step one is to peruse the menu and pick your dish. Take, for example, grilled beef tenderloin with truffle potato purée (RMB180), designed by James Beard award-winning Chef Frank McClelland of Boston's Zagat #1 rated restaurant, L'Espalier.
We can also see the dishes' nutritional, complete ingredients and caloric content, helping to make better informed decisions.
Ingredients for the dish are prepared fresh everyday, using cooking techniques that have undergone extensive research and development to preserve the texture and flavor of the food.
The dish components are vacuum sealed separately, chilled, and sent straight to you within one hour. The beef, for example, is sous-vided (slow cooked) first, before being quickly seared, resulting in a tender and juicy texture that works perfectly with the truffled potato.
Also representing is Lord Stanley restaurant from San Francisco, which holds one Michelin star, and was named #3 best new restaurant in America by Bon Appétit magazine.
Chef-owners Rupert and Carrie Blease proudly present their luxurious seared pork belly with apple purée, pickled daikon, roasted hazelnuts and elderflower dressing (RMB98).
Detailed information on the app allows us to discover the restaurant's history and journey of its two owner-chefs, bringing the experience closer.
Once arrived, open the box and heat the components in a microwave, and see the simple instructions (as well as a video on the app) for plating your dish like a pro.
Plate, snap one for the 'Gram, and enjoy.
So what are you waiting for? Check out Via Stelle and redefine dinnertime at home with a world of fine dining brought right to your door. There's RMB20 off your first time order – scan the QR code below to get started.
Discover Via Stelle here.
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