For many busy working professionals living away from their parents, the luxury of a homemade dish often feels out of reach. Consider the time and effort involved in preparing, cooking, and washing dishes after a long day at work – is it truly worth it?
Terence Ong, a former kaya business owner studying in Canada a few years ago, grappled with this very dilemma. Being busy and distanced from home, he longed for the home-cooked goodness he remembered from Singapore. One day, while walking home from work and catching the delicious aroma from his neighbor’s kitchen, Terence wondered, “Why can’t I just knock on their door and ask if they could share their home-cooked meal?”
This simple thought birthed Terence’s brainchild: BlockChef, a local community marketplace for home-based food businesses. While home-based enterprises gained prominence during the pandemic, sustaining these businesses post-pandemic posed significant challenges. Home cooks not only had to focus on cooking but also handle delivery logistics, set up online stores, and navigate the competitive online marketing space dominated by larger F&B brands.
Having once been a solo entrepreneur in Vancouver selling kaya, Terence intimately understands these struggles. Beyond providing consumers direct access to home-cooked meals, BlockChef is designed to empower independent home cooks. The platform offers a robust marketplace connecting them with customers, coupled with end-to-end support ranging from online store setup to streamlined delivery services.
BlockChef is already making waves by collaborating with some of the best local home cooks and chefs. The launch lineup features 24 talented home-based food creators and 13 MasterChefs, offering platform-exclusive eats. Notable highlights include MasterChef Singapore S4 Winner Inderpal Singh’s “Roti John with Chili Crab,” a uniquely Singaporean brunch, MasterChef Singapore S4 Contestant Jacky Tan’s “The Cheeky Don,” a pork jowl rice bowl, and MasterChef Season 3 Finalist Ilya Nur Fadhly’s “Chunking.sg,” featuring Halal bak zhang and fried chunks.
With an ambitious vision, BlockChef aims to onboard 10,000 food creators in Singapore by 2024, solidifying its reputation as the go-to platform for delectable home-based meals. Terence Ong’s initiative is not just about selling food; it’s about fostering a community where local home cooks thrive and share their culinary expertise with a wider audience. Stay tuned for a gastronomic revolution on BlockChef.
