Santangelo recently founded KitchKat, which delivers a week’s worth of gourmet meals to young professionals around the Washington area. How does KitchKat work?
It takes me about three hours to plan my menu, because I want all my food to go well together and I don’t want to repeat anything. Depending on how many people order, I either go to the local grocery story or go to Costco, and I cook everything fresh the day I deliver.
Who is your typical customer?
I have a lot of grad students and people under 30, really. They are all young professionals who don’t have enough time to go to the grocery store or cook.
How many customers do you have?
I typically deliver to 11 homes a week, with a high of 20.
How do you distinguish your meals from ready-made meals at the grocery store?
The variety of my menu is pretty different from what you could get at your grocery store. Also, my portions are pretty large for the price that I’m offering, and a lot of people don’t want to go to the grocery right after work. With my meals, they are already there in your fridge when you get home.
You can offer a week’s worth of meals — most of which contain two hefty servings — for only $45. How do you keep the prices low?
I’m the only cook. And I research my menus around what’s on sale at the grocery store. I want to be affordable for the young professionals I’m cooking for.
What gave you the idea to start KitchKat?
I have always loved food and cooking. I watched every kind of cooking show growing up. Then I moved to D.C. and I was talking with my friends about what they do for dinnertime and they said they always get takeout. I thought, that’s silly, I can do it for you. So I started by cooking for a few friends and now it has totally grown.
– Hayley Peterson
