Being a chef is never easy. Most people love to eat, but very few like to put in the effort to make tasty food. Shubham’s Being Chef solves this problem for the millennials forever. Shubham’s father is a Chartered Accountant, and his mother is a Professor of Psychology. The environment at home never gave Shubham an idea that someday he would make it big in the F&B industry.
His struggles with making a simple potato curry inspired him to help other foodies like him. Born and brought up in Jaipur (Rajasthan), Shubham always had his mother feed him yummy food. His mother’s multitasking was thought-provoking for him. She cooked excellent food and beautifully managed the house while being a Ph.D. holder and a professor at a college. How can things be made easy for such multitasking mothers? This question always bothered him. It was only when Shubham stepped out of the comfort of his home that he faced reality. He missed his mother.
Before Being Chef was born
During his early days at college, Shubham struggled with stage fear. He was actively handling a lot of things in and outside college but was always behind the scenes. Though Shubham was coordinating India Against Corruption movement in Rajasthan, he was not comfortable coming before the large gatherings. While things were going like that, an incident helped him overcome stage fear.
Shubham gave a 30-minute speech at India Against Corruption in 2011 in front of more than 70,000 people, which changed him forever. In 2013, Shubham was working in a US-based consulting firm in Gurgaon after graduating from NIT Jaipur. One day, Shubham and his friends decided to try their hands-on cooking. They tried to make a simple meal with the help of a YouTube video. The idea not only left them a little disappointed but also exhausted.
The trigger for Being Chef
The incident got Shubham thinking about other amateur chefs like him who want a hassle-free home-cooked meal. An idea to simplify cooking was born out of this experience. At just 23, Shubham’s idea would not only change his life but many others like him. In February 2014, Shubham quit his consulting job and devoted his undivided attention to his startup idea.
It was just eight months after being part of the consulting firm. A history of being an all-rounder in his batch and the vice president of his college supported this mechanical engineer to get away from the mainstream. With initial funding from family and friends, Shubham put his best foot forward in the entrepreneur world. As the norm goes, he faced a lot of discouragement because of being young and the idea behind the startup.
Most of the industry veterans thought that there was zero chance to create such a product. Despite all this, Shubham continued to follow his dream. His hard work and luck favored him in reaching the goals he had set for himself. A bootstrapped startup at the moment, Being Chef hopes to expand its reach in terms of funds and customers.
Being Chef tastes success
Once the idea was born, it took three months for Shubham to create a reality of his imagination. Being Chef’s first big opportunity came right after a year of inception. In 2015, the company served lunch and dinner to more than 17,000 people at a corporate event. It was the most significant risk the company took. Fortunately, the most considerable risk turned into a massive success for Being Chef, and the company made a mark in the F&B industry.
The corporate called Shubham to appreciate his efforts and gave them a contract for their next event. For Shubham, this is the best compliment the company has received so far. Now, Being Chef is home to the happiest customers. Their popularity is visible in the fact that they have over 1,00,000 followers on Facebook.
One-stop-shop for amateur cooks
Shubham realized that it is not cooking that people generally disliked but the effort required for it. A fully cooked meal from a restaurant is not always healthy, and cooking is cumbersome. It is where youngsters need a chef. Being Chef meets them mid-way and gives correct portions of sorted ingredients for a chosen dish. They call it the ‘Magic Box.’
It’s an eight-step simple cooking card that makes every amateur Chef in just 5 minutes. You could place an order through the app, a phone call, or the website, and Being Chef will deliver everything you need to your doorstep. Shubham believes that everyone has a chef within them. Being a Chef brings out that Chef in its customers. Currently operating only in NCR, Shubham aspires to expand his reach across the country soon.
By the way, what you get at Being Chef is no ordinary recipe. Some of the recipes that Shubham brings to your table are designed by MasterChef India Season 3 finalists. Apart from this, 15 team members took care of the culinary responsibilities and tasty dishes. What else is unique about Being Chef? None of the ingredients they deliver have any preservatives.
If you choose Being Chef, you choose purity. With a 6-hour shelf life, the ingredients won’t disappoint you in your cooking attempts. Since the ingredients are perfectly measured, there is zero wastage- a feature that adds to the uniqueness of the startup. Being Chef provides ingredients for a quick meal and gives fully cooked meals, customized meal boxes, and catering services to seekers.
Happy young customers
Most of the Being Chef’s customers belong to the age group of 22-34 years living alone, with friends, or are just married. It is also the go-to for young professionals who lack time to prepare an elaborate meal. With this customer base, Being Chef has served more than 6,00,000 people to date. The pricing at Being Chef is also done keeping in mind the key stakeholders. The products are reasonably priced and affordable. This combination of ease and economy is a big hit with the masses.
What’s unique about Being Chef?
Its customer-oriented approach is a significant reason why Being Chef has become an instant favorite with its customers. The ball started rolling as soon as Shubham took his brand to the mall. He instantly connected with a couple of people there, and they became his first customers. Originally, Being Chef came into existence with the efforts of Shubham only. Today, it is run by a team of 25 people.
All of them move forward with a shared belief – empowering youngsters with an ability to feed themselves healthy food. Being the only responsible person gave Shubham the much-needed experience in all areas of entrepreneurship. He remembers traveling miles on his bike to deliver food. After this experience, he could successfully create models that could satisfy customers and delivery boys simultaneously.
Being Chef is not just about being a good chef. It’s about creating and maintaining good relationships.
Within five years since its inception, Being Chef has made a mark for itself by taking one of the top five places for nutritious vegetarian meals in Delhi. Interestingly, Shubham observes that there is a 30% growth in the recipe category every year. Not only this, but Being Chef also bagged the Amazon Sambhav’s Transformation of the Year award, which was given by the CEO of Amazon – Jeff Bezos. Further, Being Chef was the only food company finalist for the Smart 50 competition organized by Govt. of India. It is one of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion recognized startups. The startup also received appreciation from the Government of India.
Being Chef’s all-rounder CEO
Shubham Maheshwari has more to his credit than just Being Chef. He has led the Anti-Corruption Movement in Rajasthan and also runs a self-help group called People For People. This group attempts to bridge the gap between social problems and their possible solutions. Shubham was conferred with the Youth Change Maker Award in 2010 for his tireless efforts in this direction.
Shubham’s achievements made him an inspiration to many, and he has given motivational speeches in many colleges. This busy man has a fascinating hobby. He enjoys backpack trips and traveling in general. Shubham had gone on nine backpack trips in 2018. He believes that travel gives a new perspective to the dry routine of life.
A change that traveling brings allows him to return with fresh ideas. Shubham’s meditation also contributes to maintaining mental health while dealing with chaos in running a business. He didn’t have everything sorted right from the beginning. Doubts about the success of Being Chef troubled him off and on. He knew that it was part of the game. He just kept going forward with an optimistic approach. He believes in and promotes the idea of living in the moment.
Shubham asks – What’s Your Calling!
Shubham recalls that the idea to give back to society came from a movie released in February 2006 – Rang De Basanti. The crucial year of the 10th standard brought a significant change to his personality. This movie gave him the purpose that kept him going to date.
After his success as an entrepreneur, Being Chef’s Shubham assures people that every idea is great. He urges them to take risks and see their dreams come true. Shubham has a warning too. He asks the youngsters to take it up only if they are passionate about it. An entrepreneur is not born from peer pressure or from following a trend. Every person must recognize their true calling. Shubham Maheshwari’s calling was ‘Being Chef.’ What’s yours?
Follow Being Chef here:
Website: www.beingchef.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/beingchefindia
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/beingchefindia
Instagram: www.instagram.com/beingchefindia
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dEPNqGE1Es&t=7s
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