Shef has raised $20 million in a Series A funding round as it looks to expand its meal delivery offering.
The platform, which enables chefs to sell home cooked meals to their local communities, was led by Andreessen Horowitz with participation from Craft Ventures, M13, Y Combinator, and celebrities including Padma Lakshmi, Tiffany Haddish, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and more.
The funding will help Shef to expand into new markets and to adopt “safe home cooking laws to help its community of talented cooks, who are primarily people of colour, gain access to meaningful economic opportunities,” a company statement said.
44 new bills focused on home cooking have been implemented in 29 US states in the last year, as legislators seek new business opportunities following the negative impact of Covid-19 on the industry.
Founded in 2019 by former senior technology advisor at the Obama White House, Alvin Salehi, and Joey Grassia, a former Facebook employee and 2x food entrepreneur, 85% of the people cooking on Shef today identify as people of colour.
General partner at Andreessen Horowitz and former CEO of OpenTable, Jeff Jordan, will lead the deal and joins the company’s board.
“Having the support of Jeff Jordan and this incredible team of mission-driven investors means the world to us. Across the country, our waitlist of potential chefs has grown to more than 12,000 people. This funding will allow us to expand access to our platform so we can create meaningful opportunities for these talented cooks,” said Grassia.
“We’ve had the privilege of partnering with lawmakers across the United States to introduce well-informed legislation that will put people back to work and revitalise our local economies,” said Salehi. “We’re excited to continue advocating for the safe expansion of home cooking laws to help underrepresented communities land on their feet after the pandemic.”
“Shef has built a powerful new platform that brings value to both sides of the dining marketplace – enabling chefs to pursue their passion and earn meaningful income without worrying about the headaches or logistics of restaurant management, while giving local customers access to a wide variety of authentic cuisine delivered to their door,” said Jordan.
He continued: “Alvin and Joey are committed to reducing the friction of the industry and built a way for talented chefs to achieve meaningful economic empowerment doing the thing that they love. I’m proud to lead this round and join this mission-driven team of entrepreneurs.”
The homemade food marketplace also secured $8.8 million in seed funding back in August 2020.
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