I don’t think anyone thinks it’s a sacrilege. People know I do it; no one judges me.” So says Clarkson Potter editor Amanda Englander of the fact, well known among her colleagues, that she uses the meal-kit company Plated. As the number of meal-kit companies—which send consumers recipes, along with boxes of premeasured ingredients—has surged in the past few years, the debate rages on about whether they encourage a lesser form of cooking. For Englander, who is in the camp that believes using a meal kit is very much cooking, the experience has proven an inspiration in the kitchen, and at the office. At her urging, CP has just published a branded cookbook from Plated, marking the first traditionally released cookbook from a meal-kit company.
Plated, along with Blue Apron, stands as one of the earliest entrants in the meal-kit delivery market. As the New York Times pointed out in a recent story about the trend, there are now more than 100 meal-kit delivery companies, with Amazon among the latest to join the fray. The Times piece, “It’s Dinner in a Box. But Are Meal Delivery Kits Cooking?,” looked at the sometimes-polarizing effect the companies have had in the culinary world. The main question: Does having a ready-to-fix meal delivered to your door kill the inspirational nature and soul of cooking?
Though it’s up for debate, Englander, who reached out to Plated about doing a cookbook, sees obvious appeal in the partnership. Plated: Weeknight Dinners, Weekend Feasts, and Everything in Between, written by two members of Plated’s culinary team (Elana Karp and Suzanne Dumaine), will be heavily marketed to customers of the meal-kit delivery service. (RH said that Plated does not release its membership numbers.) Emails have already been sent to the company’s customers advertising the $24.99 hardcover, which went on sale May 17. The cookbook will also appear on postcards included in Plated meal boxes, featured in company-sponsored sweepstakes, and promoted on Plated’s social media platforms (such as Twitter and Instagram).
As it happens, Plated is not the first meal-kit company to test the waters with a cookbook. Blue Apron has self-published four titles—Winter, Autumn, Summer, and Spring—that it sells, along with a host of other products, on its website. (Englander said she believes Blue Apron at one point shopped a manuscript to various publishers.)
When asked whether she is concerned that the book might have limited appeal beyond the Plated membership, Englander replied, “Unless you know Plated, you wouldn’t recognize this book is from them.” And aside from book’s title—which, while branded, is also a general food-world term—there is nothing in the book’s packaging tying it to the company that inspired it.
The recipes in the book are mostly new. Englander estimated that 80% of the recipes in Plated are fresh, meaning that none are retreads from recipes the company has sent to its customers. Many, though, have been created relying on feedback that Plated’s customers have provided. Englander explained that Plated users can comment on the recipes they receive—via emails or through ratings on the company’s app—sharing approval or disapproval.
Although Englander isn’t convinced that a slew of meal-kit branded cookbooks will be coming soon, she recognizes the logical pairing of these companies and publishers. And, if this book works, Englander said CP will likely look to work with Plated again.
