Airbnb recently partnered with chef-driven meal delivery company CookUnity to offer chef-prepared, ready-to-heat meals through Airbnb Services, allowing guests in major US cities to have meals delivered directly to their rental before or during their stay. The service gives travelers access to dishes created by well-known chefs such as Cat Cora and Esther Choi, or comparable chefs depending on location. I recently tried the partnership out on a trip to Denver, and found it to be an intriguing way to eat while on the road – with some notes.
Photo: Airbnb
I Tried Airbnb’s Prepared Meal Delivery Service. Here’s What It Was Like.
CookUnity proved to be a viable way to ensure you can eat great in your Airbnb even if the kitchen isn’t top-tier. I hopped on board to try it out because last year, I spent some time at Outsite Boulder, a digital nomad coliving house on the north side of the city. The fridge in the kitchen was consistently full of prepared and packaged meals that a few of the travelers living in the house ordered in bulk. They’d have literally their entire meal plan for weeks sitting on the shelf, waiting to be microwaved. This worked for them because they were each living in the house for a month or more – plenty of time to order from BlueApron or EveryPlate or whichever prepared meal service catered to their specific dietary preference. I don’t frequently stay in one Airbnb or short-term rental for months at a time, and CookUnity is making prepared delivery a viable option for Airbnb guests in-home for as little as a few days.
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How CookUnity meals stack up in an Airbnb
CookUnity texts a photo of your meal delivery once it arrives on the porch. Photo: Tim Wenger
CookUnity was founded in 2015 in New York City by Mateo Marietti and his co-founders as a food-tech platform that connects independent chefs directly with consumers through a meal delivery service. It started to solve two problems: giving talented chefs a way to reach far more customers beyond a single restaurant and providing people with convenient access to fresh, restaurant-quality meals at home.
If you plan to actually spend notable time in your Airbnb, or are traveling for work and will have a microwave at the office, Cook Unity meals are a great option. Given the inconsistent quality of kitchen appliances and equipment at short-term rentals, having freshly-made meals on hand is very convenient.
What’s available to order will vary depending on where you are traveling. For a recent work trip to Denver, I ordered the following:
- Vegetarian Potato and Cheese Kofta
- Mediterranean Zucchini Fritters
- Mushroom & Potatoe Tacos Suizos
- Gochujang Sesame Noodles
- Roasted Butternut Squash Al Pastor
The tacos were crispy and delicious out of the oven. Photo: Tim Wenger
During the selection process, I was impressed by the number of vegetarian options (there were, of course, far more omnivorous meals available) and at the ability to search by just about any dietary type. The first meal I tried was a potato and cheese kofta dish, which I microwaved for the advised two minutes. The kofta was rich and tasty, far better than anything I’ve experienced in a frozen grocery story dish or elsewhere that wasn’t at a South Asian or Balkan restaurant. It was apparent that the meal had been prepared recently and not frozen and shipped across the country. The rice was a bit undercooked, though I understand because the last thing you want as a chef is bacteria growing on overcooked rice. Overall the meal was enjoyable, and I’d order it again.
For the sake of being thorough, I baked the Mushroom & Potato Tacos Suizos for the advised 20 minutes. I was glad I did so. The tortillas, clearly fresh, crisped to perfection and the filling was well-seasoned to the point that the mushrooms weren’t gooey or overly-dominating. The dish tasted much like a veggie-forward breakfast burrito and was equally satisfying. It’s noted that the meals can be air-fried as well, though I didn’t have access to an air fryer to test this method.
Meals tend to have about 500 calories, often less. In this case I paired part of the Gochujang Sesame Noodles and the Mediterranean Zucchni Fritters and shared the rest with a dining partner. Photo: Tim Wenger
My favorite dish of the order, though, was the Gochujang Sesame Noodles. I’m a big fan of Gochujang and noodles of all persuasions, and putting these two together is my definition of a perfect meal. The tofu was flavorful and not soggy. My experience with pre-cooked and stored noodles is often that they must be drowned in sauce in order to be enjoyable. These hosted merely a dry rub, however, and were fantastic. I felt the same about the Mediterranean Zucchini Fritters, which included a spinach rice pilaf and an herbed yoghurt sauce. The fritters retained some crispness in the microwave and the dish came together very well.
In total, I enjoyed all of the meals, though I found that prepared creamy sauces like the yoghurt sauce with the zucchini fritters tended to separate during storage and weren’t as effective as I’m sure they were intended to be. That said, each was at minimum a step above anything in the grocery store’s frozen aisle.
CookUnity sustainability, and final thoughts
Just about everything in the box is recyclable. Photo: Tim Wenger
The company claims its meals arrive in sustainable packaging. I don’t have an exact definition of sustainability as they see it, so I’ll discuss this based on the amount of waste disposed by the end-user (me, in this case). I arrived to find the meals on the porch of the home in a recyclable corrugated cardboard box. I opened the box to discover Climacell inserts, also recyclable. The meals themselves are packaged in recyclable tins that should be washed out before recycling. The plastic film seal on top of the meal isn’t recyclable unless you subscribe to a service such as Ridwell that specifically accepts hard-to-recycle plastics.
Some of the meals included sauce or spread, which came in a 2-ounce plastic single-use ramekin that is absolutely headed for the landfill. Overall, though, not bad as far as waste generation on my end.
The order and delivery process was seamless. The package was on the porch when I arrived, and the meals fit into a regular-size fridge with ease. I created an account and signed up. I was prompted to order recurring, but through Airbnb you can select the dates of your stay and when you want the meals to show up. If you do sign up for a subscription, note that CookUnity is persistent via text messages and emails about selecting your meals and getting your order in on time each week – you’d have to try pretty hard to miss an order deadline.
Maybe it’s because I was traveling while eating my Cook Unity meals, but each time I forked into one I found myself thinking that these would be an excellent solution for airlines. I’d be stoked to be served one of these meals in economy class on a long-haul – the quality is better than most airline food (the acclaimed flying chefs at Turkish Airlines being an exception) and, admitting my own ignorance to the behind-the-scenes logistics of meal service at 30,000 feet, it seems like an ideal fit. Partnering with Airbnb is undoubtedly a major feat for CookUnity, and certainly a viable innovation in an increasingly competitive delivery marketplace. Whomever came up with the idea should be given a high-five, and a nudge to get on the phone with Delta and United. 