Home Delivery Apps are red hot as takeaway orders soar

In 2019 alone, the takeaway business increased by 26% and with bars and restaurants and cafés closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, apart from takeaway or pick-up food, the figures for 2020 are bound to be a whole lot higher than that.

Whether it’s because people don’t want to go to crowded supermarkets, don’t have time to cook at home or don’t want to, home delivery Apps are red hot and orders are flooding in.

The options have changed too. Not so long ago you’d be hard pushed to get anything other than sushi, pizza or burgers, but now top chefs are getting in on the trend and delivering luxury Haute Cuisine straight to customers’ doors.

Trend

Talk of moving takeaway food upmarket has dominated the catering world for more than a decade, but high-end restaurants were reluctant to take on the fast food chains.

Now they’ve been pushed into the takeaway and pick-up business because of the pandemic restrictions and their customers are loving it.

Glovo got in on the trend for luxury takeaway food last April, with its ‘Haute Cuisine’ bubble. The goal was to find restaurants that suited App users, no matter what they were looking for.

They included high-quality, Michelin-starred restaurants, revolutionising haute cuisine and giving customers the option of enjoying a fabulous gourmet meal at home.

More than 70 establishments across Mallorca, including two haute cuisine restaurants have embraced the takeaway trend, according to data provided by Glovo.

Kitchen Changes

Michelin star Chef, Andreu Genestra is one of the best known chefs in the Balearics and he was also the first Balearic Chef to sign up to home delivery, giving diners the opportunity to enjoy his culinary creations in their own home.

"I won’t be the only one doing this, several colleagues have already called me to ask about our experience and I don't think it will take long for them to join this trend,” he predicts.

Chef Genestra says he’d been mulling over the idea of providing a home delivery service during the State of Emergency, but when the capacity restrictions in restaurants were imposed at the end of November he was forced to put his plan into action.

“I had to completely change the protocol in the kitchen because it’s a very different way of working,” he explains.

It also meant compiling a completely new menu, using local, seasonal products and cooking dishes that could be delivered quickly at an affordable price.

“A base of 100 of our regular customers, of all ages, chose the takeaway menu that we offer. They are strong, tasty dishes with our philosophy intact", says Chef Genestra, who admits that one of the biggest headaches about home delivery was choosing the packaging.

”I strived to give it a concrete image, using recyclable materials and a sugar cane base that can withstand the delivery process and still retain heat. We turned it around a lot, but we got it,” he says.

Ago by Genestra uses Glovo and has a maximum delivery time of 12 minutes.

Customers can choose from a range of dishes, including delicacies such as prawn and seaweed salad, sausage with a hint of pepper, local black pork with smoked cheese sauce and chimichurri or matured beef meatballs with foie gras and passion fruit. There’s also a tasting menu available for two people for 58 euros.

“We only use motorised distributors that carry the yellow Glovo box, he says. “The food has to arrive hot and in good condition.”

Chef Genestra has noticed that the takeaway service is attracting new customers in the 25-55 age group and says "takeaway is not the panacea, but it helps, especially in these times.”