CooKit is a new initiative who have started to work with a number of Shanghai restaurants by creating a unique new way to experience the items on their menus.
The Commune Social, who have our rump and short rib cuts on their menu, partnered with CooKit to create a new way to experience the New Zealand venison they have on offer. Instead of going to the restaurant to have the ingredients cooked for you, why not have the ingredients brought by the restaurant to your kitchen at home!
Head Chef Sergio Moreno made some kits of ingredients ready to be delivered around Shanghai with instructions on how to prepare the menu meal just the way he does. Different to most meal kits which require cooking, these kits just need warming and plating. This means anyone can make a restaurant quality meal in their own home without needing any specialist practice or training.
Even though the Shanghai regional area has opened up and allowed residents to eat out again, many residents are still taking social distancing precautions and spending much more cautiously than before. This idea, run via WeChat, has had an incredibly positive response and the Rump has been their top seller so far, selling twice as much as the previous week.
For CooKit and The Commune Social, these kits are reaching those people who maybe want to save a bit of money from dining out or who simply just want the novelty of having a restaurant meal at their own dining table! Hunter McGregor, Mountain River Venison’s representative in China, has said the uptake for their venison delivery kits was extremely positive.
The Commune Social is a unique new restaurant in Shanghai created in part by British celebrity chef and TV presenter Jason Atherton and even before this initiative, they were doing things a little differently. The restaurant has separate terraces, gardens, and courtyards designed for different styles of dining experience. The idea is that diners move through different areas of the venue as they move from snacks to tapas to main courses and finally to the bar with the intention of making dining like an exploration! As for those kits, included New Zealand venison rump with a labneh yoghurt purée and lavender wine sauce and New Zealand venison ribs with a tamarind glaze, smoked garlic purée and furikake. A small start so far for CooKit, but given the early positivity, it remains to be seen what other types of New Zealand venison will be delivered to Shanghai’s front doors. Watch Head Chef Sergio Moreno talk through the dish: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBixweeFOPU/
Take a look at CooKit on Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/cookit.shanghai/