Hey man. I’ve been a supporter of Chefsteps for a long time. I love you guys. I’m from way back. Like, *way* back. I feel almost as if we know each other.
There have been a lot of growing pains with CS in the last few months. That’s stressful for you. It’s also been stressful for supporters like me. I know you’ve heard a lot about it already, and you’re a busy guy. Too busy to read a letter from me. So I’m writing this note into the void.
The Chefsteps team has always been unafraid of doing things differently. Remember when you guys made paprika fireworks? Or told us to make garlic confit in the microwave? (And then told us NOT to make garlic confit in the microwave). That Chefsteps had a real genuine feeling. You stuck your hand in liquid nitrogen! You dressed Ben up as a cow!
That stuff kept people like me coming back to you. The recipes were fantastic. I felt like I was learning from friends.
It happened often that we wouldn’t get recipes from you guys for weeks or months at a time. I didn’t mind. You guys were clearly busy, you were small, and I was just grateful that the Chefsteps resource existed.
Things slowed down even more when Joule went to market. Not many recipes up. That was fine — I was happy to see you guys succeeding. And Joule is so on-brand for the guys that would sous-vide anything. Things still felt right.
For me, the biggest change was when I saw that Chefsteps was selling bagged sauce. Grant... Bagged sauce? This isn’t Betty Crocker.
I was around when CS was selling House Rub #1, and saw what happened when the online store ran out: you guys released the recipe for us to make at home. That’s the CS I know, and the one I am missing now.
Maybe it isn’t fair to say that I miss Nick and Ben, but I do. They were just as much part of the team as you, Grant.
And without them, and with all these new changes, I really struggle to see the energy that made Chefsteps what it was. I miss it.
I wish you nothing but success Grant, you’re a better cook than I’ll ever be.
Lauren
