Papas would be the startup's chief technical officer. Wadiak, 37, was a wholesaler of truffles and avocados he came on board as Blue Apron's resident food expert and COO. Neither Salzberg nor Papas had any food-industry knowledge, so Salzberg called up a family friend, Matthew Wadiak, who had catered dinners for his wife's mother. Dinners could be ordered in couple portions ($9.99 per person) or later, for two-to-four person families ($8.74 per person). The recipes and perfectly portioned ingredients would then be packaged and delivered to customers within 24 hours so they could make and eat a fresh meal for dinner. They'd forge relationships with local farmers and create menus based on seasonality and what ingredients were in stock. It was expensive, it was time-consuming and it was difficult to find recipes that we trusted.'īlue Apron, they decided, would offer a few recipes to subscribers each week. 'We liked trying new ingredients, new recipes, new techniques, but we found it really inaccessible to cook at home. 'We both loved food,' Salzberg tells Business Insider. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.

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