Cook More at Home with Help from Our Neighbors at GrubKit

As everyone with a barely-touched bottle of grapeseed oil, a still-full jar of asafoetida, and a package of ground mango powder bought on a pilgrimage to Kalustyan’s and immediately abandoned in the cabinet knows, ambitious at-home cooking can be daunting for the occasional chef. Which is where neighbors Max Gabath and Barb Brillantes come in.

The founders of GrubKit (unrelated to the take-out empire GrubHub), they’re on a mission to get would-be home cooks whipping up organic curries, stir-fries, and tagines, pain-free. GrubKit delivers simple recipes for intimidating dishes (Pad Thai, Moroccan tagine with saffron couscous), plus pre-measured packets of non-perishable ingredients. You add the fresh stuff working from the included “shopping list,” prep according to their (simple, they promise!) instructions, and you’ve got dinner.

While GrubKit only launched in March, Max and Barb have been a food duo since their second date. “One of the first things I noticed about her was that she’d constantly think about the next meal,” says Max. “During dinner she would ask ‘So what should we cook for breakfast?”…then at breakfast the discussion would shift to lunch preparation.”

By trade, she’s a graphic designer; officially, he’s a finance guy. But from the beginning of their courtship, their entry into the food biz was only a matter of time.

I caught up with Max via email to get the full story on the origins of GrubKit, the art of choosing recipes, and the best al fresco dining in the area.

So in your words, what’s the premise of GrubKit?
Our goal is to inspire and enable folks to cook more at home by delivering pre-measured specialty ingredients to their door.

Which is brilliant. When did you realize you were onto something?
Barb’s blog WishfulChef.com really sparked the idea. We knew that we wanted to start a food business, and realized that we can solve a real problem after looking at her blog comments, as well as our own experience following recipes online or on TV. There are so many great recipes out there, but actually preparing them at home has always been a struggle due to the lack of time or ingredients (or even courage). It didn’t take us long to realize this was an idea worth pursuing. We received some great press coverage almost immediately after our soft launch in March, and initial customer feedback came in strong.

Why a food business? Has food always been your thing?
Food has always been central to our marriage, but over the years while living in different parts of the country (Philadelphia, San Diego, Los Angeles, NYC) our relationship with food evolved and we started to connect with local cuisines and flavors.

How do you decide which recipes are going to work for GrubKit?
Recipes currently come from two sources: our own favorites, or partnerships with other food blogs. We’ve developed three kits with popular food blogs so far. The advantage of that is that we know what works based on bloggers’ feedback. For example, our latest kit with Rasamalaysia.com – one of the largest food blogs in the US – features two recipes that are taken from Rasa Malaysia’s cookbook. Both recipes have been tested multiple times for the cookbook, plus have received tons of positive feedback on the web site itself. We knew we had a winner before even launching the kit.

Have you tried any kits that don’t work?
We haven’t removed any kits from our collection yet, but there are certainly dishes that we wouldn’t attempt. Recipes that require too many tools and are overly complicated. We’re all about offering a fun experience with our kits, so the last thing we want is for someone to receive a kit in the mail and get frustrated with a recipe.

Are you your own test kitchen?
We absolutely are. Right now we’re working on a holiday cookie kit (four different kinds) which means we’re baking batch after batch of cookies every day to make sure we get the perfect recipes for our kits. Our friends and families will thank us for all the leftovers!

So besides four different kinds of holiday cookies, what do you guys eat at home?
Besides eating all of the leftover food from testing GrubKits, we love simple charcuterie type dinners that don’t require much cooking. We also like to experiment with new techniques like sous-vide cooking or preparing fresh pastas with our pasta maker. Barb’s specialty would have to be roast chicken, though. It’s our go-to comfort food and we can never get tired of it. A few other hobbies of mine include roasting my own coffee and experimenting with cocktails. I’m also planning on brewing beer this fall.

What about around the neighborhood – when you do go out, where do you go?
This changes almost monthly, but right now we really love new-ish Italian restaurant Picolli on 14th and 6th ave. Other favorites include Applewood, Lot 2, and the best bar food on the planet at Double Windsor. Brookvin’s and Juventino’s outdoor patios are also among our favorites in the Slope.

Are you two Co-op people?
Yes! For convenience we shop at Union Market – while on the pricier side they do a great job at packing all the essentials in a few hundred square feet of space. Most of our grocery shopping, however, we do at the Food Co-op. You simply can’t beat the quality and price of the food. We’re still trying to figure out why opinions are so polarized. We’ve never had a bad experience shopping and working at the Co-op.

Lighting Round!

Perfect Slope weekend?
Bike ride through the park up to the Grand Army farmer’s market. Picnic in the park followed by an al fresco dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants.

Best thing about the neighborhood?
Close to the park and perfect neighborhood to stroll. And of course, the beautiful brownstones.

Neighborhood pet peeve?
F/G train service changes keeping you “stranded” several times a year.