Shef is a platform that connects customers with local chefs who specialize in homemade meals, providing an alternative to traditional dining options. The company emphasizes the convenience of having freshly prepared, home-cooked dishes delivered directly to consumers' doors. By facilitating a marketplace for local culinary talents, Shef enables chefs to showcase their unique recipes and cooking styles, while offering customers a diverse selection of meals that reflect their community's flavors.
Targeting food enthusiasts and busy individuals seeking homemade options, Shef aims to enhance the dining experience by making it accessible and enjoyable from the comfort of home. Customers can explore a variety of cuisines, place orders, and support local chefs, thereby fostering a sense of community through food. With a user-friendly platform, Shef ensures that the process of discovering and enjoying homemade meals is straightforward and efficient.
Shef receives overwhelmingly negative feedback from customers, with many expressing frustration over unreliable service and poor customer support. Reviewers frequently report issues with incomplete orders, stating that they are charged for items that are never delivered.
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The delivery service is often criticized for being late or misdelivering orders, leaving customers without their meals and unable to reach anyone for assistance. While some consumers appreciate the quality of the food, particularly noting that certain dishes are well-prepared and not overly salty, these positives are overshadowed by the systemic issues in order fulfillment and customer service. Many feel that the concept of Shef is promising but poorly executed, leading to a lack of trust in the service. Overall, the sentiment is largely negative, reflecting significant dissatisfaction among users.
Each source counts by its number of reviews. Only reviews written by people are scored.
Rating, volume, share of the score, six-month trend and fake-review risk for each source
Source
Rating
Reviews
Weight
6-mo
Fake risk
★
Trustpilot
Imported Trustpilot reviews
1.7
22
100%
—
● Low
1.7 / 5 overall
=
22 reviews across 1 scored source
How fake risk works ⓘ
Reputation trend
Monthly average rating from reviews written by people · latest review Nov 2024.
Last 3 months
1.0
12-month avg
1.0
All-time
1.7
Category avg
4.1
Monthly averageCategory average
Monthly average rating and review count
Month
Average
Reviews
May 24
1.0
2
Jun 24
—
0
Jul 24
—
0
Aug 24
—
0
Sep 24
—
0
Oct 24
—
0
Nov 24
1.0
1
What people praise & complain about
Share of positive (4–5★) and negative (1–2★) reviews mentioning each topic · based on the 22 most recent reviews.
Top complaintsof 17 negative reviews
Customer service82%
14 mentions
Delivery71%
12 mentions
Response time65%
11 mentions
No response29%
5 mentions
“Unreliable service - Ordered three items, delivered only one but charged for three”
On “Customer service” · Nov 26, 2024
How it compares
Same method for every company: overall rating, legitimacy checks, the average rating of reviews mentioning each area and the 6-month trend · Food Delivery.
Overall rating and review count for this company and similar companies
I was excited to order from this website. The food looks amazing, and the variety is all across the board. But on receiving it I'm not impressed. The portions were small and the food while good was nothing interesting. For the price I'd expect either more food or better taste. And on top of that you have to plan your order a day ahead and you only get a 4 hour time window for delivery. In the future if I want cheaper food I'll make it myself, and for better food I'll go to a restaurant.
We're not as good as a restaurant but we do charge more
I kept seeing ads on Facebook and other places online.
They offered a $10 discount on one’s first order.
So I decided to try it.
I placed an order and when I checked out, a pop-up said that if I ordered from another shef for delivery on the same day, I’d get a $10 discount (as they refer to it “double the food at a fraction of the price”). Well, their prices are pretty damned high.
So, $10 doesn’t reduce anything to a fraction.
But it is a discount and I did make use of it.
One order was Indian food and one was South East Asian.
Both orders were average.
Not terrible, not wonderful.
I didn’t write reviews on their web site.
Of course now that I had created an account, I was getting e-mails several times a week.
About 3 weeks after my first order, I placed my 2nd order.
Things changed significantly from the 2 unremarkable orders.
I also ordered from 2 people this time.
One was really good and I still order from her regularly and it is now 3 months later.
The other is where things really started to go wrong.
I ordered Thai food - my favorite cuisine.
One item was Tom Kha Kai. It’s a delicious creamy soup made with coconut milk
what I got was a bucket of yellow slop.
I don’t know if the shef sent me the wrong thing (I don’t think she offered other types of soup, though) or this was her interpretation of Tom Kha.
Let me tell you, I have had Tom Kha from Brooklyn to Bangkok and this isn’t it!
And who serves soup chicken that has the skin on???
It was slimy and disgusting. I dumped most of it out and requested a refund.
The other item was Massamon Curry.
It was ok. But was $20 when my local Thai restaurant (that pays for a store front here in New York City) charges $14. And if you get it at lunch time, comes with an appetizer.
The Tom Kha, likewise was $17 for a quart. Would have been $14 at a restaurant.
Oh! And then there’s a service charge.
And if you order under $25 from any one person, there’d be a delivery charge as well.
Nothing like ordering a dish for $24.99 and having to pick something else so’s to not get hit with another fee.
I’m winding down my relationship with this service (using up credits).
But even that’s not easy.
It’s hard not to find anything on there where the prices aren’t insane.
Why would I want to pay more than what food costs in a restaurant?
And they get away (or try to) with murder.
Something will state that the portion size is a 24 oz container.
I get it and 2/3 is taken up with tubs of condiments.
Almost no food! I took a pic and demanded a refund.
Another item I got was a Mexican dish that was sort casserole.
About 50% was corn bread. That part is fine.
But it was so over done that it creaked when I chewed it.
I couldn’t capture that in a photo. So, I took a pic of 80% of the dish in my trash can.
This too had to be refunded.
If food any of this were done in a restaurant, I think someone would get a plate broken of their head!
One of the ideas the company puts forth as a selling point is “in a restaurant, you have no idea who’s making your food. At Shef.com, you know exactly who’s preparing your food”.
Ridiculous! What could be further from the truth??
In a restaurant, you see the kitchen (and people in it) all the time.
Whether you’re headed to the rest room or just look up when a server is going in or coming out of the kitchen.
In addition to poor quality control and high prices, shef food is never ready to eat.
If you get delivery from a restaurant, it arrives fresh, hot and ready to eat.
Shef meals arrive cold and often have components in separate containers which have to be combined and then heated.
To keep the food from spoiling, they put in frozen water bottles (adds to the price).
And they pack things into a thermal bag which also adds to the price.
When I first signed up, I saw a note that said when you had 5 or more bags, contact them. They will pick up the bags, recycle and pay $5 for 5 bags.
Now, I’ve been waiting nearly a month to get an appt for pickup (I have about a dozen bags) and they no longer pay anything. So, each time you order, you pay for the cost of the thermal bag even if you return it to them.
Additionally, when you place an order, the offer to get $10 if you place another one has been cut to $5 (still says “double your food at a FRACTION of the price”).
Before closing, I need to address price a bit more.
It is surreal when I look at portion size and see 16oz container at consistently higher prices than the 32oz container from a restaurant. But it gets worse.
Many are now selling in 12oz containers. 12 Ounces! That is the size of a soda can!
So, high prices, small portions, poor quality control...
Oh! Not done with the inconvenience! Not only do things not arrive ready to eat, but you have a 2 hour window and have to wait 2-4 days for delivery from the time you order.
their slogan is “we’re not as good as a restaurant. But we do charge more.”
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Shef is a platform that connects customers with local chefs who specialize in homemade meals, providing an alternative to traditional dining options. The company emphasizes the convenience of having freshly prepared, home-cooked dishes delivered directly to consumers' doors. By facilitating a marketplace for local culinary talents, Shef enables chefs to showcase their unique recipes and cooking styles, while offering customers a diverse selection of meals that reflect their community's flavors.
Targeting food enthusiasts and busy individuals seeking homemade options, Shef aims to enhance the dining experience by making it accessible and enjoyable from the comfort of home. Customers can explore a variety of cuisines, place orders, and support local chefs, thereby fostering a sense of community through food. With a user-friendly platform, Shef ensures that the process of discovering and enjoying homemade meals is straightforward and efficient.
