Kitchensurfing
Kitchensurfing was a New York-based online marketplace founded in 2012 that connected consumers with private chefs for in-home dining experiences, serving hosts seeking curated group meals in private kitchens.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Kitchensurfing does
Kitchensurfing, founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, operated an online marketplace that matched consumers with private chefs willing to cook in-home, enabling group meals and curated dining experiences in private kitchens. The company's functional role was to intermediate the discovery, booking, and payment flow between hosts and chefs, functioning as a two-sided consumer marketplace rather than a vertical restaurant operator. The technology stack, matching algorithms, and chef vetting process are not disclosed in available source material, and the current corporate website presents only a loader/verification page with no live content.
The company pursued venture funding aggressively in its early years, raising approximately $19.5 million across four rounds between mid-2012 and March 2014. Investors included Founder Collective, BoxGroup, SV Angel, Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, and Tiger Global Management, with Tiger Global leading the largest $15 million round in March 2014. Headcount at last disclosure was in the 11-50 range, consistent with a venture-backed marketplace in scale-up mode. No pricing model, take rate, GMV, customer segments, partnerships, or product roadmap data are present in the source inputs, and no team, geographic footprint, or operational status updates are available after 2014, leaving the company's current state effectively unverifiable from public data.
Kitchensurfing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Kitchensurfing
- Website
- https://kitchensurfing.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Kitchensurfing was a New York-based online marketplace founded in 2012 that connected consumers with private chefs for in-home dining experiences, serving hosts seeking curated group meals in private kitchens.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Kitchensurfing industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Private Chef Marketplace
- NAICS
- Caterers (72232)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Private Chef & In-Home Dining Services (HSACAGAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Private Culinary Experiences (Chef’s Table, Home Dining, Market-to-Meal) (THAJALAH), Hotel & Resort Banqueting (In-House Catering) (THAHAKAC)
Keywords
Where Kitchensurfing is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Kitchensurfing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Kitchensurfing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Kitchensurfing runs an online marketplace that connects consumers with professional private chefs who come to the customer's home to prepare and serve meals. The platform enables people to host in-home dining experiences, fostering communal and purposeful eating, with chefs matched to customers through a web-based booking interface.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Private Chef Marketplace Booking
Companies that use Kitchensurfing
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Kitchensurfing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Kitchensurfing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves4 records
Expansion highlights2 records
Kitchensurfing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Airbnb Experiences: Airbnb Experiences is the broad incumbent in the at-home and local-experiences category; it absorbed EatWith, Kitchensurfing's primary competitor, and now competes directly for the same chef-in-home occasions Kitchensurfing serves.
- Thumbtack: Thumbtack is a generalist services marketplace that includes private chefs and catering as a vertical; it competes for the same freelance chef supply and bookings demand but within a much broader home-services portfolio.
Direct peers
- Take a Chef: Take a Chef is a global online platform that lets customers hire private chefs for in-home dining experiences, with a near-identical business model and value proposition to Kitchensurfing, though operating in Europe and Latin America.
- La Belle Assiette: La Belle Assiette is a French-headquartered marketplace for booking private chefs to cook in customers' homes — a regional peer operating the same core model as Kitchensurfing across Europe.
- Cozymeal: Cozymeal is a marketplace connecting customers with private chefs for in-home dining experiences, cooking classes, and food tours — directly overlapping Kitchensurfing's core offering of dispatching chefs into home kitchens.
- EatWith: EatWith was the closest direct competitor to Kitchensurfing, operating an online marketplace that matched diners with home-based hosts offering multi-course meals; the company was acquired by Airbnb and folded into Airbnb Experiences.
Regional players
- BookaChef: BookaChef is a UK- and UAE-based private chef booking platform; it offers the same in-home private chef experience as Kitchensurfing but operates in different geographies.
Others
- Goldbelly: Goldbelly is an e-commerce marketplace for premium and regional foods from notable restaurants and chefs; it competes for share of occasion-based food spending but delivers prepared food rather than dispatching a chef.
- Caviar: Caviar (now part of DoorDash) is a premium food delivery service emphasizing higher-end restaurant meals; it is an alternative channel for special-occasion food spending that competes indirectly with in-home chef occasions.
- MasterClass: MasterClass offers premium culinary instruction from celebrity chefs; it is not a direct chef-dispatch competitor but addresses overlapping demand for high-end culinary experiences and could divert occasion-based spend away from in-home chef services.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
Kitchensurfing social profiles
Digital presenceKitchensurfing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Kitchensurfing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Kitchensurfing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors6 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Kitchensurfing M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Kitchensurfing
What does Kitchensurfing do?
Kitchensurfing runs an online marketplace that connects consumers with professional private chefs who come to the customer's home to prepare and serve meals. The platform enables people to host in-home dining experiences, fostering communal and purposeful eating, with chefs matched to customers through a web-based booking interface.
When was Kitchensurfing founded?
Kitchensurfing was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Kitchensurfing based?
Kitchensurfing is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Kitchensurfing's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Airbnb Experiences and Thumbtack. Direct peers are Take a Chef, La Belle Assiette, Cozymeal and EatWith. BookaChef is listed as a regional player. Others are Goldbelly, Caviar and MasterClass.
Does Kitchensurfing have an API?
No public API is recorded for Kitchensurfing.
What industry is Kitchensurfing in?
Kitchensurfing's product category is Private Chef Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAGAE, Private Chef & In-Home Dining Services, with a secondary code of THAJALAH, Private Culinary Experiences (Chef’s Table, Home Dining, Market-to-Meal). Its NAICS code is 72232.