January 2026

Written By Easy Platter

Hi Chefs,

Welcome to the January edition of Chef Hub!

🚀You can manage weekly schedules now

Managing weekly schedule changes is now simple, no need to do back and forth with your point of contact admin at Easy Platter team anymore.

You can update your recurring availability yourself in just a few steps.

🗓️ Real Example: Blocking Sunday at 9:00 AM (Every Week)

Let’s say you’re no longer available every Sunday at 9:00 AM.

How to Do It (Takes ~30 seconds)

Step 1️⃣
Go to your Profile and click Availability

Step 2️⃣
In the availability table, click the day & time you want to block
👉 Example: Sunday – Morning (9 AM)

Step 3️⃣
Click Save This Schedule

  • The system will show a warning:

    • Future Sunday 9 AM bookings will be cancelled

    • Confirmed bookings within the next 4 days will NOT be cancelled

Step 4️⃣
Click Confirm Changes

🧠 New Feature>> Reschedule from your account!

If you have a schedule conflict or personal commitment, you no longer need to:

  • Call or message the customer

  • Coordinate back and forth with your Point of Contact at Easy Platter

There’s now a simple in-app way to handle this end-to-end 👇

How to Reschedule a Visit

1️⃣ Open your Calendar and click the visit you want to reschedule
2️⃣ Click “Reschedule Visit” (bottom left)
3️⃣ Select the new date & time
4️⃣ (Optional but recommended) Add a note for the customer

Make sure “Remove availability for this slot” is checked

5️⃣ Send the request

The customer will receive a reschedule request and can accept or reject it directly.

⭐ How Ratings Are Affected

  • ±1 day reschedule → ✅ No rating impact (ratings remain the same)

  • ±2 days or more → ⚠️ Rating impact is the same as cancelling a visit

👉 Why this matters:
No manual coordination, faster resolution, clear tracking — and a better experience for both you and your customer.

📊 Add-Ons Update:

Background:

Last time, we ran a survey with you to understand your willingness to offer add-ons to customers and earn extra while you are already at the clients location.

Based on your valuable input, we then surveyed customers to understand:

  • Which add-ons would be most helpful?

  • How willing they are to use them?

  • How often they’d like to add them to visits?

Here’s what customers shared 👇

⏱️ Biggest Hurdles they face

  • 75% – Meal planning & deciding what to eat

  • 38% – Kids meals

  • 38% – Cleanup & kitchen reset

⭐ Most Wanted Add-Ons

  • 75% – Ingredient Optimization

  • 63% – Chef-Selects Menu

  • 50% – Freezer Meal Prep

👉 What this means for you:

Add-ons will remain in your-controlled, optional, and focused on saving time without adding complexity.

In the next update you’d see how add-ons will work for both you and your customers 👨‍🍳✨

What is “Prep‑Only” and How Does It Work?

You may have noticed that some customers are choosing “Prep‑Only” for certain meals.

This means they don’t want the dish fully cooked , they prefer it prepared so they can finish cooking themselves.

For example:

  • Marinate the meat but don’t cook it

  • Prepare sauces and fillings

  • Layer a lasagna but don’t bake it

Customers choose this for a variety of options, eat meals fresh, avoid overtime charges while being able to cook themselves or  select unique recipes where they need expertise of a chef to get started and finish cooking in their own time.

What Should You Do?

When Prep‑Only is selected, you’ll see a note in the recipe:

“Please prep this dish only – I’ll finish cooking at home due to time constraints.”

Your responsibility is to:

✔ Wash and chop ingredients
✔ Cook protein, if needed for base prep
✔ Prepare sauces, fillings, and mixtures
✔ Portion and organize components neatly

You should NOT

✖ Fully cook the dish
✖ Take it to final baking or cooking stage
✖ Spend additional time on full finishing

 

When you arrive customers home, confirm for assembly-heavy dishes (e.g., layered or stuffed recipes), if:

“Would you like this assembled for the oven, or just the components prepared?”

A simple clarification avoids misunderstandings.

Time Awareness

Prep‑Only selections are expected to fit within the scheduled session time.

If you anticipate exceeding the allocated time, inform your Easy Platter Point of Contact 24 hours before the scheduled visit date. This allows the customer to change the recipe and get the needed ingredients.

Clear communication protects you, the client, and the Easy Platter experience. 💛

Easy Platter
Next

November 2025