CookUnity, America’s first chef-to-you meal delivery service not only empowers chefs but also provides consumers with nourishing, affordable and delicious meals. In 2025 alone, CookUnity worked with a team of 180+ award-winning chefs, delivered over 43+ million meals and expanded to 8 major metropolitan markets including New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Seattle and Toronto (its first international market). While feeding millions, a new hungry audience became evident to Cook Unity leadership: its growing legion of talented chefs. When not curating and preparing their countless menu options, these chefs recognized the value of growing and connecting with their audiences. That’s where Chef Agency was born.
Chef Agency is an extension of CookUnity’s core mission: a creative marketing and video unit that empowers chefs to expand beyond the traditional restaurant model and build lasting, personal brands.
In February, Beyondish had the opportunity to see Chef Agency in action, filming with Chef John DeLucie. We spoke with Clara Fernandez Quiroga, co-founder and chief business officer of CookUnity and content manager and producer Paul Pilcz to learn more about Chef Agency, what it’s like working with such dynamic chefs, and how they remain authentic in the social media space.
 Clara, tell us a bit about how Chef Agency came about. Â
At CookUnity, we’ve always handled the infrastructure, ingredients, kitchens, logistics, and distribution, so chefs can focus on what they do best: creating exceptional food. But over time, we saw something important: the chefs who were growing their audience beyond the plate, especially on social media, were also seeing meaningful growth on the platform.
 So you guys saw a need in the social media space and built Chef Agency to support that?
It’s a dedicated service within our Chef Marketing team that helps chefs develop their voice, grow their presence, and connect directly with their audience through content. Because while people may remember a restaurant, they build loyalty with the chef behind it.
How many chefs are on your roster so far?
Today, we work with a growing group of chefs across the platform, including Cat Cora, José Garces, John DeLucie, among others, supporting them not just as culinary creators, but as brands in their own right.
Sounds like a lot going on beyond the creation of good dishes. How do you tie it all together?
Chef Agency operates within CookUnity’s broader chef marketing team, with a multidisciplinary group supporting content creation from strategy to execution. The core team includes social strategists, producers, culinary specialists, and videographers (such as NY-based Director of Photography Juan Dominguez), who collaborate closely with chefs throughout the process, from concept development to filming and final delivery.
Chef Aarthi Sampath, Chef Dustin Taylor, and NY-based director of photography Juan Dominguez.
Paul, what outside experience do you bring to your current role as content manager/producer?
My background is rooted in content production and storytelling, with a focus on food and personality-driven formats. Before CookUnity, I worked across digital media and production environments where the goal was always the same: translating voices and stories into something that resonates on camera.
What drew you to CookUnity?
Specifically, Chef Agency was the opportunity to work directly with chefs, not just to showcase their dishes, but to help bring their personality, process, and stories to life. It’s less about traditional food content and more about building something that feels authentic to each chef, with each piece of content created.
You have your hands in so many pots (pun intended). What does getting ready for a shoot day look like for you?
A lot of the work happens before the cameras roll. Micaela Koremblit, Chef Agency’s social strategist and program manager, and I start with understanding the chef, what they want to communicate, what feels natural to them, and what kind of content will resonate with their audiences. From there, we build out everything from concept sheets, location bookings, scripts, ingredient order sheets, call sheets, shot lists, etc. I could go on and on, but that would be a long shopping list (pun intended, again).
A lot of work goes into these videos. But they remain authentic. Like we’re just in the kitchen with the chefs on a random day.
The main goal is to make sure the structures are in place without completely over-scripting the moments, giving us a chance to capture the content in an authentic way while, most importantly, making sure we are doing justice to the chefs, their brands, their food, and their stories. On shoot day, my role is to keep everything on track while staying as flexible as humanly possible. Food is unpredictable, kitchens are dynamic, and chefs work best when they’re in their flow. At the end of the day, it’s about creating just enough structure to support that, without getting in the way.
Chefs Cat Cora and John DeLucie setting up with DP Juan Dominguez.
 How do you balance keeping everything moving along, while letting the chefs do what they do best?
That’s really the core of the job. We’re there to support and guide, not to dictate and direct. The goal is to create an environment where chefs can be themselves, because that’s what audiences connect with. We come in prepared, but we stay adaptable. If something unexpected happens, or a chef wants to take things in a different direction, we lean into that. The best content usually comes from those unscripted moments – and sometimes that sub recipe that ends up being a whole different story and piece of content in and of itself.
How does it make you feel to be a part of the creative process and the success of these talented chefs?
It’s incredibly rewarding. When you’re in production, you’re often focused on the next shoot, the next deadline, but moments like a quote from Chef Aarthi really put things into perspective. She said, “I’m so grateful that CookUnity gave me the opportunity to become an entrepreneur first.” At the end of the day, we’re helping chefs expand what’s possible for their careers. Seeing them grow, not just on the platform, but as entrepreneurs and as brands, is the most meaningful part of the work. Getting to say that I’m a part of it is just a bonus that comes with the job.
AUTHOR
Allanah Dykes is a freelance writer whose niche is home decor and food, but she has written in almost every field from mental health to political op-eds. Her favorite pastimes are listening to Biggie and Bach and enjoying New York Italian ices and slices
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