Chef Jona Silva prepared cod ceviche, guacamole, turmeric iced tea and cucumber lemonade for guests at the ribbon-cutting for Cooked, 1307 Chicago Ave. Then he listed some examples of foods he envisions for future menus: bratwurst with grilled radicchio and red peppers, smoked salmon salad, quinoa empanada with kale salad or beef and sweet potato curry with okra.
These restaurant-style meals, though, are meant to be eaten at home. Customers can select a meal or five from the menu at www.eat-cooked.com and have it delivered in time for lunch in the office or dinner at home. Some customers choose to leave a cooler outside their door, so they can come home to an already-prepared dinner that needs only heating.
Mr. Silva said he uses local ingredients that are “always sustainable, and organic whenever possible. … The food we eat everyday should be as delicious as anything we eat at a restaurant, but should be as healthy as what mom makes: low salt, no saturated fats, no preservatives or chemicals. We use the tricks of our ancestors (lemon, seasoning, coconut) to make food taste great while keeping dishes healthy and nourishing.”
The turmeric iced tea, he said, was a great hit at the Custer Street Fair. “I am really sold on the healing properties of turmeric. It is an anti-inflammatory and it is good for headaches.”
Although Chef Silva’s business is primarily online or catering private events, he hopes that eventually he will serve meals at the Chicago Avenue address.
“It’s a new concept,” he said “delivering food that’s good for you.”