Meet Ani Torosyan of DishDivvy in Glendale, La Crescenta, and Montrose

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ani Torosyan.

Ani, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed food. I was never a picky eater, and I always loved trying new dishes and cuisines. I grew up with delicious homecooked dinners almost every night, which forever spoiled me to expect an elevated level of quality and taste in food. My parents were busy working professionals, who somehow figured out how to pull off awesome homemade meals every night of the week. How did they do it? Were they super human?

Fast forward to today, and so many people are struggling with the dinner dilemma of what to have for dinner tonight. I was blessed to have learned the skills and tips from my mom and dad, both phenomenal cooks, on how to whip up something yummy and wholesome in less than 30 minutes. This being said, I still find myself not having the time or energy to cook a whole meal in the middle of the week. Other than expensive and relatively unhealthy restaurant options, I didn’t find a solution that truly lived up to my expectations and was financially sustainable on a consistent basis.

Two years ago, I was visiting my mother-in-law, who was cooking up a storm as she always does. She was meticulously rolling cabbage and grape leaf dolmas (an Armenian delicacy) with such precision and passion. I thought to myself: how lucky I am to be able to enjoy her delicious and authentic food. My next thought was: I bet my friends and neighbors would love to enjoy her food as well. This was the exact moment that the concept behind DishDivvy was born. I realized that people who are looking for better food options, and yearning for authentic homemade dishes, can only find that by tapping into the skills of talented homecooks. These skills and techniques, which have been handed down from generation to generation, are the “secrets” of the ‘secret sauce’.

In June of 2017, I decided to launch DishDivvy and pour my heart and soul into creating a trusted network of fabulous homecooks, who provide authentic, wholesome meals to hungry neighbors and families seeking to solve the dinner dilemma in a sustainable and conscientious way. I brought on board my co-founder, Susanna Saponjyan, who is a jack of all trades and a master in executing what needs to be done. For the past 6 months, we have been grinding away every day, working hard, to make DishDivvy a reality. We are operating in the Glendale, Montrose, La Crescenta, La Canada areas and have about 25 cooks live on the platform. DishDivvy is a new way to solve the dinner dilemma.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Haha… great question. I don’t think any entrepreneur can say they’ve had a smooth anything when starting up their business, and our case in definitely no exception. With DishDivvy, we are not only trying to build up and scale a tech company, but we are also establishing a new industry category. This is a paradigm shift in the way people order food: albeit, this is a great time for introducing this concept of sharing food, and purchasing homemade food from your neighbor. People now, as compared to maybe 3-4 years ago, are much more comfortable partaking in the share economy, and crowdsourcing services from members in their community, whether it’s grabbing a ride with Lyft or Uber, sharing a room via Airbnb, or getting a dog walker using the Wag app. Even so, one of our biggest challenges that we work on every day, is educating consumers on the actual safety of homemade food (compared to health risk statistics of restaurants for example); and of course the greater health benefits of eating, fresh, local and homemade food. Did you know that over double the amount of food borne illnesses originate from a commercial restaurant kitchen than a home kitchen? Another challenge we face is just trying to get everything done that we seek to. So far it’s just Susanna and myself, boot-strapping it all and using the limited funds we have to create a phenomenal brand and technology that will one day become a household name.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about DishDivvy – what should we know?
We are an online platform that connects Approved Private HomeCooks with hungry neighbors looking for wholesome, homemade food. So far, we are website only but our awesome mobile app is launching in April of this year, which will be a huge milestone for us. You can think of the style of food and cooks on our site as an intersection between Grandma and Personal Chef: you get the wholesome, delicious, feel-good recipes that Grandma would always make, coupled with the quality and standardization you get from a Personal chef. We take quality and safety very seriously, which is why all of our cooks have to go through an approval process which includes obtaining their California Food Handler Card certification and passing an on-site kitchen inspection.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
It really does take a village. As an entrepreneur, you’re constantly in your own head, questioning whether things will work, or if you’re making a right decision. Having a group of trustworthy and dependable confidants and advisors is key to keeping your mindset in check. My #1 supporter has always been my husband, Karren (pronounced Kaw-ren). He is my cheerleader, advocate, advisor… you name it. He has always supported my entrepreneurial ventures, and as a team, through lots of hard work and collaboration, we’ve always succeeded.

Pricing:

• Dishes are typically $9-15, depending on the ingredients or complexity of the dish
• Our offerings are 30-40% less expensive than a restaurant alternative

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.dishdivvy.com
• Phone: (323) 487-9321
• Email: [email protected]

Image Credit:
All images are property of DishDivvy, Inc. They are all our original photos.

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