Michael Baruch and Morley Ivers are the Canadian Country Leaders behind CookUnity, the country’s first chef-led meal delivery platform bringing restaurant-quality food directly to people’s doors. The idea traces back to 2022, when the pair founded Cookin, a software platform built to help chefs become food entrepreneurs and sidestep the brutal economics of the traditional restaurant industry. CookUnity acquired Cookin in 2024, and the mission got bigger: give the world’s most talented chefs a way to do what they do best, and handle everything else themselves.
What is your business called and what does it do?
CookUnity is Canada’s first chef-led meal delivery platform, connecting customers with restaurant-quality, ready-to-eat meals crafted by award-winning chefs. Through its marketplace model, chefs create their own menus and lead their own kitchen teams, giving Canadians access to a diverse selection of fresh, high-quality, chef-made meals delivered directly to their door.
What made you want to do this work? What problem did you want to solve with the business?
The traditional restaurant industry is fraught with challenges, and despite the incredible culinary talent out there, it is extremely difficult to build a sustainable business. So, in 2022, we started Cookin, a software platform to enable chefs to become food entrepreneurs. In 2024, CookUnity acquired Cookin with the goal of accelerating our mission to help the world’s most talented chefs unlock their potential and deliver their incredible food to consumers across the continent, circumventing all of the traditional challenges of the restaurant industry.
Who are your clientele/demographics? How does your business make money? How does it work?
CookUnity is for anyone looking for an easier way to enjoy great food at home. Our customers include busy professionals, families, and food lovers who want convenient, chef-made meals without having to cook or compromise on quality.
CookUnity works through a flexible weekly meal subscription. Customers choose a plan of 4 to 16 meals per week and can pause, skip, or cancel deliveries at any time. Each week, they browse a menu of more than 100 chef-crafted meals created by renowned Canadian and international chefs, with new dishes added regularly to suit a variety of tastes and dietary preferences. Every meal is prepared fresh in small batches by chefs and their kitchen teams, then delivered fresh and ready to enjoy in just minutes with no prep or cleanup.
CookUnity is the fastest-growing food platform in the world. In 2025, we served close to 60 million meals, and we are currently growing at over 50% year over year. Our business model and proposition to chefs is simple: you focus on creating the recipes and making the best food possible, and we take responsibility for everything else. Chefs are paid per meal sold, and the amount they make goes up alongside consumer reviews of their food. The better the food, the more the chef makes. Last year, our average chef’s income was $850,000, and our top chef earned more than $7.2 million.
Where in the city can we find your profession?
CookUnity operates out of its Toronto kitchen and fulfillment centre, where our chefs and culinary teams prepare fresh meals for customers across Ontario. While the meals are made in Toronto, they are delivered directly to customers’ homes, bringing restaurant-quality dining beyond the traditional restaurant setting.
What is the best question a prospective customer could ask a member of your profession when comparing services? Give the answer as well.
Unlike traditional meal delivery services, every CookUnity meal is created by a real chef who develops their own recipes and leads their own kitchen team. Meals are prepared fresh in our Toronto kitchen rather than mass-produced, giving customers access to restaurant-quality dishes made with the same care and creativity they’d expect from dining out. By giving chefs the freedom to showcase their culinary expertise, CookUnity makes high-quality, chef-crafted meals more accessible and affordable to enjoy at home. Because meals are prepared weekly based on customer orders, CookUnity also remains committed to sustainability by helping reduce food waste before it begins.
What is the best part about what you do? What is the worst part?
Recruiting the world’s top culinary talent and seeing them realize their dreams.
What is your favourite joke about your own profession?
Running a food company teaches you humility. If people love your food, they tell their friends. If they don’t, they tell the internet.
Where can we follow you?
You can follow us on Instagram
PAY IT FORWARD: What is another local business that you love?
I love patronizing our chefs’ restaurants. Check out Chef Patrick’s Aloette, my favourite go-to in the city, and Chef Dadrien’s Chubby’s if you are in the mood for great jerk spice.
