Erik Battes defies gravity in the kitchen — literally. As executive chef at Morimoto in New York City, he served levitating umami crackers. Now, the decorated chef is taking his culinary superpowers to the Good Uncle kitchen.

“If he can serve food that floats, I think he’s going to be OK making food for our college students,” said Wiley Cerilli, co-founder and co-CEO of Good Uncle.

New this semester, every Good Uncle meal is prepared by Battes and his team — some of whom come from Michelin-star backgrounds. Good Uncle no longer has partnerships with NYC restaurants such as Sticky’s Finger Joint and Ess-a-Bagel. Instead, the entire menu is curated by Battes himself.

But the chef’s culinary background isn’t in burgers and pasta.

His experiences are rooted in a range of ethnic cuisines, including executive chef roles in Michelin-starred French and Japanese restaurants. After 17 award-winning years in the fine-dining industry, Battes said he proved everything he needed to prove to himself in that world.

“Being a chef in some ways is fairly limiting. You know, it’s just ‘What’s the new duck garnish that we’re going to serve for this season?’” he said. “It got kind of repetitive.”

Cerilli was captivated by Battes’ creativity and aptitude for food science. He added that Battes’ ability to adapt quickly and learn new cuisine types was the perfect fit for Good Uncle.

“One thing that I’ve really come to appreciate in Erik is that it’s not just about mixing this ingredient and this ingredient,” Cerilli said. “He talks to us about why our food is better, and a lot of it comes down to science.”

Good Uncle’s new business model includes preparing meals in a regional kitchen then cooking food in the delivery truck. Molly Gibbs | Photo Editor

Battes said he sees “tremendous opportunity” in Good Uncle. The company hit a milestone with half a million orders during the past academic school year — all of which was used to collect data about student behavior, said Dylan Gans, who leads Good Uncle business development. After listening to student feedback, the Good Uncle team set new goals to help keep their menu fresh, balanced and consistent across campuses, Gans said.

Last semester, food was made-to-order in the local Good Uncle kitchen. Now, all meals are prepared by Battes’ trained team of chefs in two regional kitchens: one in central New York, and one just outside of Philadelphia.

From those regional kitchens, the meals are driven to and assembled in each campus market. The Syracuse location no longer has a full kitchen staff because hot meals are cooked in the delivery truck itself. Good Uncle’s increased mobility now allows the business to operate with a smaller staff and fewer resources.

By working faster and more cost-effectively, Cerilli said he believes the team has “perfected the ability to launch a market.” The most recent being in Maryland, which grew faster in a month and a half than Syracuse did in two years, he said.

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Next fall, Cerilli plans to be operating at 100 college campuses.

“I’ve never felt more confident in the model,” he said. “I’ve never felt more confident that this is the future.”

Good Uncle’s new business model means “there’s no limiting factor” about where they can launch, Cerilli said. The company recently opened up at Colgate — located in a small college town that doesn’t even have a Starbucks.

Cerilli said that as Good Uncle spreads along the East Coast — and eventually the rest of the nation — keeping the food consistent across campuses is crucial. With food preparation now happening in a couple of regional kitchens, Good Uncle no longer needs to train chefs for each campus they launch in.

Battes said that he’s still learning the nuances of food delivery, but the preparation process is not much different than restaurant-style food. The co-founder said one of his goals for Good Uncle’s food is quality ingredients prepared by talented chefs.

One of the new menu items is customizable bowls. Students can choose a base of crispy tofu, grilled chicken, roasted salmon, seared steak or veggies, then add toppings and dressings. The bowls are packaged in plastic containers with compartments for each of the ingredients.

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Battes has also added queso and buffalo chicken dip to the menu — two of his favorite “guilty pleasure dishes.” Good Uncle’s research shows that Syracuse students seek healthier options, but Battes wants a balance of healthy and indulgent foods on the menu.

“I mean that’s the one thing about college students … they’ll tell you that they want to always eat healthy, but then they’ll order mac ‘n’ cheese and chicken fingers,” he said.

Good Uncle opened for the semester Sept. 1 — nearly a week later than expected. Meredith Lewis, a sophomore advertising major, was frustrated that the meal plan service didn’t start until Sept. 3. As of now, non-meal plan members can’t order dinner until 8 p.m.

She tried to order breakfast on Tuesday morning, but the kitchen was closed until 5 p.m. Lewis said that there’s typically a few dishes sold out by dinner time. Some of her favorite dishes from the old menu are no longer available, including guacamole and Halo Top ice cream.

It’s been less than a week since Good Uncle’s fall launch, so the company is still working out the kinks. With all the changes that took place over the summer, Cerilli said customer feedback is always appreciated.

Published on September 5, 2018 at 10:33 pm

Contact Haley: hrober03@syr.edu