Lubavitcher Entrepreneur and Chef Creates Kosher Meal Kits

The world is getting smarter. Why isn’t your dinner? That’s the question Adam Goodfriend has been asking people these days as he bolts out of the gate with his newly rebranded company.

A GoodFriend (previously Kosher Made Simple) was conceived and born during the COVID shutdown. As restaurants closed their doors and people stayed at home, he took out a notebook and started jotting down ideas. Looking down at pen and paper, what he saw staring back was the need for an upscale kosher meal kit company for the pandemic and beyond.

“While many other parts of our lives have seen drastic advancements, the way a home cook makes chicken schnitzel and mashed potatoes is pretty much the same as 50 years ago and even 100 years ago” says Goodfriend, a member of the Chabad community in Monsey, NY.

Like in any entrepreneurial undertaking, the journey from concept to fruition is almost always an uncharted one. Early on Goodfriend reached out to CHYE and Rabbi Yehoshua Werde who provided advice and feedback on a host of issues. Rabbi Werde assigned him a business mentor, Yitzy Geisinsky (of Alacrity Energy and Milano Wigs), who offered further guidance and support particularly through the decision and process of their recent rebrand. “I am thankful to Hashem that I had the awareness that I needed to avail myself of their services. Yitzy has been so generous with his time and advice. It just really amazes me,” he remarked, and added he received just the right balance of practical advice, encouragement and support. Shlomo Klein of Fleishigs Magazine and Yakov Yarmove of Albertsons offered guidance along the way as well. Crucial to the decision to rebrand was Chaya Lichtenstein (ChezChaya) and when the time came to take the plunge Goodfriend went with the kosher world’s leading branding and marketing company, Mann Sales Co and Jack Levinson.

And according to Moshe and Emily Tikotzky: “Dinner has never been better. My husband and I wanted to let you know that this is our second week in a row ordering dinners from you, and we are absolutely blown away by the quality of each meal! They are all so flavorful and fresh — every night gets better and better! Thank you for making dinner not only delicious, but also exciting with new menus every week and both fun and stress free to prepare!”

Demographics that typically utilize this service include households with two working parents, people after having babies or recovering from an illness, smaller households that don’t want leftovers, young couples just setting up households, teenagers who like to cook, busy families and more. There is even the option to gift the service through a gift card and since there is no subscription requirement it is something that really makes sense.

“If people want convenience they can always do frozen fish sticks or pizza. While that certainly has its place most people don’t want to be doing that 5 nights a week. So what we had to do was make the dinner time routine more easy while increasing quality at the same time. This is possible because restaurateurs know how to source, store, cut, brine food for optimal quality integrity and taste. They know where to purchase what. For example we will order bread from one place, fish from another, veggies from multiple places, kosher speciality items from a different place. For us it makes sense but not for a home cook and especially not for a weeknight dinner. This is the service we are providing. At the end of the day you can cook and produce restaurant quality food in your own home with ease and to your exact liking.”

Customers can choose CHK for meat and poultry. Each week a new menu comes out. Every Sunday afternoon (the main delivery day), customers look forward to finding the signature yellow box on their doorsteps promising delicious and wholesome culinary adventures inside. Not in the NY metro area? No worries they ship nationally. The deadline for ordering is Tuesday night at 11:45pm and customers receive their order the following Sunday (or Monday depending on their delivery area). More information is available at their website: agoodfriend.co.