Private Chef Start-Up Kitchit Raises $7.5 Million

San Franciso-based private chef start-up Kitchit has just raised $7.5 million in a round of funding. According to a press release, Kitchit aims to bring "the dining experience of a restaurant into the home" by bringing chefs to diners, instead of diners having to go to restaurants.

Users simply tell the company where they live, when they would like to have the meal, and how many people will be in attendance and then the company provides a list of menus they can chose from. On the designated day, a chef will come to a customer's home and cook the meal from start to finish, including prep work and clean up.

TechCrunch writes that the company's services are currently available in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Kitchit hopes to use the funding to expand into other cities in 2015. It also hopes to beef up the reach of Kitchit Tonight, the company's "on-demand service" where people can book meals for two to 12 people on the same day (by to 1 p.m.) Users can then chose between three signature three-course menus that cost $39 per person.

Kitchit hopes this lower priced model will appeal to customers who typically dine out on weeknights by giving them three courses for "less than the average cost per person at a full-service restaurant." Kitchit Tonight launched in November in San Francisco and the start-up plans to expand the offering in other markets next year. To date, Kitchit has raised $8.1 million in funding.