Flavorism: 5 Ghost Kitchens in Stamford Feature Local Chefs Thru Unique Delivery Platform

Long before the term ghost kitchen became part of our vernacular, Jonathan Brennan was busy building his vision in the heart of Stamford. Today, his bustling virtual food hall features six far-to-table kitchens under one roof, and has plans for expansion in the very near future. Each kitchen features a unique menu with a different flavor profile to accommodate a wide range of tastes and lifestyles with a focus on heath and sustainability.  While Flavorism could be touted as a multi-Ghost Kitchen, it’s really so much more. It’s a focus on sustainability, the elimination of excess waste, serving the local communities and hiring local talents. 

The current kitchens are as follows:

• Burger Creations focuses on American/Pub Food and is headed by Peter Ward, former partner and Chef at Sound Beach Cafe in Old Greenwich, who also heads Fahrenheit 760, a Wood Fired Kitchen with a modern American/Farm to Table approach.

• Cucina18 serves Italian and Mediterranean inspired dishes, and is headed by David Raymer, former Chef/ Partner at Strada 18 & Boulevard 18, and Jesus Ramirez Former Head Chef at Strada 18.

• Valon Gjeloshi was former Executive Chef of Spotify NY and Bridgewater and can now be found at The Farmer’s Palette which features Organic Salads.

• Mario Villalta, a former Whole Foods CT Sushi Chef now heads Poke Sushi Dumpling, featuring, you guessed it, Asian/Sushi.

• Amanda Zuleta was sous chef at Paloma, temporarily out on maternity leave, and runs Pueblo Grill.

The app-based concept took off immediately and initially gained popularity among local businesses whose busy employees ate lunch at their desks. When Covid hit the focus shifted. Flavorism remained busy but those who were once ordering from their offices began ordering from home, for themselves and their families.

They knew the food selections were not only wholesome and delicious, but were comforted by the brand’s safety measures – both in handling and delivery. Because Flavorism isn’t constrained by restaurant dining rooms, kitchens can be dismantled in minutes, allowing for easy and thorough sanitization. They utilize a no-contact delivery system and no cash handling. The software-based system allows drivers to leave all food orders at designated locations and notifies users once the delivery has been made. All orders are packaged and sealed in the kitchens eliminating the need for wait staff or other employees needing to come in contact with food orders. All drivers are full-time employees and drive company-owned vehicles that never carry general passengers.

Flavorism is just one of three concepts all designed by Brennan to get food delivered to its consumers quickly and efficiently. Menu Mavin, a software designed with his partner Tim Gurske, is an online ordering and processing system and Flavor Rush is his answer to UberEats or GrubHub. All three brands work together efficiently and seamlessly. The first order of business for customers is to downloan the Flavor Rush App.

The Menu Mavin software eliminates the need of a third party and comes at a fraction of the cost. In addition to being used with Flavorism, it’s enjoying success in restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, Austin, Denver and here in Connecticut. Flavor Rush is the delivery system that pulls all three brands together to ensure a seamless and on-time arrival with a greatly reduced margin for error.

To understand the brands, how they work and the relationships they have with each other, one must learn a little about the man behind the grand. Johnathan Brennan is an executive chef with quite a few accolades of his own. But humble beginnings started on his family’s farm before heading off to Embrey Riddle University where he earned his degree in Electrical Engineering. When he wasn’t working hard at school, he was hard at work in the restaurants of Daytona. It was then that he discovered that cooking was his real passion.

After graduation he packed up and left Daytona for New York where he was fortunate to find work in such esteemed restaurants such as Daniel, Payard and at the Plaza Hotel before landing in the world of catering, events and weddings where he would rise to the role of Executive Chef at Abagail Kirsch. There he would eventually oversee everything from the food to the behind the scenes operations. While at Kirsch he designed and created two digital platforms managing large-scale events, hotels, sales, sourcing, culinary production for multiple kitchens, and multiple events originally known as Tastebudd.

Flavorism is currently is available in the Greenwich and Stamford areas, with some distribution into New Canaan and Darien and Menu Maven is available to restaurants throughout the state.

For restaurants wanting more information on Menu Mavin, please visit Menumavin,   or email cb@menumavin.com. For chefs wanting to enquire about joining Flavorism, please email Jonathan Brennan at 411@flavorism.com, or visit https://menumavin.com/restaurants.php