The idea of working remotely has become more mainstream than ever, with companies being forced to pull the shutters on the office space during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Asia, co-working spaces such as The Working Capitol in Singapore, The Hive in Bangkok, and Hubud in Bali, have become notable names in the cities they’re based in. Designed for usage flexibility and productivity, these places have gained popularity in recent years among freelancers, small start-ups, and even major coorperations like Facebook, Starbucks, and Microsoft.
Now, an emerging trend of co-cooking spaces has begun to make headway across the region. As its name suggests, these are essentially co-working spaces built with food entrepreneurs in mind. These sprawling “cloud kitchens” come with private kitchen studios, walk-in chillers, baking facility, dry storage, loading bay, as well as food delivery stations for pick-ups.
A smart disruption to the traditional dining-out restaurant model, these cloud kitchens allow chef-owners to operate from their private cooking venues and deliver straight to their customers’ doors. These shared kitchen spaces also help boost the takeaway business in today’s gig economy, with prominent players like GrabFood, FoodPanda, and Deliveroo setting up their own cloud kitchen operations.
In cities where rental costs are soaring, cloud kitchens provide an alternative where F&B owners and home bakers can save operational costs while shifting their focus to preparing quality food with speed. Without the need to worry about customer seating, air conditioning, and service staff, these centralised co-cooking spaces also become a conducive environment for F&B companies to research and develop better recipes.
In addition, they make great event spaces for cooking demonstrations and product launches, On a smaller scale, these same spaces also attract corporate and leisure groups to cook and socialise together.
Here are four game-changing cloud kitchens to know:
1. Cookhouse, Malaysia
Located in the metropolitan city of Petaling Jaya, new Malaysian start-up Cookhouse is the country’s first premium cloud kitchen. The 929 square-meter space is designed to be the dream kitchen for chefs, bakers, and food entrepreneurs to use. Aside from essentials like storage facilities and walk-in freezers, the co-cooking space also allows round-the-clock access to Asian and Western kitchens, as well as five private kitchen studios.
More information here.
2. OUE Social Kitchen, Singapore
Strategically located in Singapore’s bustling Central Business District, OUE Social Kitchen is a 371 square-meter co-cooking space that encourages social events centred around the culinary arts, and even dinner parties. Outfitted by upmarket home appliance label Smeg, the space offers shared kitchen stations, VIP rooms, as well as rental of special equipment including an ice cream maker, a sous-vide machine, and a waffle maker.
More information here.
3. Panda Selected, China
China’s food delivery market is estimated to be worth $86.2 billion in 2019 and this growth looks set to fuel the cloud kitchen trend in one of Asia’s biggest markets. Beijing-based Panda Selected is both an Internet catering service and a shared kitchen platform created for take-out restaurants and caterers, allowing users to save overhead costs. Currently, it works with domestic brands including hotpot restaurant chain Haidilao, Luckin Coffee, and more,
More information here.
4. BiteUnite, Hong Kong
Branded as a co-working kitchen, BiteUnite combines a cafe space, a commercial kitchen, and a fuss-free online platform that lets chefs log in and book the facilities they need. Designed to build a culinary-loving community, this cloud kitchen attract chef-members who run the gamut from hosting cooking classes and dinner parties to growing their F&B businesses. Themed coooking events and food tastings are held regularly to encourage the exchange of recipe ideas and cooking methods.
More information here.
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