Carleton University’s Lead to Win program is announcing the launch of a new venture named eCelery on Saturday June 13, 2015. eCelery is a multicultural web-based food delivery company inspired by the founder’s grandmother. eCelery is an innovative concept in the local food industry combining ethnic, homemade cuisine with the convenience of delivery within seven kilometers of any of its six chefs.
eCelery is a venture rated GREEN by the Lead To Win program, the gold standard for youth-led ventures in Canada’s Capital Region. The founders of eCelery, Mathieu Jobin and Cyril Moukarzel, are two recent graduates of the University of Ottawa, who worked at the Carleton-led Accelerator until June 1 when they moved to Invest Ottawa to be part of the University of Ottawa’s Startup-Garage Program.
“We got more than 100 applicants when we did our initial recruitment of chefs,“ said Cyril Moukarzel, eCelery founder. “These first six are some of the best of that group. We are continuing to recruit and, by the middle of July, we are aiming to have 25 chefs and all areas of the city covered.”
The first chefs will be open for business following the launch and delivery should take no more than an hour. Each prepares a different kind of food– Ethiopian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern, Italian, French or Caribbean.
eCelery provides increased variety and homemade quality when it comes to take out options for customers. In the meantime, people who have a passion for cooking are finding an entryway into the food industry.
This is especially true for new immigrants, who may have issues finding employment due to language skills.
“I am Middle Eastern and my grandmother came to Canada three years ago but could not find work due to her age and the language barrier,” said Moukarzel. “She was an amazing cook and my friends would always come over to enjoy her food. She ended up leaving Canada because she did not want to be without work. I knew there must be a lot of people in Ottawa who were in the same situation and the idea grew from there. Now she is back in Ottawa and she is going to be one of our chefs.”
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