![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_9782-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
It\u2019s 11:50 am on a Tuesday. Chef Ella Adams<\/strong> and Sous Chef Denise Dawson<\/strong> zip around uShip\u2019s newly-built industrial gourmet kitchen, putting final touches and prep on the day\u2019s lunch for 220 employees.<\/p>\n In 10 minutes \u2014 at high noon when the chefs blast a \u201clunch is ready\u201d Slack message across the company \u2014 it\u2019ll be as if someone just pulled the fire alarm. Hungry employees jump up from their desks and make a beeline for the kitchen, hoping to reduce their time in line.<\/p>\n On this particular day employees find build-your-own BLTs, consisting of garlic aioli, locally-grown tomatoes from Johnson\u2019s Backyard, Bibb lettuce, and bacon (of course) on multigrain bread, along with housemade romesco sauce over JBG carrots, potatoes and asparagus. Invariably, there are vegetarian and vegan options available.<\/p>\n Today\u2019s lunch isn\u2019t some special occasion or one-off event. The duo pulls this off daily \u2014 lunch Monday through Thursday and breakfast on Friday. Later this week employees can look forward to chicken curry with basmati rice on Wednesday, herbed salmon on Thursday, and housemade granola on Friday.<\/p>\n The free corporate cuisine trend is hardly new \u2014 uShip began doing it in 2010 \u2014 but it\u2019s getting increased attention today as companies realize the productivity benefits of offering perks<\/strong> like meals, snacks, coffee, water, and other refreshments.<\/p>\n The topic has been covered widely<\/a> citing a multitude of results, including:<\/p>\n Ella and Denise, who are full-time uShip employees as well as French-trained pastry chefs, constantly stock the employee refrigerator and 2nd Floor break room with healthy snacks (and yes, some not-so-healthy ones too). Each month the uShip crew consumes 10 cases of bananas, 250 lbs of carrots and 160 lbs of greens, while staying caffeinated on 120 lbs of coffee.<\/p>\n \u201cIt takes a lot of careful planning and buying because everyday we cook for a couple hundred people, many of whom have special diets, allergies, or are just plain finicky \u2014 not that there\u2019s anything wrong with that,\u201d says Ella. \u201cWhat people eat is such an individual, personal decision, so we do our best to accommodate everyone\u2019s needs.\u201d<\/p>\n While uShip is known for its dog-friendly workplace<\/a> policy, Ella says the kitchen is a strict no-dog zone. \u201cThey can share their cuteness everywhere else around in the office, but not near the kitchen.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2015, Ella found herself in the fortuitous position that any chef short of Anthony Bourdain would envy: she was asked to put together a wishlist for building her dream kitchen from scratch.<\/p>\n At the time, she and Denise were pumping out meals for about 175 people in a less-than-adequate facility at uShip\u2019s previous location, so the request was a welcome and exciting challenge.<\/p>\n uShip was working with Austin-based Chioco Designs<\/strong> to architect its new 45,000 sq. ft., 3-story headquarters just south of downtown Austin. Ella\u2019s input on all things cuisine was a crucial ingredient.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ella was also put in charge of working with the City of Austin\u2019s rules and regulations to get uShip\u2019s kitchen restaurant compliant. She certainly has the background for it, having been in the culinary arts for 10 years and previously worked at Austin\u2019s MMH Group<\/strong> of restaurants, including as a baker at Elizabeth Street Cafe<\/strong> and as head pastry chef at Lambert\u2019s<\/strong>.<\/p>\n This summer, after nearly two years, employees moved in and Ella finally got her dream kitchen, complete with a walk-in cooler and freezer, a large enough produce sink that Ella could sit in (don’t worry, she doesn’t), and a beautiful floor-to-ceiling window that looks out to a patio, backyard and greenery.<\/p>\n She also inherited many more mouths to feed as the company\u2019s employee count grew during the construction period. And the company continues to hire<\/a>.<\/p>\n The newly-refurbished industrial complex also includes open, collaborative spaces, shower facilities and locker room, a game room, and a dog-friendly yard that backs to the East Bouldin Creek greenbelt.<\/p>\n Daily lunch and an always-open kitchen let spontaneous meetings and interactions take place in-person when they may otherwise take place over email, instant message or even a phone call across such a big space.<\/p>\n \u201cElla and Denise do an amazing job fulfilling what has become a very strategic company decision and benefit for employees,\u201d say Heather Hoover-Salomon<\/strong>, uShip\u2019s executive vice president for operations.<\/p>\n \u201cIn a lot of houses, the kitchen and kitchen table become the central gathering place. The uShip kitchen is no different. You can see a lot of meetings happen over coffee, lunch, or an afternoon snack, ultimately helping employees be more collaborative and productive.\u201d<\/p>\n To see what\u2019s cooking in El\u2019s Kitchen, follow WelcomeToElsKitchen<\/a> on Instagram.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It\u2019s 11:50 am on a Tuesday. Chef Ella Adams and Sous Chef Denise Dawson zip around uShip\u2019s newly-built industrial gourmet kitchen, putting final touches and prep on the day\u2019s lunch for 220 employees. In 10 minutes \u2014 at high noon when the chefs blast a \u201clunch is ready\u201d Slack message across the company \u2014 it\u2019ll… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":7311,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company-news"],"acf":{"blog_post_content":null},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7306"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7306\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_9807-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSeasoned Nouvelle Cuisine<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_9819-300x200.jpg\")
<\/p>\nLox, Stock & Beagles<\/strong><\/h2>\n
The Wish List<\/strong><\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/004-uShip-HQ-Austin-Floors-23-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ushipblogsubd.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/013-uShip-HQ-Austin-Backyard-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCentral Perk<\/strong><\/h3>\n