When food delivery apps debuted, they were heralded as an easy way to get meals from one’s favorite restaurants delivered straight to their door.
Now, however, the food delivery landscape has changed. Many are ordering from restaurants they’ve never eaten at before—or that might not exist at all. “Ghost kitchens” have opened up across the country, where restaurants open up for the sole purpose of offering food through apps, or expand their current offerings to allow for multiple “businesses” to be run out of the same kitchen.
Since ghost kitchens have become ubiquitous, many internet users have shared their shock at discovering where their food was really made. For example, one internet user was dismayed to find that their order was actually from Chuck E. Cheese. Another discovered that one of their favorite salads was being made at a gas station.
Given just how easy it appears to be to open one of these ghost kitchens, some fear that their food is being made not in a restaurant, but in someone’s home. Now, one internet user has posted a video saying that might be the case.
Are people really selling frozen food on meal delivery apps like Uber Eats?
In a video posted to his Instagram, Melbourne, Australia-based user Josh Manapsal-Lucas (@sedgygram) claims that he makes “$300 a night on ubereats from my kitchen.”
“The menu consists of whatever I find on sale at Coles at the start of the week,” he explains. “Tonight was lasagna, garlic bread, and arancini bowls.”
He then documents the process of actually cooking the food, which includes putting the lasagna in the oven and air-frying the arancini.
“Tonight, for the lasagna, arancini, and garlic bread, I charged customers $35, and it cost me about $3 or $4 a serve,” he details.
Throughout the video, there are clear indications that the creator is not following food safety standards, from letting a piece of garlic bread fall on the floor to sending the order off in a garbage bag.
“That’s not normal, but you gotta do what you gotta do,” he concludes. “Bon appetit.”
Is this real?
While many commenters believed this video to be genuine, the video is satire, as indicated by the #satire hashtag in the caption.
In Australia, Uber requires that Uber Eats locations be “licensed business[es] that [sell] prepared food or essentials/convenience items.”
“When you sign-up with Uber Eats we attempt to match your business name and address with licensing information available on government databases,” Uber’s website reads. “In the event that we cannot find a sufficient match we may reach out for additional information including the store license itself.”
That said, some have been able to successfully perform stunts similar to the one shown off in Manapsal-Lucas’ video.
For example, one internet chef said that she was able to open a restaurant on DoorDash through her home kitchen, though the restaurant was later shut down.
There have also been several YouTubers who have sold frozen, microwaved food via food delivery apps.
What have others experienced?
In the comments section, some users claimed to have experienced something similar to what the creator was showing in the video, even if it was a joke.
“No because this is actually happening guys. I have caught multiple places on my app,” wrote a user.
“In Atlanta, this is common, unfortunately. I had the best fried broccoli from a place on Doordash. Tried to find it in person and it was a house,” added another. “They keep getting shut down and I keep finding them to order still by just searching ‘fried broccoli.’”
“I’ve be a victim of this,” stated a third. “I ordered chicken, waffles & biscuits and received egos, Tyson’s, & pillsbury.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Uber and Manapsal-Lucas via email.
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