Melvin Skochdopole
Co-founder
At (t)rifecta® Studio, we specialize in crafting high-performance websites that not only look great but also deliver measurable results.
When we say at Parkday that we don’t just deliver meals—we curate them—we mean it. Finding the right restaurant partners is not a one-dimensional checklist. It’s a multi-layered process that starts with ingredients, extends to culture and cuisine, and ends with nourishment, novelty—and yes—delight.
The Farm and Purveyor Foundation
Our first step isn’t the dining room or the menu—it’s the farm, the purveyor, the raw source. By asking “where does this ingredient come from? who grew it? how fresh is it? how nutrient-dense is it?”, we begin with the upstream supply chain. This matters because, in our view, the downstream meal is only as good as its inputs. One of our guiding beliefs: high-quality ingredients are of the utmost importance—not just for taste, but for health, and for performance (especially as the food travels from restaurant to workplace).
By working with restaurants that trace their ingredients back to farms and trusted purveyors, we build a supply-chain foundation of quality, transparency, and rigour. Many companies stop at “does this restaurant have four stars?” We go further: “Does this restaurant source from farms we trust? Can we verify the traceability? Do the meals still hold up after transportation?”
Harnessing the Food Press
Once the ingredient foundation is in place, we turn to the broader food-world ecosystem—because great sourcing alone doesn’t guarantee a remarkable dining experience. We monitor and engage with the most reputable voices in the food world, including legacy critics and new-media tastemakers:
Institutions such as the Michelin Guide, The Infatuation, The New York Times and the San Francisco Chronicle bring decades of experience, depth of palate, and journalistic rigour.
This dual-track approach means we’re not just following what’s already famous—we’re spotting what’s next, what’s interesting, what’s substantive. We also watch new restaurant openings, local buzz, and shifts in culinary direction. That helps us bring in restaurants early—while they’re exciting—and ensure our platform remains fresh, local, and vibrant.
Curating by Cuisine and Quality
With farms and media signals in place, we move to the curation phase. That means two core commitments:
We commit to finding the top 2-3 restaurants in each cuisine category (within each market). Whether it’s Mediterranean shawarma bowls, Japanese sandos, Latin street cuisine, or plant-forward grain bowls, we ask: which spots are best-in-class?
We also commit to nutrition and nourishment. Regardless of cuisine, we want restaurants whose food we can stand behind—for health, for flavor, for integrity. We often say we’re “for the foodies & the health nuts.” That means the food should excite you (“I’d show up for lunch just to try that”), and it should also support your health goals—even if it means lots of salads or veggie-heavy dishes.
This means we don’t partner indiscriminately. We don’t focus on mass fast-casual chains like Chopt, Dos Toros or Chipotle (they have their place, but they’re not our core). We may partner with national chains if their sourcing and ethos align (e.g., DIG Inn or Sweetgreen) where the sourcing is a pillar—but our heart is with local restaurants: both iconic and disruptive newcomers.
Expanding Palates, Promoting Diversity
We believe that eating well isn’t just about “lean protein + salad + rice”. It’s about ingredient diversity, cultural breadth, and discovering cuisines that change your outlook. From a health perspective, diversity in what we eat boosts nutrient adequacy.
Putting it in practical terms:
We seek restaurants that offer new ingredients, lesser-used grains, sea vegetables, whole-food plant proteins—not simply more of the same.
We challenge the notion that the “American salad” or “grain bowl” is the endpoint. In many other cultures, the equivalent might be a noodle soup or a vegetable-centric mezze. By introducing cuisines and dishes beyond our everyday habits we expand the palette, which is both culinary and physiological (for gut health, microbiome variety, nutrient uptake).
The Differentiator: We Start Before the Kitchen
What sets Parkday apart is that our restaurant-evaluation process starts before the kitchen. Many food-delivery or corporate catering platforms begin with “Which restaurants are available?”. We begin with “Which farms and purveyors are supplying those restaurants? What are their sourcing practices? What’s the freshness, the traceability, the nutrient-density?”
Because by understanding the supply chain, we can more reliably judge the final meals. Will they hold up in transit? Will the vegetables still crisp? Will the profile of nutrients still be strong? Will the dish deliver both for taste and health? Our attention to detail at the granular level makes this possible.
Once we verify sourcing and supply-chain integrity, we layer in media/critics influences and local buzz, then cuisine category, then nutrition-fit, then logistical readiness (transport, packaging, meal-cards, macros). The result: a curated roster of restaurants that meet our bar for flavor, freshness, traceability, and health.
Why This Matters for Employees and Companies
In the modern workplace, food is no longer just fuel—it's part of wellness, retention, culture, and performance. Employees care about nutrition, provenance, sustainability, flavor—and expect more than “two sandwiches.” By partnering only with restaurants that pass our rigorous sourcing-to-service filter, we help companies provide food programs that signal quality, authenticity, and care.
It’s also about trust. When an employee sees that the meals come from restaurants with transparent sourcing, that the supply chain is known, that the cuisine isn’t stuck in a rut, it builds confidence. And when the food tastes better and feels better (both flavor and nutrient-wise), you get a different kind of workplace food experience—one that uplifts, not just sustains.
Looking Ahead: Evolving and Scaling the Model
As we grow in new cities, new cuisines, and new restaurant partners, we’ll maintain our sourcing-first philosophy while adapting to local ecosystems. Our goal is simple: whether you’re in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, or beyond—you’ll have access to meals that surprise you, nourish you, and make you glad you showed up to the office.
We don’t aim to be the largest catering platform. We aim to be the one people talk about—and eat from—because the quality is distinct, the sourcing is visible, and the food is something you look forward to.
