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Bringing together the love of food, wine and socializing
A transplant from Northern California, Mitch Abrams moved to Loudoun County in 2003 with his wife, Margee, and animals. He took time off from his high-tech career on the West Coast and tried his hand at culinary arts, attending L’Academie de Cuisine in Gaithersburg, Md. He went on to work in the pastry kitchens at the Ritz Carlton in Tysons Corner and Lansdowne Resort.
While he recently returned to the business world in 2005 working for VeriSign, he found time to pull together his love of food and friends with his social networking Web site, GourmetCompanions.com that launched last month and currently has about 30 members globally.
How did you come up with the idea for gourmetcompanions.com?
During a dinner party my wife and I were hosting, one of our guests mentioned that someone they know had created a site for people who are vegetarians, and that got me thinking that a site for gourmet food lovers would be a great thing. The more I thought about the amount of time I spent looking at food and culinary sites, the more I realized that a site dedicated to gourmet food lovers where they could interact and be part of a community was hard to find. One thing led to another and before I knew it gourmetcompanions.com was up and running.
Why a site based on food and wine lovers?
Gourmet food, wine and restaurants have always been a passion of mine. My wife and I make it a point to try all the new local restaurants and she always teases me about planning our vacations around what restaurants we’re going to try. When I was thinking about starting a business I figured I should stick to what I’m really passionate about, gourmet food.
Do you find that there is a big enough audience to sustain the site?
I definitely think there is a demand for a site like ours. We just launched the site and we’ve had folks from all over the country signing up. Based on the popularity of the Food Network and the other cooking-based shows, I think there is a shift in the mindset of a lot of folks and an awareness of the food they are serving and being served. Gourmetcompanions.com gives people a place to find other folks who think that if you’re gonna eat, you may as well eat well!
When designing the site, how did you choose categories and information that you would include – online dating, articles, chats, reviews, etc.?
I thought about the features that I would want to use, after all, I’m also a member and I use the site. I also wanted the site to be very interactive so the members can really use the site and be a part of the community. For instance, the chat feature was selected so if a member is trying out a new recipe and they have a question, they can log in to the chat program and ask another member for any tips they might have. The idea is the same with the recipe library and restaurant review sections. I want these features to be readily accessible for members to share information about what they are cooking and where they are eating. Every time my wife and I travel, I spend a lot of time reading reviews on restaurants at our destination. The Gourmet Companions restaurant review feature is a cool place to post dining experiences so other members can use it as a travel resource.
In regard to the online dating, is there any criteria people must fit to be accepted as a member for this specific feature?
Unlike other sites that offer online dating, we have no criteria of any kind (other than being over 18 years of age, of course) to be accepted as a member. We want to provide people with a safe place to interact and find someone to meet for dinner or share a gourmet meal with.
Why go with a membership subscription as opposed to keeping it open?
The membership subscription helps to offset the costs of running the site and also serves to ensure that the members who do subscribe really want to be here and share in the site and meet others with similar interests in gourmet food and drink.
How much is a membership?
We have different rates, which really are some of the least expensive for this type of Web site. A monthly subscription is only $15.95. We also have three-month, six-month and one-year subscriptions, which really are economical because the average monthly fee is really discounted. For example, a one-year membership is only $74.95, which averages just $6.25 per month. I have seen other sites that charge considerably more and don’t offer all the features we do.
How does a subscriber pay for the site?
We accept PayPal where you can pay with a PayPal account, or if you don’t have a PayPal account, you can use your major credit card (Visa, MasterCard, American Express) on the PayPal site. Very soon, we’ll also be accepting credit card payments via Authorize.net. Both PayPal and Authorize.net are very secure and are industry leaders in payment processing for Web sites like this.
What do you have in mind for the future of gourmetcompanions.com?
There are so many things I would like to do with the site that it’s been hard to limit myself to the current features. I’m going to stay in close contact with the members and roll out new services based on their feedback. Some of the features I have on the drawing board are video uploads of cooking demonstrations and restaurant reviews. Also, I’d love to have local chefs offering online cooking demonstrations. Really the sky is the limit.
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