It was the epitome of a home-cooked meal. Roast chicken with crispy brown skin, roasted vegetables and baby potatoes. The sticky, sweet brown sauce was of gourmet standard, with sliced figs and a garnish of freshly picked rosemary.That was dinner at home last Thursday - but I hadn't lifted a finger. All I did was download an app, Wazupa, developed by Johannesburg's Lance Baum and his team.Wazupa features a list of home cooks or chefs - 59 in Gauteng to date, with plans to go countrywide - and presents their menus.story_article_left1You can browse through photos of their meals and choose to collect or have your dish delivered for a fee."We've been building the app for over a year and it kicked off last month," said Baum."The idea came to me because in the Jewish community, when celebrating any occasion like the birth of a new baby, friends will bring a home-cooked meal and it's always exciting to try someone else's food. It started me thinking how we could make this a mainstream concept."My chicken dinner came from chef Samantha Coopman's kitchen in Roodepoort. The photos and the price grabbed me: at R220, it could feed six.That she is a qualified chef sealed the deal.But formal kitchen training is not needed to participate: the app is aimed at the home cook. "It's about people who enjoy making food," Baum said.The ingenuity of the app is that it empowers the chef or cook to control everything: from menus to pricing and working hours.Like Uber, Wazupa handles the financial transactions. "Speak to any caterer and they'll tell you the biggest pain in their business is the financial aspect," said Baum.mini_story_image_hright1Wazupa takes a 15% cut from each sale (which will reduce to 7% the longer the chef stays with Wazupa, if feedback is positive) and only hands over the money 24 hours after the food has been collected, in case there are any complaints.What about food hygiene and safety? "It's a process," said Baum. "We first meet the chef and put their food to the test and do a basic kitchen check. We involved the Department of Health when we started and they inspect the kitchen facilities of the potential candidates and if they meet their criteria they will grant a certificate of acceptability. And they do random checks."Coopman, 24, is studying after being retrenched from a hotel group last year. "My studies have taken me away from the hospitality industry completely, so this way I can still be involved, in my own time, and get my name out there with amazing food that's good value for money," she said.She grows a lot of her produce in her back garden. "I believe you can taste my food has been made with love and care."Wazupa is not big on variety as yet, though it promises flavours ranging from African to Asian, Banting to burgers, Chinese to French.Halaal and kosher food is also available. Baum said the range would expand as more chefs joined the app.Another Wazupa cook is Merril Elvey of Merril's Kitchen in Sandringham, a passionate home cook who offers kosher-style foods."I've been a schoolteacher for 22 years and at the beginning of the year I decided I needed a change. I never thought of my cooking as a full-time occupation, but had dabbled in cooking for friends for a long time and was persuaded by Baum to come on board," Elvey said.full_story_image_hright2"I cook everything from scratch, even the stock for the soups." Her signature dish, a grilled chicken and vegetable tagine on a bed of couscous, costs R400 and feeds eight.Fancy fresh bread delivered to your door every day? Master baker Alain Algrain of The Loaf offers a wide range of loaves, including a 100% rye sourdough.His most popular loaf costs R34, and he offers same-day service and delivery for an extra fee. "It was my daughter, who works with me in the business, who insisted and pushed me to sign up with Wazupa," he said...