Organic Growth of a Local Meal Service

Oren Giladi, owner of organic meal service Organic Oren, never set out to be a chef. Yet the path revealed itself almost effortlessly, as though he’d been destined for it from the beginning. 

His original plan was to become an artist. In college, he studied art as an undergraduate in New York. While he cooked for fun and came from a “food-obsessed family” with a couple of chefs, cooking was always a “secondary thing” for him. 

The real catalyst came in grad school, when his father and brother’s health issues pushed him to take a closer look at nutrition. Around the same time his father and brother were ill, a family friend reached out to him. They were looking for a healthy chef to prepare meals for a family member who was sick and required a diet that was “super healthy.” They asked if he’d cook for them. 

This client was very particular about ingredients, wanting everything to be from her garden and organic. She was also extremely strict about the details, even down to the specific salt and oil used in the cooking. Despite having only cooked recreationally and not professionally, Giladi seized the opportunity. 

“Then that one family kind of turned into two,” he said. “And then three and then four and before I knew it, I was doing art but also bouncing around between these different families doing meal prep for them.”

Word of mouth quickly brought in new clients, and Giladi gained a reputation for his healthy meal prep and catering. He started working as a private chef in Los Angeles, focusing on wholesome, ingredient-driven dishes. Then, in January 2020 – just as the pandemic began – he and his business partners, Amanda Bergin and Mike Kassar, launched Organic Oren.

With the lockdown, Bergin’s Pilates studio (Pilates by Amanda) became an incidental hub. They started cooking the meals in Bergin’s home, which was located above the Pilates studio, and had them ready for pickup after classes. The business grew rapidly as demand increased, especially for safe, high-quality food during lockdowns.

Shortly after, Giladi realized they had a large following in Santa Barbara, specifically Montecito. For three or four years, a small but growing group of customers in the area would frequently attempt to split the delivery fee. Giladi said that women would often organize four or five friends to have their orders delivered to one house to share the cost. He realized that it made sense to open a pick-up in Montecito, and when a spot was available at The Post, it was perfect. 

The Post is now the fourth official pickup location, the original spot at Bergin’s house, one in Brentwood, and one in Newport. All locations, including The Post, currently operate as pre-ordered pickups, not grab-and-go, but Giladi says they are working on expanding those options.

For their new Montecito location, they aimed to design an experience that would be an integral part of people’s day, envisioning it as an outing where customers could shop or work out and then pick up their organic food. As he said, “Our whole goal is to tailor the vibe to each community.” 

Organic Oren’s menu rotates weekly, rarely repeating meals. They have not recycled the same menu in over five years, so you can expect variety in both mains and sides each week. However, popular items like the Quinoa Crusted Chicken Tenders are always available. 

Giladi was kind enough to order a few meals for me, which included those perfectly crunchy tenders and a delightful Country Club Tuna Salad, which had just the right amount of spice from the peperoncini and is a contender for the best tuna salad I’ve ever had.

To come up with new ideas, Giladi goes on what he calls “salad walks,” which are precisely as they sound. He grabs a salad and eats it while walking, waiting for inspiration to strike. “I just let things come to me,” he said. Factors like the weather dictate how heavy or light the meals will be that week. 

Behind the scenes, that kind of week-to-week flexibility relies on a careful supply chain. Organic Oren sources its food through a forager, Carrie Clasby, who has her own farm in Malibu and visits other farms to pick up fresh, organic produce. This approach allows the bespoke meal service to maintain its strict standards for organic and carefully sourced ingredients.

In early 2024, Giladi made a conscious decision to keep everything fairly-priced and has not raised prices since. He shared that they are committed to keeping their prices steady and affordable, focusing on generosity rather than following the trend of price increases in what can sometimes feel like “a rat race to get that
extra buck.” 

From the beginning, it’s always been about delivering healthy food. And that sentiment hasn’t shifted. As Giladi puts it, “We’re not getting skimpy. We just say we want people to eat; we have a hungry community.”

Organic Oren’s menus are available on Tuesdays at 4 pm, and pickups are every Monday from 11 am to 4 pm at The Post.