A Fresh Era of Flavor: Q&A with HelloFresh Executive Chef Kristin Bryan

This summer, HelloFresh unveiled its biggest menu transformation to date. With more than 100 weekly options, bigger portions, a strong sense of seasonality, and smarter personalization, the “new HelloFresh” is designed to make dinnertime easier, healthier, and more exciting than ever.

Meet Kristin Bryan, Executive Chef & Head of Culinary Innovation at HelloFresh

We sat down with Kristin Bryan, Executive Chef & Head of Culinary Innovation, to learn more about the inspiration behind the changes, the process of creating new recipes, and what this shift means for the future of home cooking.

HelloFresh just doubled its menu to more than 100 weekly choices. What makes this expansion such a milestone for the brand?

This is our biggest and most exciting menu enhancement to date. We’re doubling our offerings to more than 100 weekly menu options, which includes larger portions, triple the amount of seafood, new proteins we’ve never offered before, such as lamb chops and half chickens, and a stronger focus on seasonal produce like artichokes, seasonal squash varieties, shishito peppers, peaches, and more. In addition, we’re introducing more Low Calorie and High Protein Meals, plus over 25 new Quick & Easy meal options that include no-prep Heat & Eat meals, one-pan recipes and prep-and-bake dishes.

We recognize that all households are different and have unique needs and preferences when it comes to mealtime. Our goal is to offer a wide variety of menu offerings that meet the diverse needs of the modern household, ultimately making mealtime easier, more exciting and more delicious than ever before.

What inspired your team as you developed this rollout, and how did you bring those ideas to life in the test kitchen?

These changes were inspired by our customers and how they are currently approaching home cooking – we listened to their direct feedback, investigated the mealtime habits of today’s consumers and looked at current industry trends.

Recipe ideation began once we felt confident we understood what our customers were looking for when cooking a meal at home. Convenience, variety, and new techniques combined with taking control of their health and family time were all inspiration for my team. We looked at flavor trends, coupled with fun creative cooking techniques and feedback from customers and went to work. Some recipes made the cut and others did not. But that’s all part of the ideation and experimentation process when innovation is key to creating a satisfying product.

How long has the culinary team been working on this transformation?

We’ve been working on these specific menu changes and enhancements over the past 6 months. It’s been fun to experiment with new ingredients, proteins and sauces to bring much more variety and bolder flavors to our menus.

Many of the new dishes highlight global flavors and health-forward options. How did collaboration across teams shape these recipes?

Yes! We recognize that consumer habits and expectations are evolving so it’s important for us to offer menu options that are healthy, flavorful, and easy. HelloFresh has a dedicated Nutrition team of registered dieticians that we work closely with to ensure our recipes meet the nutritional needs of our customers, especially as they look for more specialized nutritional profiles. For example, our High Protein meals contain over 30g of protein per serving, while our Low Calorie meals are all under 650 calories, and our new Veggie Packed recipes feature at least two vegetable varieties per recipe.

HelloFresh now offers 100+ weekly options with bigger portions, more seafood, new proteins, and a focus on seasonal produce.

The inaugural State of Home Cooking Report uncovered trends like wellness, protein priorities, and recipe fatigue. How did these insights influence your menu decisions?

Absolutely – the goal of our inaugural State of Home Cooking report was to better understand how external forces such as lifestyles, trends, technologies, social media and current events are shaping how we cook at home, and how HelloFresh can better service these needs.

We found that over 90% of Americans plan to cook at home just as much or even more in the coming year compared to last year. And the reason goes beyond necessity; people see home cooking as a wellness ritual, a creative outlet, and a way to connect with the people they love. This insight is at the heart of everything we do at HelloFresh. We want to take the stress out of mealtime and make it joyful, satisfying and easy.

But beyond learning that people plan to cook more in the year ahead, we learned that people are looking to eat more and a wider variety of vegetables (65%), are prioritizing protein more so than last year (82%), and generally, home cooks are in need of inspiration. We found that more than half of Americans are bored with their current recipe rotation, but haven’t tried a new food or ingredient over the past month, so we’re hoping to change that!

What food trends are you seeing right now, and how did they inspire new dishes on the menu?

One of the most popular flavor trends right now is “swicy” which blends sweet and spicy flavors and influences some of our new Thai and Korean-inspired meals on the menu. And “swalty,” which blends sweet and salty flavors, inspired our Sweet Peach BBQ Bacon Burgers. We also dipped into the no-ABV trend and created four new fun Mocktail Kits available within our HelloFresh Market that include everything you need to make delicious mocktails.

Beyond the menu itself, can you share a bit about your own journey — how you fell in love with food and what led you to HelloFresh?

I spent the first half of my career in the start-up/tech industry and worked on the side for my sister, who is an incredibly gifted chef. I spent years writing and developing recipes alongside her and was having so much fun that I decided to make it my full time job. I worked at a signature Walt Disney World restaurant for several years, wrote a cookbook, but wanted to make a bigger impact by helping busy people and families spend time together around a meal; and that’s when I found HelloFresh and knew instantly that I wanted to be part of this company.

My love of food came from several different places but it started in my grandmother’s kitchen. It was this warm and inviting place where we shared these small moments that had a huge impact on me as a child. I still think about how it made me feel to help her make cookies or fry a piece of chicken. Even as small as I was, I felt seen, heard, and loved around that table. I think that’s when I fell in love with food. At the time it wasn’t as much about the food as it was about the time spent with her. But that’s where I realized the impact of cooking at home together with the ones you love. Sharing a delicious meal and making memories.

What’s your favorite new recipe from the refreshed menu?

There’s so many great new recipes it’s hard to choose, however, my top three are:

Smoky Pulled Mushroom and Veggie Kebabs – This recipe features an amazing new veggie ingredient that tastes just like pulled pork but it’s pulled mushroom. It’s delicious and perfect if you’re doing a meatless Monday meal.
Tilapia with Zucchini Puttanesca – I’m a huge fan of fish in a tomato broth and we have perfected it with this recipe.
Ancho-Orange Chicken and Veggie Jumble – This is a half chicken with the most delicious citrusy marinade with a touch of ancho chili spice. It’s a fantastic flavor combination and one of those meals that just makes everything better.

HelloFresh’s culinary team is setting the stage for a whole new chapter in home cooking.

For home cooks who sometimes feel “stuck” in the kitchen, what advice would you share?

That is a very real feeling and happens to me even now. But that’s why we’ve increased the number of recipes on our menu, and intentionally expanded the types of vegetables and proteins we’re using. Even selecting a recipe with a new vegetable or exploring new proteins or flavor profiles will help you get rid of that “stuck” feeling. We also have our new “Test Kitchen” recipes which teaches home cooks more advanced cooking methods and techniques such as making your own pasta. It’s an exciting way to stretch your skills, explore new flavors and have fun doing it.

Anything else you’d like our readers to know about the culinary team’s process or where HelloFresh is headed next?

The HelloFresh Culinary team is excited to continue to evolve our menu, test and experiment with new recipes, and share them with our customers in the months ahead. We’re a team of real chefs, recipe developers and food scientists, with a wide variety of experience across the culinary spectrum, and we’re always thinking about food! We urge our customers to continue to provide feedback so we can better serve up recipes that meet their mealtime needs, no matter how they cook.

With more variety, exciting flavors, and a faster pace of innovation, HelloFresh’s culinary team is setting the stage for a whole new chapter in home cooking. And as Kristin reminds us, it’s not just about what’s on the plate. It’s about making mealtime easier, more joyful, and more inspiring for every household.

Meet More of Our Culinary Innovators

Curious to learn more about the chefs and recipe developers behind your weekly menus? Explore more interviews with the HelloFresh culinary team and see how their creativity shapes the meals you love.