First, I must say that overall we were happy with JChef. It is a currently running company that provides the Kosher meal kits we have missed so much! We do plan to order with them again. Also, some of our memories of Kitchn Synch may be a bit rose tinted since it was so long ago and we missed it so much. That said, there were many differences between the two and in many ways we feel JChef fell a bit short of Kitchn Synch.

The first thing we noticed is that JChef is more expensive than Kitchn Synch was. Perhaps that is why Kitchn Synch closed, possibly they were not charging enough to stay open. If so, it is understandable that JChef would be more expensive to maintain a profit.

The feel of Kitchn Synch was more polished and professional than JChef. This was seen most clearly with the container types. JChef packaging often seemed to be cheaper quality, but were still perfectly adequate.

The two biggest differences and to me an issue, was the ordering system and the shipping time. JChef has a sign up that is an automatic renew for each week unless you pause your account. Kitchn Synch was a week by week order, you ordered what you wanted for the week you wanted it. Kitchn Synch also arrived by Sunday nights. While JChef arrives around Wednesday, which means that some meals will need to stay in the fridge until the next week to be cooked. I enjoy ordering Kitchn Synch and knowing that I could use the meals as desired Sunday-Thursday night, and all items would be out of my fridge in time for Shabbos. With JChef arriving Wednesday at the earliest, I will definitely have at least one meal in my fridge over the weekend. I do not like that.

As for the meals themselves, in some ways they were both equally good. Such as with ease of cooking and freshness of ingredients. As for taste, both meal kits had some hits and some misses. The main difference between the two was the balance of the meals. With Kitchn Synch, most meals had 3 components, a protein, a starch and a salad. But with JChef, most meals (all that I have seen so far) only have 2 components. Usually a protein and a salad, but sometimes a protein and a starch. I definitely feel that the JChef meals were lacking that 3rd component and it would have much improved them.

Bottom line, we are happy that JChef exists and do look forward to buying from them again. But sadly it will not be as often or as easy as Kitchn Synch was. Hopefully we will find that future meals are more balanced and I will get used to the complicated and a little annoying ordering system.