Home Chef was founded in 2013 by Patrick Vihtelic, who was inspired to bring homemade meals to as many people as possible thanks to memories of the fresh food he grew up eating on his family’s farm. In 2014, the company did $423,207 in revenue. CTO Matt Pulley came on board the following year, and in 2017 that revenue shot up by 60,166 percent, to a spicy $255 million. By May 2018, they were acquired by Kroger for an initial sum of $200 million, with the potential to earn $500 million more from future earnout payments, based on hitting certain milestones over the course of five years. Still, Matt is far from complacent. In the interview, he talks about the company’s early days, complete with a smoky test kitchen; their upcoming challenges; and how to help people answer the daily question that tears households apart: what’s for dinner?