ezcater is a meal delivery service specializing in corporate catering. its restaurant partners range from mom and pop hot dog shops to professional event catering services.
the challenge
with over 55,000 caterers on the site, a restaurant has to stand out somehow. the “about us” section was created to show off the unique qualities of each caterer on the site and provide customers with an idea of the type of restaurant they were ordering from.
when copy was readily available, it was tweaked to blend the restaurant’s brand with ezcater’s voice while staying concise and to-the-point. more often than not, information was scarce, and i was writing about restaurants i had never been to. many had little online presence, and sometimes, little to distinguish themselves from other similar establishments. how could we boost seo, drive customer engagement, and hype up these restaurants in 400 characters or less?
my solution
these challenges presented great opportunities for wordplay and emotive language to help customers better connect with the brand.
for restaurants serving up cuisine from around the world, i leaned into visuals from the countries they came from. the restaurant thai tuk tuk in corona, ca took its name from the motorized rickshaws that are commonly used as transport in bangkok and other thai cities, which i used to create this copy:
just like tuk tuk motorbikes race their way through the zig-zagging streets of bangkok, we’re zipping authentic thai food straight to you! with ingredients sourced from all around thailand, our menu is full of classic thai dishes known around the world for their spice, unique flavor, and pure deliciousness.
sometimes, a restaurant was just getting started, and had no branding aside from a name and a menu. i was able to spin an amuse bouche of information into a main course of information (sorry, i couldn’t help myself), such as with brooklyn roots in bed-stuy:
like the roots of a great oak tree that branch out into the earth, our menu branches off as if to represent the soul of brooklyn: a little italian here, some caribbean there, a touch of mexican in between. you’re sure to find something that will ground you in the way home-style food is meant to, making you feel at home in the borough of trees.
sometimes, it made the most sense to focus purely on the food, especially if it was featured heavily on the menu and potentially something people might not be familiar with. take gnocchi italian restaurant in clinton township, mi:
say it with us: nyo-kee. you’ll want to practice saying that now, before your mouth is full of homemade pillowy ricotta dumplings. we hand roll our gnocchi, giving them little ridges to hold the perfect amount of sauce. with so many gnocchi and fresh pastas to choose from, you hold the key to a delightful italian meal.
my favorite restaurants to write descriptions for were the ones where i could have fun and be silly, and create a perfect blend of puns and food to get customers hungry. what else could you do with a food truck like the big cheese in alexandria, va, which exclusively serves a variety of grilled cheese?
you feta believe our grilled cheeses are gouda! if you’re feeling blue, you know there’s nothing cheddar than a grilled cheese. we’ll bring pressed perfection for a whole havarti party that will have you singing mozzerella-la-la!
the only downside to all of this? most of these restaurants were far from the boston area where i worked, and so i never got to try the foods i was writing about. maybe it’s time for a trip to virginia to try the mount fuji…
emotional language. 