Essence of Deliciousness

Community for Nutrition Professionals

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Umami’s Birth Story

In early 2023, A Clinical Nutritionist named Ellie turned to her husband, Craig, with teary eyes and remarked, “There has to be a better way to plan my clients’ nutrition.”

She’d reached breaking point. Even with the best nutrition software on the market, Ellie struggled to balance the time it took and the cost it placed on her clients.

She spent hours adjusting recipes to suit individual nutrition plans that her clients would enjoy, and adhere to.

And creating her own recipes? That was an uphill battle too.

With his background in tech, Craig recognised her frustration and assured her, “Leave it with me—I’ll find the solution.”

After endless hours searching for the perfect platform, Craig returned with a bold proposal…

“We need to build this solution ourselves. A platform and community for Nutrition Professionals to thrive.”

  • Ellie ever so slowly started to nod, picking up pace as her nervous eyes became more assured, and a growing smile appeared as Craig pitched his rough master plan.

    A vocal ‘napkin doodle’ went back and forth as they both grew in confidence with their ideas.

    Living in France, Craig jumped on a call with his good friend Shippy who was back in Aus. They discussed life, the F1 silly season and other niceties before Craig cut to the chase.

    Ellie began cooking, perfecting and shooting delicious recipes, inspired by the local Mediterranean cuisine.

    A working title coined NutriApp in its first trimester, the three got to work on birthing their platform.

    Shippy’s nocturnal nature working well with the EU timezone.

    After many focus hours designing and testing with professionals from all walks of life, an MVP was perfected and a community growing.

    As they say, it takes a village...

    On the 4th day of December, our bundle of joy entered the world.

    We named it Umami.

    Meaning:
    The Essence of Deliciousness

    or simply,

    DELICIOUSNESS

    Bon Appétit

Thank you to everyone who has helped us on our journey thus far.

Ellie, Craig and Shippy

Meet the founders

The new kids on the block have actually been around the block a few times and have a wealth of knowledge in nutrition and tech innovation.

  • When she’s not cooking and planning for Umami, Ellie is a clinical nutritionist in her private practice.

    Her personal experience with endometriosis led her on a quest to help others with their nutrition. Mainly fertility, new mum and paediatric nutrition along with cooking classes for the NDIS.

    Ellie’s French heritage influenced her love for cooking & enjoying delicious Mediterranean cuisine.

Nutritionist & Recipe Guru

  • Matt has built it all, from social impact platforms that connect donors to causes all over the world to FinTech systems, AI chatbots and beyond!

    Matt is a true night owl with a zest for Asian cuisine. You can find him travelling Asia or in your local Chinatown, and he’s not too shabby recreating these dishes at home.

Engineering & Product Wizard

  • Originally trained as a commercial Graphic Designer, Craig has spent the past two decades honing his design thinking to build bold brands & delightful digital products.

    Craig, better known as Fizz, loves authentic 'dude-food'. Traditional Pizza, Tacos and the like. And when he's not making his own, he's likely with Shippy in Chinatown, trying the new place on the corner.

Director, Designer & Concierge