Big Dish Energy
Serving up moods, not just meals - with Uber Eats and Time Out
The Challenge
With more competition than ever - from rival delivery apps to restaurants running their own delivery services - UberEats needed to stay front of mind when people think “takeaway.” Our challenge was to cut through the noise and remind hungry Londoners why UberEats is still the most exciting way to order in.
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The Insight
People come to Time Out and Uber Eats in the same mindset - hungry for inspiration. They want to discover something new, something good, and somewhere cool. When we asked Time Out readers what they say most when ordering food with someone, the top answers weren’t about restaurants or cuisines, they were about moods:
“What are you in the mood for?”
“What do you feel like eating?”
That simple truth sparked a powerful idea: people don’t choose food by category - they choose it by feeling.
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The Idea
We created Big Dish Energy - a campaign that explores food through moods. Each month, we spotlighted dishes on UberEats that matched a different vibe - spicy, flirty, moody, festive, cosy - using original photography and bold storytelling to bring each emotion to life.
The series ran across Time Out’s digital, social, and editorial channels, giving dishes personalities and helping people rediscover their favourite local restaurants in a fresh, playful way.
And to top it all off, we brought it offline with The Big Dish Energy event - an exclusive tasting experience where guests could try the standout dishes from the last six months. Three years running, it’s been a sell-out success - packed, buzzy, and deliciously fun.
My Role
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Helped evolve and expand the Big Dish Energy creative platform through years three, four and five
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Shaped the mood-led strategy and ensured consistent storytelling across digital, social, and experiential touchpoints
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Collaborated with creative, editorial, and strategy teams to bring the concept to life across multiple channels
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Oversaw the delivery of the sell-out Big Dish Energy event, managing creative alignment and guest experience end-to-end
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Managed the event on the day with 3rd party event agencies and partnering restaurants
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Results
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+8% increase in “Uber Eats delivers from independently owned restaurants”
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+11% increase in “Uber Eats helps me support local restaurants”
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98% of people took action after seeing the campaign (vs 96% last year)
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95% intended to order from Uber Eats (vs 91% last year)
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78% partnership recall - the highest ever recorded across all Time Out brand partnerships (benchmark: 58%)
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82% of exposed audiences said they crave food based on mood (vs 68% unexposed)
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58% said mood now drives their takeaway choice (vs 48% unexposed)
