Restaurants at home kits
Discussion
Always been a fan of Rick Stein since his first book.
The boxes are very good value considering some of the prices I have seen.
We live near the coast and good fish is easy to come by, but I have to admit the box we received today was excellent in every way.
Taco shells filled with dressed crab. (Only the crab from the Rick Stein box)
Scallops ready for the grill.
The boxes are very good value considering some of the prices I have seen.
We live near the coast and good fish is easy to come by, but I have to admit the box we received today was excellent in every way.
Taco shells filled with dressed crab. (Only the crab from the Rick Stein box)
Scallops ready for the grill.
Audis5b9 said:
Audis5b9 said:
We've ordered the Ynyshir at home box 1,
Will report back once we've had it this Weekend.
Following up from that... here's the results:Will report back once we've had it this Weekend.
It was incredible! So much flavour throughout. The chef is a magician. Hats off to him being able to box it up and send it round the country and taste like it does.
Audis5b9 said:
Audis5b9 said:
We've ordered the Ynyshir at home box 1,
Will report back once we've had it this Weekend.
Following up from that... here's the results:Will report back once we've had it this Weekend.
BBQ Flatbread - Garlic and Herb Butter - 60 Month Aged Parmesan
Singapore Chilli Crab - Deep Fried Sweet Bun
Shawarma Spiced Welsh Lamb Leg- Mint Potato Yoghurt Salad - Lettuce - Wild Garlic - Tahini
Sticky Toffee Pudding - Jersey Double Cream
It was incredible! So much flavour throughout. The chef is a magician. Hats off to him being able to box it up and send it round the country and taste like it does.
ChevronB19 said:
bolidemichael said:
ChevronB19 said:
Audis5b9 said:
Minus several million points for misspelling ‘Parmesan’ on the packet though...
The Gymkhana kit I referred to earlier in the thread, arrived today.
Taste: Excellent, close enough to the restaurant.
Instructions: Excellent
Cost: 90 + 10 delivery
Hassle: Items on their own, not too much, but doing it all together
.
Value: Notwithstanding having to cook it, not too bad given the quantity and quality.
Would it do it again: Nah, I'd rather just go back to the restaurant and be served and have all the other benefits of eating out.
What was ordered:
What arrived:
What was prepared:
Taste: Excellent, close enough to the restaurant.
Instructions: Excellent
Cost: 90 + 10 delivery
Hassle: Items on their own, not too much, but doing it all together
. Value: Notwithstanding having to cook it, not too bad given the quantity and quality.
Would it do it again: Nah, I'd rather just go back to the restaurant and be served and have all the other benefits of eating out.
What was ordered:
What arrived:
What was prepared:
Cote at Home for us last night, to supplement some mussels cooked by yours truly.
It was really excellent. In fact, I am not sure whether the prawn gratine and fougasse might have been better than from at our local Cote restaurant. The service was definitely better!
So good was it, and so good seem to be the "at home" offerings from restaurants in general, that I wonder whether it has taken some of the mystique from restaurants. It highlights the fact that, in many cases, they are just heating pre-cooked food!
It was really excellent. In fact, I am not sure whether the prawn gratine and fougasse might have been better than from at our local Cote restaurant. The service was definitely better!
So good was it, and so good seem to be the "at home" offerings from restaurants in general, that I wonder whether it has taken some of the mystique from restaurants. It highlights the fact that, in many cases, they are just heating pre-cooked food!
Northcote Valentines at home arrived by courtier this morning, very impressed at the delivery service and packaging.
Instructions are a little lacking and I’ll be honest there’s a lot more cooking involved than what I expected.
I’m not put off by that as we enjoy proper cooking ourselves but it’s going to be a full night in the kitchen rather than a quick re-heat while we enjoy a few drinks and a meal sort of thing.
Other slight annoyance, timings are given individually for each course but there’s no overall timeline given so every course can be ready for a certain time.
Again, I’m not bothered as I’ll take the time to write a cooking schedule myself that allows courses to be ready at 25 min intervals or whatever. I can however imagine those who don’t cook for guests or cook multiple course meals at home coming unstuck.
Instructions are a little lacking and I’ll be honest there’s a lot more cooking involved than what I expected.
I’m not put off by that as we enjoy proper cooking ourselves but it’s going to be a full night in the kitchen rather than a quick re-heat while we enjoy a few drinks and a meal sort of thing.
Other slight annoyance, timings are given individually for each course but there’s no overall timeline given so every course can be ready for a certain time.
Again, I’m not bothered as I’ll take the time to write a cooking schedule myself that allows courses to be ready at 25 min intervals or whatever. I can however imagine those who don’t cook for guests or cook multiple course meals at home coming unstuck.
Pre cooked cheese loaf, finished off in the oven for a final 15 mins
Herdwick Lamb “minestrone”
North Sea Hake with romantica sauce
Chicken Diane
Desert, we haven’t cooked yet as we were full by the end so will have today.
So as a review, it was a bit of a mixed bag for us. I hate slating companies on the internets but in all honesty we were pretty disappointed by Northcote’s efforts especially considering how well regarded their chef is.
First of all as a concept we really enjoyed it
We got dressed up, I got a mate who owns a restaurant to pre make us some cocktails and we got the kids to bed early.We haven’t eaten out since Covid began, even through last summer and we’ve only done dine dining I think five times since we had the children as we don’t really like doing stuff that doesn’t involve them so this was a proper treat for us.
In Northcote’s defence, if all the dishes were on a menu none would have been our first choices, maybe the soup for me as I do love a consommé which is what this actually was.
The instructions were a little lacking, it was fairly simple but some of the ingredients were labelled differently to how they were written in the menus. There was also nothing in the way of a timeline, so you needed to figure that out yourself if you wanted a course every 20 mins say for instance.
The soup to begin with wasn’t an especially clarified consommé, so it was average rather than amazing. It was rich which I don’t mind at all but it lacked finesse.
The bread was lovely although why you need a whole loaf for two people I don’t know? It seemed wasteful.
The hake, very good produce and the romantica sauce packed a massive punch, to my taste it was a little overpowering. The Mrs loved it I ate the fish and left most of the sauce, I get hake is quite strong so takes a bit of flavour to work with but for me it was a bit too much.
The main course of chicken was a superb bit of meat-wherever they’re buying from should be proud. However it came with no veg at all and the menu suggested adding your own potato or veg to match.
I’m sorry, but I’m paying for a fine dining experience and you want me to make up whatever to go with my main course? f
king unforgivable that. If you can’t tell that pissed me off completely and they’ll get a complaint for that alone.Despite the half designed dish, it was about as bland as a superb piece of chicken could be. If I’m being generous I’d say it wasn’t helped by having two very rich starters but if that was the biggest fault a chef of Lisa’s stature should have never designed the menu like that in the first place.
It was pretty much just chicken on a very bland mushroom sauce, with a side of roasted onion and cabbage. Zero nuance, very little flavour, I’ve got to be honest if I was served it in a fine dining restaurant I’d have sent it back. About a third each of both of ours went in the bin along with the rest of the carcass which honestly would have served our family of four. It was amazing produce however.
The desert as I’ve said we didn’t cook. We were pretty full and after a disappointing main just didn’t really feel like bothering. The chocolates and espresso martinis can wait until tonight as well.
So my opinion? The concept was fantastic, we really enjoyed the whole idea and definitely want to do it again especially as it’ll probably disappear once lockdown ends, for parents it’s great way of trying fine dining while the kids are asleep.
Would we buy from Northcote again? No I don’t think so.
I fully accept that there are limitations to a menu as they can’t do every dish to be sent by post but we both felt it was a poor menu that didn’t go well together.
Despite the ill thought out menu the main was very much just plain bad-which was a travesty considering the quality of the bird that was sent.
As always with set menus you’re at the liberty of the chef’s decisions and I often quite like being at their mercy and trying stuff I wouldn’t necessarily order. Very much the case here but the chefs choices were poorly thought out.
We enjoy cooking at home but I would point out again, if you were a novice I think the instructions and lack of meal timeline would cause a few stresses, not helped by each ingredient being lumped in together (it wouldn’t be hard to colour code each dishes ingredients with a coloured sticker or something).
£150 to be mildly disappointed (nice half bottle of champagne mind you).
Funnily enough a mate was doing another one at the same time from somewhere else as he missed out on Northcote. His was £200 (which personally I think is beyond what I’d pay to cook at home) and they loved every single bit of it. Seeing his pictures it did look superior and the menu although more traditional (scallops, ox cheeks etc) better resolved.
I missed out on the Northcote box as it had sold out. We did both say that the menu did not sound like our cup of tea. It just sounded a bit cheap.
The one we had back in December was excellent, we enjoyed every bit of it and it was £110. However the menu was much more our thing, salmon, beef and lemon merengue. Easily enough for 4 people too. I am not a fan of chicken and would never order it out of choice. It something anyone can cook, IMVHO.
Instead I have bought a nice rib of beef, some veggies and a decent bottle of wine all for <£100. Yes I will have to cook it all myself but from what you posted I am glad I did now.
The one we had back in December was excellent, we enjoyed every bit of it and it was £110. However the menu was much more our thing, salmon, beef and lemon merengue. Easily enough for 4 people too. I am not a fan of chicken and would never order it out of choice. It something anyone can cook, IMVHO.
Instead I have bought a nice rib of beef, some veggies and a decent bottle of wine all for <£100. Yes I will have to cook it all myself but from what you posted I am glad I did now.
Yeah as I said, it seemed a strange menu to put together, there’s a link on the menu for reviews so I will get in touch with them but I’ve no idea if I’ll get anything back (I mean a reply rather than money back).
Again, I can’t fault the produce but out of the £150 that acounts for very little.
What I thought I was paying for was Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s expertise in putting together a delicious, balanced meal and her team’s skill in delivering everything around them.
So despite whether it would have been my choice on a menu, the consommé in the starter, the sauce with the hake and the Diane with the chicken should all have been amazing as really, that was their main job once the produce was selected. As it happens, I found the consommé average, the sauce not to my taste at all (although the Mrs liked it) and the Diane very poor.
Could I have followed a cookbook and delivered something the same-absolutely but in reality cooing a four course tasting menu for you and the wife at home is a bit of a mission and likely an afternoon of cooking just for the two of you to eat later on.
Could I have spent £40 on local produce and created a simpler, two or three course menu for us both that was actually better than this?
Unfortunately so I think which is where the disappointment creeps in, when an amateur thinks he can make something better than such a decorated celebrity chef then I can’t help thinking it’s missed the brief completely.
Again, I can’t fault the produce but out of the £150 that acounts for very little.
What I thought I was paying for was Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s expertise in putting together a delicious, balanced meal and her team’s skill in delivering everything around them.
So despite whether it would have been my choice on a menu, the consommé in the starter, the sauce with the hake and the Diane with the chicken should all have been amazing as really, that was their main job once the produce was selected. As it happens, I found the consommé average, the sauce not to my taste at all (although the Mrs liked it) and the Diane very poor.
Could I have followed a cookbook and delivered something the same-absolutely but in reality cooing a four course tasting menu for you and the wife at home is a bit of a mission and likely an afternoon of cooking just for the two of you to eat later on.
Could I have spent £40 on local produce and created a simpler, two or three course menu for us both that was actually better than this?
Unfortunately so I think which is where the disappointment creeps in, when an amateur thinks he can make something better than such a decorated celebrity chef then I can’t help thinking it’s missed the brief completely.
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Yeah as I said, it seemed a strange menu to put together, there’s a link on the menu for reviews so I will get in touch with them but I’ve no idea if I’ll get anything back (I mean a reply rather than money back).
Again, I can’t fault the produce but out of the £150 that acounts for very little.
What I thought I was paying for was Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s expertise in putting together a delicious, balanced meal and her team’s skill in delivering everything around them.
So despite whether it would have been my choice on a menu, the consommé in the starter, the sauce with the hake and the Diane with the chicken should all have been amazing as really, that was their main job once the produce was selected. As it happens, I found the consommé average, the sauce not to my taste at all (although the Mrs liked it) and the Diane very poor.
Could I have followed a cookbook and delivered something the same-absolutely but in reality cooing a four course tasting menu for you and the wife at home is a bit of a mission and likely an afternoon of cooking just for the two of you to eat later on.
Could I have spent £40 on local produce and created a simpler, two or three course menu for us both that was actually better than this?
Unfortunately so I think which is where the disappointment creeps in, when an amateur thinks he can make something better than such a decorated celebrity chef then I can’t help thinking it’s missed the brief completely.
TBF it sounds like a ton of faff and not insignificant $ for limited reward.Again, I can’t fault the produce but out of the £150 that acounts for very little.
What I thought I was paying for was Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s expertise in putting together a delicious, balanced meal and her team’s skill in delivering everything around them.
So despite whether it would have been my choice on a menu, the consommé in the starter, the sauce with the hake and the Diane with the chicken should all have been amazing as really, that was their main job once the produce was selected. As it happens, I found the consommé average, the sauce not to my taste at all (although the Mrs liked it) and the Diane very poor.
Could I have followed a cookbook and delivered something the same-absolutely but in reality cooing a four course tasting menu for you and the wife at home is a bit of a mission and likely an afternoon of cooking just for the two of you to eat later on.
Could I have spent £40 on local produce and created a simpler, two or three course menu for us both that was actually better than this?
Unfortunately so I think which is where the disappointment creeps in, when an amateur thinks he can make something better than such a decorated celebrity chef then I can’t help thinking it’s missed the brief completely.
I struggle to see the point beyond some arbitrary specialness feelyness of it being whateverexoticbrand. If it was super low effort, enjoy the night I could, but anyone who can handle all the faff could surely scratch cook (maybe with some pre prep) their own for a fraction of the cost? Running in and out the kitchen timing things isn't my idea of a date night either... Cook it, then sit down and relax, with anything after that being super low effort.
As for restaurant quality base ingredients.... Look around, we have a magnificent butcher and a very good farm shop locally.
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