In my youth I loved cooking … the ritual of combining
ingredients into a delicious creation and sharing it with loved ones. Once work
came into the picture, the thought of all the time spent prepping and cooking
compared to how quickly everything was consumed became taxing. It also became
harder to cook for one once leaving my roommates after university; too often
ingredients come in big portions and food was wasted. So, soon it became easier
to just eat out or prepare easy meals, the more complicated creations left for
Sundays, dinner parties, and special occasions.
I’ve heard about meal delivery services from friends who
love how easy it makes cooking meals for their families. Sure, it sounded
intriguing, but being a food blogger and my husband and I having active social
lives, I had doubts whether cooking three meals a week was feasible. Then one
day One Kitchen offered to provide me a week’s delivery to try – what a perfect
excuse to let my inner chef come out again!
Dependability
Delivering on Monday and Tuesdays seems smart – most people
go out on weekends and having a weekday delivery means customers don’t have to
waste precious weekend hours at the supermarket.
As promised, everything arrived in a thick cardboard box
with all the ingredients held in an insulated bag. Four ice packs also kept the
meat frozen so everything was still intact and cold when I arrived home in the
afternoon. On an environmental note: it would be great if One Kitchen takes back
the box, insulation bag, outer plastic bags, and ice packs to reuse. A drop-off
pick-up sort of a program.
Plastic bags kept all the other ingredients separated into
their respective recipes and I just made sure they were stored together in the
fridge.
As a warning, not everything is included in the kit. Some
ingredients are understandable – oil, salt, pepper – things people should have
at home. However, there were others that were a bit strange like with the
vegetable tart you’re expected to have cider vinegar (luckily I had it), but
the recipe includes flour. Perhaps the
vinegar wasn’t a key ingredient (used in the dressing for the salad) and could
easily be replaced with something else.
It would be nice if One Kitchen provides a list of
ingredients and equipment required for each recipe (on the website), so people
can ensure they’re prepared before choosing it for delivery.
Recipes: Ease of Use
For the most part the recipes are pretty easy to follow. They
include the ingredients in the proportions required, so you don’t need to
measure or weigh anything. Simply wash and chop the produce and you’re set.
Plenty of information is included on each recipe card
including pictures and even wine pairing suggestions. If you’re still lost, you
can go on their website and watch their quick videos that provide an
overview.
I wouldn’t say the service is for someone who’s never cooked
before as the recipes do use terms that could confuse a novice (such as "scoring"
a border on the puff pastry). Even I had to watch the video to make sure I
prepared the pastry properly.
In terms of timing, each recipe took me anywhere from 30-45 minutes to make, this was based on taking my time to do it and washing & chopping the vegetables.
In terms of timing, each recipe took me anywhere from 30-45 minutes to make, this was based on taking my time to do it and washing & chopping the vegetables.
How It Tastes
All three recipes were very different, One Kitchen sure has
variety (except for seafood on the week of my delivery … though I do see they
have shrimp pasta now).
The vegetable tart with green salad was my favourite: the tart’s pastry turned out perfectly, rising
beautifully into a flakey glory. I was surprised by the amount of onions and
shallots used in the vegetable medley, but the stronger aromatics really helped
to make the tart tasty. Of the three
recipes, this yielded the most food … it could seriously feed four people if you
purchase more lettuce. I appreciate having lunch the next day, the vegetable
tart delicious even cold.
At first I thought the stuffed chicken breast would be
difficult to make, but it turned out to be the quickest. The chicken remained
moist and the mushroom and sage mixture inside quite delicious. Cheese helped
hold everything together and also add some creaminess. Since the recipe was
predominantly baked, it also wasn’t oily. The only small change I’d make is
using less lemon on the roasted broccoli as it was a bit sour, although
somewhat refreshing with the meaty chicken.
Despite regularly making beef chili during the winter, I
even learnt something new from One Kitchen. With this recipe, I was advised to
take a third of the kidney beans and puree it in a food processor (a gadget I
don’t own … luckily, the blender worked). The resulting chili was thicker and
creamier than my past recipes, a great trick I’ll continue using.
Additionally,
I would have never thought to add an avocado salsa on top - generally relying
on cream cheese and cheese – it really changed the chili adding freshness on account of the raw onion, lemon and
avocado.
Conclusion
It was fun and exciting to cook again! Certainly my husband
and I made it a priority to leave work at a decent time, not go out, and go
home to enjoy a meal together. Of course, it took time (about 45 minutes per
day to be exact) so I don’t think it’d be something I could do every week. But,
the ritual would be great to do once every month or so when we’re sure we’d be
home.
Price and How to
Order the Service
At about $10.00 - 11.50 per serving, One Kitchen’s prices
are in line (if not a bit lower) than competing services. The smallest plan is
the two-person three meals one ($68.94 total or $11.50 a serving) and the price
reduces to $10.00 per serving ($159.84 in total) for four meals for a family of
four. The pricing also includes delivery and taxes.
Even though One Kitchen is a subscription based service, you
can always skip a delivery or cancel at any time. So, it makes it easy to use on
a periodic basis. This could even work for dinner parties if you’re not sure
what to cook and want a safer “fool-proof” option.
If the above has intrigued you, sign up and try a week for
yourself. One Kitchen is offering Gastro World readers 40% off any box for new customers. Just visit their site, pick any of the plans (including the largest one) and use Gastroworld as the coupon code.
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