Delivery service used to be limited to pizza and bad Chinese food. Now, there’s a delivery app or business for almost anything. Groceries, booze, restaurant meals, socks… you name it. There’s an app for everything. A friend of mine actually turned me on to Home Chef, a weekly delivery service of meals you can cook from scratch for yourself. I was intrigued and being such a bozo in the kitchen, wanted to see how dummy proof these chef-driven recipes were.
Home Chef was kind enough to gift me a $60 credit to use. So naturally, I put it to good use. I went to their site, created an account and my “taste profile”. I’m not a picky person and love to eat (clearly). I labeled myself as an omnivore, but there were options for pescetarians, vegetarians, and carnivores. After I created my taste profile, I choose three recipes and two portions of each. I had about 12 or so different recipes to choose from. After I picked out my meals, I placed my order and waited for it to arrive the following week.
All the ingredients and veggies were packaged separately so you didn’t mix anything up. Meats on the side.
I’ll have to say, I was a little worried about a box full of raw veggies and meats being delivered to my home in the middle of a hot July day. Would whatever insulation withstand the heat? I was able to track the delivery via a tracking link. Everything was still cold and fresh by the time I got home to unload it. On this particular weekend, I put myself on a stricter diet. The timing was perfect for a stay in weekend with the boyfriend and cook everything.
For our first meal, we made a dijon and panko crusted chicken breast with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots. Each meal comes with a step-by-step recipe card and it really breaks everything down for you. When you unravel the bags of ingredients, everything is separated in its own little bag. You get exactly what you need.
So of course to avoid my disastrous self from screwing up these recipes, I had supervision. Ehehe… For this meal, the recipe said it would only take 35 minutes to make. We divided and conquered. I let Danny prep and cook the protein and I would handle the veggies. I can chop. Sort of. I’d say it’s more of a hack job.
I personally thought the two tiny carrots it came with wasn’t going to cut it. They were so puny! I had a few extra carrots in my fridge and added those into the mix too. It turned out great and we wolfed it down. I think what we took away was learning a new recipe that was truly so simple to make and something we could replicate ourselves later on. I was really proud of the simple garlic mashed potatoes I made. Muahahah!! Trust me… I’ve ruined simpler things.
The next morning, we made pork sausage breakfast bagels with hash browns. This one wasn’t my favorite. I don’t think we seasoned the pork sausage enough and the portion was out huge!
It was so hard to eat this and I eventually gave up. Didn’t care for the cheese or the tomato in the bagel sandwich. I don’t think the cheese survived the delivery since it was so dry by the time we made this. My potato was also getting a little moldy and the bagel actually tasted a little stale.
Breakfast bagel!
Pork sausage patties
Browning the hash browns.
Last, but not least, I decided to fly solo and make the chimichurri pork chops all by myself.
The pork chops were probably my favorite of the three meals I ordered and was easy to make. I blanched the asparagus, sautéed all the veggies, and cooked the pork chop perfectly. Moist and juicy on the inside with a little char on the outside. Yummmyy!
So each recipe card breaks down all the steps. Just based on these three recipes, they expect you to have common household items like salt and pepper for you to season with your discretion. For the pork chops, it also called for the use of blender. Fortunately I had one, however I wish that was highlighted in the purchase process. What if I didn’t have a blender? Anyway, the pork chop turned out great and I saved the second portion for lunch the next day. I did botch the chimichurri sauce though. Super runny, but whatever, I still drizzled it on and enjoyed myself.
The Takeaway: After my experience, I took some time to talk with Home Chef about their services and how people incorporate it into their lives. It certainly solves the problem of having to buy groceries. I really liked how spices and certain ingredients were portioned perfectly. I know how expensive it can get to buy a whole pack of something when you only need a pinch of this or that.
The web experience is pretty easy, with new recipes every week. Most people order just about the same amount as I did: three meals, two portions of each. It’s recommended to make your food within the week. I personally think you should cook everything within the first three-five days. I wasn’t confident the meat would stay fresh for a full week.
Also, when you create an account, you don’t have to make a delivery every single week and can do so as needed. You have the option to skip weeks or pause your account. Definitely keep the recipe cards. They come in handy and are great references. There’s also a pretty cool referral program. When you invite a friend or family member to join using your unique invite/link, you’ll both receive a $30 credit to use for your next meals.
Overall, I had a delicious experience and loved the convenience and ease of using Home Chef. Check them out!
Comments
This is such a cool concept! I definitely would love to try it out! Anything to make life easier! Now I just have to find the time to cook! lol
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Just FYI for anyone considering this CRAP MEAL DELIVERY SERVICE…I received my first order on a Wednesday at approximately 5 pm. I didn’t have time to cook that evening or the next. They charged my debit card for the next shipment FRIDAY AT NOON CENTRAL TIME. I hadn’t even had a chance to try anything at that point and had received it less than 48 hours prior.
They didn’t exactly make this clear and they never even sent me a receipt or notification that I had been charged and would be receiving anything at all. I assumed I would have until at least Saturday morning to cancel. I don’t think it was unreasonable to expect I’d have an opportunity to try the food before being billed for more. The only reason I caught it is because I saw the transaction on my bank’s website. I emailed them immediately and they didn’t bother to respond until – conveniently – they said the order had been processed. Then they treated me like an idiot who doesn’t know how subscription services work.
You’ve been warned. Oh, and the food from the first order was nothing great. If I’d paid $20 for that for two at a café, I would have been disappointed. Let alone $20 to make it and clean up myself. The morons also sent me flat leaf parsley instead of cilantro.
Oh my goodness. Sorry to hear you had a terrible experience! I would also be super upset if that happened. My experience was fine. I wouldn’t say it was spectacular. Fun to try, and I wished I had more control over the types of recipes I would be getting.