Changing lockdown restrictions during the pandemic forced chefs and restaurants to be creative and come up with different ways for you to enjoy their food outside of a dine-in service, meaning we’ve now got tons of takeaway options and a huge selection of DIY meal kits. Here are some of our fave new ones to get on order pronto.
Planty
It might not look like it, but that roast dinner is completely vegan. Mad, right? Planty, an award-winning vegan meal delivery service, has launched a Sunday lunch option made with Meatless Farm roast “chicken”, sage & walnut stuffing, glazed carrots & parsnips, sauteed white cabbage,and port wine gravy – and it’s as easy as popping it all in the oven for half an hour to cook. If that’s not youtr vibe, they have a whole lot of other meals on their site, each prepared with the help of a team of Michelin-starred chefs, so just take your pick.
Wright Bros x Yuki’s Kitchen Sushi Kit
Seafood experts the Wright Brothers have teamed up with Japanese chef, food writer and cookery teacher Yuki Gomi to put together this kit which provides everything you need to make restaurant-quality sushi at home. The Let’s Roll Sushi Kit includes ora king salmon portions, yellowfin tuna saku plate, orange tobiko, Clearspring tamari soya sauce, Clearspring white sushi rice, Clearspring brown rice vinegar, a Clearspring bamboo sushi mat, Clearspring wasabi powder, Yutaka black sesame seeds, Yutaka ginger pickle, sushi seaweed sheets and mirin. Sushi’s not exactly the most simple dish, but definitely worth it. If you’re up for the challenge then roll your sleeves, put on your concentration cap and get ready for the freshest sushi you’ve ever had.
Poon’s Wontons
Although we lost the iconic Poon’s restaurant in 2006 when owners Bill and Cecilia Poon retired, its legacy lives on through their daughter Amy Poon’s Wontoneria delivery venture. At its heart are the acclaimed pork wontons, handmade freshly to order with premium HG Walter pork and carefully packaged national delivery, which come in packs of 16 with a small pot of Poon’s Chilli Vinegar Dressing and spring onions for seasoning. But, if you want more (and you will), they also stock a range of sauces and condiments including a full-size bottle of the Chilli Vinegar Dressing, super pure Premium First Extract Soya Sauce and their take on XO sauce, Wo Sauce.
Shoryu Ramen x Nissin Cup Noodles
There’s pot noodles and there’s hakata tonkotsu flavour cup noodles from Shoryu Ramen and Nissin. Yes these two brands, which are both celebrating big milestones this year – Shoryu is 10, Nissin is 50 – have teamed up for the ultimate pot noodle. The collab is part of the Nissin Ramen Masters Series, which the OG cup noodle brand has launched to showcase ramen culture in Europe. It’s based on Shoryu’s iconic Ganso ramen, with pork and chicken broth, spring onion, red ginger, kikurage mushrooms & plant-based meat protein – you just add boiling water and you’ve got some real deal ramen right at home.
Broken Eggs
Put on a Spanish spread with zero effort thanks to new delivery concept Broken Eggs, available to order from on Deliveroo. Founded by two Spanish siblings, Broken Eggs specialises in tortillas, a dish that the founders felt was not properly represented in London, with five varieties, from the classic egg and potato to jamon, chorizo, courgette and truffle ones, on the menu. One (or five) tortillas does not a tapas feast make, so you can also order sides like citrus salad, jamon iberico & manchego, tomato salad, and ciabatta, and as Broken Eggs don’t like waste, they also pop some potato peel crisps made from the peels of the potatoes that go into the tortillas in with your order too.
Saucy Buns
What Willy Cook (who you’ve seen cooking up a storm on the ‘gram) has teamed up with Taster to launch a brand new burger brand and it’s a saucy one. Saucy Buns, available on both Deliveroo and Uber Eats, specialises in smashed burgers loaded with confit garlic mayo (you can also get them topped with blue cheese and bacon) and boy, they are some epic buns. You can get regular, seasoned and dirty fries on the side but the real MVP of the carb game has got to be the potato smileys – that’s a taste of childhood right there.
Parmos in the Post
For all the Northeners out there, the parmo needs no introduction but for those of you not familiar with this Teesside icon, let us fill you in. The parmo, or the chicken parmesan to give it its formal name, is a breadcrumbed chicken breast topped with bechamel and cheese and served with garlic mayo on the side, and now you can whip one up at home thanks to Parmos in the Post. As well as the classic parmo, they do a spicy version with added pepperoni and jalapenos, and you make yours extra saucy by ordering tomato cream and peppercorn sauces on the side.
Little Planted Kitchen
Veganuary may be over but if you’re continuing down the plant-based route (or you’re already vegan and are looking for something new to try), get involved with Little Planted Kitchen. New from The Hush Collection, the delivery-only kitchen is serving up everything from corn ribs and chick’n tenders to panko portobello mushroom poke bowls and green goddess rice bowls to stacked brioche bun burgers made with Beyond Meat patties and THIS Isn’t Chicken. They’ve even got dessert covered too with Happy Endings ice cream sarnies and Hackney Gelato shakes. Healthy or indulgent, Little Planted Kitchen has food for you.
ByRuby
Sometimes you just don’t fancy whipping up a meal but still wanna tuck into something delish and healthy – that’s where ByRuby comes in. All of the ready meals are made with market veggies and British meat, as well as being frozen to make sure they lock in all the goodness and cut down on food wastage too. Made by Ruby (clue’s in the name) and her team of chefs, they’re whipping up the likes of free range chicken, leek and bacon pie; woodland mushroom risotto; Thai red chalk stream trout; and Dan Dan aubergine with peanut noodles. You can mix and match to stock your freezers or send one of the special bundles (New Parent and Get Well Soon) to someone spesh. There’s no minimum order and it gets delivered straight to your door, it’s a winner.
Provisions Cheese Canteen
Provisions was already one of our fave cheese shops but now we like it even better because they’ve launched a new monthly cheese subscription service. Each Cheese Canteen box (available in one, three, six, nine and twelve installments with nationwide delivery) includes a kilo of different raw milk cheeses from small suppliers across Europe, plus tasting notes and info on their origins – the debut box featured 48-month aged Gouda, 24-month aged Comte, Sauvaget Cendre, Baron Bigod, and Gorgonzola Dolce, with upcoming themes including festive cheeses, Alpine cheeses and island cheeses. It makes a GRATE pressie, if you can bear to part with all the cheesy goodness that is….
Après Food Co
For the times when you just don’t have the energy to cook but you don’t want to order a massive takeaway, having a stash of healthy meals in the freezer is a lifesaver. And that’s exactly what Après Food Co does. They produce organic, nutritionally balanced, restaurant standard meals like slow-cooked Sri Lankan lamb curry, Thai vegetable curry with cauliflower pilau, roast Mediterranean vegetable lasagne, and sticky toffee pudding – yes dessert is most defo allowed as part of a varied diet – making it easy for you eat good food without having to go to any effort. And all the packaging is home compostable too.