As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, supermarket shopping has changed dramatically: from selfish stockpiling, to strict social distancing measures. Many have struggled to source basic food and household essentials, as well as being pushed into dealing with stressful situations at the major supermarkets, while others are left housebound. Supermarket delivery slots have also become rarer than quilted toilet paper. Fortunately, a selection of smaller businesses are offering great produce delivery services, championing excellent ingredients and following all suggested safety measures.
pale green dot
Previously operating in the hospitality sector, sustainable suppliers of fine quality produce, pale green dot, has begun delivering to customers’ homes throughout London and most of the South East. In addition to their fresh produce boxes filled with fruit and vegetables, pale green dot has also introduced a range comprising meat from H G Walter, cheeses, and a dairy box. Orders can be placed via pale green dot’s website.
Forman & Field
The sister company to H. Forman & Son, the world’s oldest smoked salmon producer, Forman & Field has launched ‘The Ultimate Care Package’ (£79.95). Comprising a selection of some of Forman’s most popular dishes, the hamper includes 200 grams of H. Forman & Son’s London Cure Smoked Salmon, buttermilk chicken, smoked salmon pate, salmon fish fingers, smoked haddock and parsley fishcakes, Hepburn’s Olde English sausages, hand-chopped prime beef burgers, banana bread, and a complimentary Forman & Field Tea Towel. All of the products, except for the pate, can be stored in the fridge for up to three weeks, or can be frozen for several months. Plus, by ordering the complete care package, consumers will save 10% compared to ordering the products individually. Further information can be found at formanandfield.com.
Direct Deliver
Award-winning Fatherson Bakery has launched a new consumer produce delivery website to help ease shopper challenges during COVID-19. Borne out of the desire to help others and get food delivered to the most vulnerable family, friends and neighbours in the community, the website offers a range of the bakery’s cakes, plus other food and non-perishable essentials such as Classic Gourmet Everyday Tea, Fatherson coffee, cleaning products from Greener-Cleaner, and a selection of biscuits. The website’s selection is constantly expanding as Fatherson source additional products. Further information can be found at directdeliver.co.uk.
BoroughBox
Launched to disrupt the independent food and drinks supply chain, hoping to make great products accessible to all, BoroughBox is an online marketplace which connects thousands of customers to quality independent food and drinks businesses. Delivering groceries and gifts from hundreds of producers, BoroughBox also serves a good selection of alcohol. Due to current levels of demand, orders may take up to two working days to be processed before being shipped. Further information can be found at the BoroughBox’s website.
Mac & Wild Online Butchery
In response to the current unprecedented conditions, Scottish restaurant Mac & Wild have moved their butcher counter online. Continuing to champion high quality Scottish meat – with a prominent focus on game – Mac & Wild works with small, independent producers from the Scottish Highlands. All of Mac & Wild’s butchery orders are sent directly from the producers, accompanied by cooking recommendations, recipes, and details on storage and freezing (produce is also available frozen upon delivery). Highlights from the selection include the likes of Ayrshire middle bacon, beef sausages, leg of Highland Hill lamb and free range Highland chicken, plus Beef fillet steak and rib roast, each dry-aged for six weeks. Further information can be found on Mac & Wild’s website.
Spring Green
Compiling fruit and vegetables from NATOORA, Spring Green has launched new rainbow veg boxes available for home delivery. Also including a botanical superfood pot, the rainbow veg boxes are priced at £49 and include enough produce for two-to-four people for one week, featuring vegetables and fruits such as purple sprouting broccoli, courgettes, cucumber, garlic, carrots, vine tomatoes, Hass avocados, red potatoes, and baby spinach, plus dry grains or legumes, six free range eggs, and more. For every 10th box sold, one box will also be donated to an NHS worker at St Thomas’ Hospital. Further information can be found on Spring Green’s website. (London zones one and two only).
The Ethical Butcher
Launched last year, The Ethical Butcher is an e-commerce site selling the most ethically sourced meats available, with transparency and traceability that’s unprecedented in the industry. Due to high demand during the coronavirus pandemic, The Ethical Butcher has launched a collection of meat boxes as part of its produce delivery service. Orders can be placed via The Ethical Butcher’s website.
Mindful Chef
In response to an unprecedented increase in sales since the coronavirus outbreak, recipe box service Mindful Chef has launched the UK’s first next day produce delivery service, selling its new ‘Mindful Chef Care Box’. One-off boxes are available without subscription, with guaranteed next day delivery if ordered before 7pm. Customers are able to choose between either meat or plant-based boxes, including three meals for two people. Boxes are available from Mindful Chef’s online store.
Wright Brothers At Home
With five seafood restaurants in London, Wright Brothers are also a trusted wholesaler. To support their suppliers, the company has launched Wright Brothers At Home, offering sustainable fish and shellfish home delivery. Comprising fresh, smoked, and cured fish, the Wright Brothers At Home range includes the likes of cooked crab and lobster; oysters and mussels; oven-ready whole fish; and luxuries such as Alaskan king crab leg clusters, and Carabiñeros prawns. A vegetable and salad box is also available. Selection boxes have also been put-together, suitable for freezing and available optionally on a monthly subscription basis. All fresh fish is prepared and delivered to customers vacuum-packed. Nationwide delivery is available. Minimum order £35 with £10 delivery charge. Free delivery on orders over £50. Further information can be found at shop.thewrightbrothers.co.uk.
field&flower
Award-winning meat and fish delivery company field&flower have added a new sous-vide meat range to their online produce delivery offering. Providing quality food for customers to enjoy at home, the new range features cuts slow-cooked in a sous-vide to retain the flavour and moisture of the meat. Carefully prepared by chefs in Somerset, each cut has 100 percent traceability, placed in a water bath with herbs and spices before being cooked for 8-12 hours. At home, customers can finish the dishes in the oven in as little as 20 minutes. Further information can be found at fieldandflower.co.uk.
Philip Warren Butchers’ ‘On the Pass’
With a surplus of expertly dry-aged premium meat produce since the country’s restaurants first temporarily closed in March, Cornwall-based Philip Warren Butchers has launched ‘On the Pass’ – a delivery service which makes meat once destined for high-end restaurants available to consumers nationwide. Supplying restaurants such as The Ledbury, IKOYI, and Lyle’s. the key to Philip Warren Butchers’ final product is a meticulous long-aging process involving a state of the art system and control of humidity levels, air flow and temperature. The company also focuses on ‘flavour over efficiency’, championing more slender, native cattle breeds such as Red Devons, Galloways or Dexters, over European or American counterparts who are renowned for their higher yields and leaner, more uniform meat. Further information can be found here.
Gladwin Brothers
The trio behind restaurants such as Sussex, The Shed, Rabbit, and Nutbourne, the Gladwin Brothers are now offering organic produce delivery, including fruits, vegetables, herbs, meat, and their own wine from their family farm and vineyard in West Sussex. Available to customers in north, west, and (most of) south London, the Gladwin Brothers’ online shop is stocked with food boxes sourced directly from the Gladwins’ farm. Dishes such as Beef Wellington are also available alongside various pies, pestos, tarts, and ice creams. A selection of English wines are also offered. Further information can be found at gladwinbrothers.com.
CasaCosta
Set up by Roberto Costa, the restaurateur behind Macellaio RC, CasaCosta delivers some of Italy’s best ingredients to homes in select London postcode zones. Sourced directly from producers, CasaCosta champions high quality produce, serving products such as gragnano pasta, Carloforte tuna (the only tonnara still active in Italy), Fassona beef, Frantolo di Sant’Agata d’Oneglia olive oil, and much more. Alongside this produce, pizzas, focaccia, and pesto will also be available alongside comfort dishes such as lasagne, polpette, and Parmigiana. Delivery is currently available within 10 miles of their base location, 461 – 465 North End Road, Fulham, London, SW6 1NZ. Orders can be placed via casacosta.co.uk.
Pasta Evangelists
Serving restaurant-quality delivery pasta, Pasta Evangelists offers weekly-changing pastas and sauces. Expect the likes of black truffle mac and cheese, or Venetian-inspired duck ragù with pappardelle. Further information can be found at pastaevangelists.com.
MexGrocer
An authentic online Mexican store, MexGrocer offers sustainable and organic ingredients. Amongst their most popular products, the store offers a selection of hampers, including an Acapulco Hamper (£49.99), which features the likes of Ocho Reales ale and lager; Azteca cactus strips; Naturelo white corn flour; La Sierra black whole beans; San Marcos refried pinto beans; San Marcos Chipotle BBQ Sauce; Itacate Cochinita Pibil; Herdez Guacamole Salsa; Naturelo chickpea flour for muffins; El Yucateco Black Label habanero sauce and green habanero sauce; Tajin chile and lime seasoning; Komali Placera corn tortillas; and Clemente Jacques jalapeno chillies. A selection of cocktail kits, hot sauce kits, drinks, and kitchen essentials are also available.
Further information can be found at mexgrocer.co.uk.
Bottles ‘N’ Jars
Rhyming slang for ‘cars’, Bottles ‘N’ Jars is a recently launched bottle shop in Highgate, from wine expert and author, Bert Blaize. Located next to world-famous vintage car dealership, Hexagon Classics, Bottles ‘N’ Jars sells a strong selection of wines and provisions, plus a newly-launched range of hampers available for delivery.
The ‘Morris Minor’ hamper (£40) features a bottle of Monastrell Old Hands Organic 2018; black truffle crisps; Tozzetti with cacao; classic panettoncino, raisins and candied peel; apricot, pistachio and sesame toast for cheese; plum chutney; and Notes Christmas espresso pods. The ‘Alfa Romeo’ hamper (£60) includes bottles of Trebbiano Guiliana Vicini 2019, and Montepulciano Guiliana Vicini 2018; cured cheese crisps; Gentil Lumaconi Cooper Cut Pasta; Jose white wine vinegar, Perello Queen pitted olives; Marcona almonds in white chocolate; and classic panettoncino, raisins and candied peel.
The ‘Aston Martin’ hamper (£80), on the other hand, comprises Cava Brut Gran Casteller; Tempranillo Rioja Bodegas Armentia y Madrazo 2018; Moscato d’Asti Paola Saracco; Gentil Organic Vesuvio, Copper Cut Pasta, truffle and artichoke pesto; picos de pan breadsticks; Millers ale crackers; Galician cooked and peeled chestnuts; cigarillos wafers; dark chocolate figs filled with cream, chocolate and brandy ganache; and Spanish cinnamon spiced hot chocolate. All hampers are also accompanied by a ‘Music to Drink Wine To’ playlist.
Further information can be found on Bottles ‘N’ Jars’ Instagram page.
JF Edwards Smithfield Butchers
Having operated from Smithfield meat market for over 50 years, JF Edwards is now offering doorstep delivery to customers within the M25. With demand for deliveries at an all-time high, the butchers serves the finest meat from sought-after suppliers, having also introduced a range of meat boxes to accompany their fresh meat offering (also suited for stocking the freezer). All meat available from JF Edwards’ online shop is hand-butchered, cut and prepared by an expert team of master butchers, including a wide range of beef, lamb, veal, poultry, and game products. Smoked fish is also available, from specialist suppliers across Europe. Meat boxes are priced from £35, including packs such as a variety box, protein box, poultry box, and various steak boxes – all ideal for families and meal planning. Free delivery is also offered on orders over £40, within the M25.
Further information can be found at jfedwards.uk.com.
This article was updated on Friday 12th February, 2021.