Photo: Ben Carpenter Photography
Since the outbreak of Covid-19, followed by the government’s imposed lockdowns, home cooking has seen a boom in popularity throughout the UK. According to a new study of 2,000 adults, more than a fifth of Brits are now cooking every meal from scratch, with over half having experimented with additional ingredients. Long before lockdown, stockpiling and panic buying saw the supermarket shelves entirely stripped of non-perishables; then when baking became social media’s biggest trend (specifically banana bread and sourdough), eggs and flour became the pandemic equivalent of a shiny Charizard. In addition to a clutch of excellent restaurants now delivering, some have also tapped into the home cooking trend, introducing DIY meal kits for customers to prepare and enjoy at home.
Comprising high quality ingredients, most of the meal kits are less expensive than if they were to be ordered in the restaurant. They’re also delivered responsibly, adhering to social distancing guidelines. A fun, interactive way to support restaurants and small businesses during the pandemic, while practicing those new found home cooking skills.
Inspired by the Mission District in San Francisco, TACA pays homage to California-style Mexican food. Drawing from memories of eating Mexican food as a child while visiting California, the brand was set-up by Thorne Addyman, following extensive research. Before the government’s imposed lockdown took effect, TACA hosted a string of successful pop-ups in south-east London and a monthly night at Villages Brewery Taproom in Deptford.
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, TACA has launched a new DIY delivery service, offering superlative tacos within the M25. Each kit features the prepared ingredients to assemble an exceptional feast at home, anchored by soft corn tacos. The weekly-changing menu features a meat or vegetarian option, including the likes of barbacoa beef with mole, chipotle beans, or pulled-mushrooms – a vegetarian riff on carnitas. Accoutrements such as home-made salsa, radishes, lime, coriander, home-made tortilla chips, pico de gallo, guacamole, and hot cheese dip are also supplied. DIY taco kits are available to order from TACA Tacos’ Instagram (@tacatacosuk), priced at £30 for two people, or £45 with plenty to feed four.
Scottish restaurant Mac & Wild has launched a DIY meal kit, for customers across the UK to recreate its famous Venimoo Burger at home. Complete with all ingredients, each burger kit is delivered in line with Mac & Wild’s ethos of offering sustainable Scottish produce, with all game and meat sent direct from the Highlands, delivered in ethically-sourced packaging. Alongside helpful recipe cards complete with photographs, a full list of ingredients and allergens, the boxes contain enough produce to make four Venimoo burgers at home. Four venison patties are joined by four beef patties, baby gem lettuce, gherkins, burger cheese slices, onions to be caramelised at home, and firm sesame brioche buns. A selection of sauces are also included, with béarnaise, mustard, and the restaurant’s Red Jon sauce, making it possible to cook a restaurant-standard burger at home.
Priced at £12 each in the restaurant, the DIY meal kit offers great value, with ingredients for four burgers, priced at £28 (£7 per burger). Further information can be found at macandwild.com.
Available for delivery within the M25, renowned Italian restaurant Bancone has launched new at-home kits. Including starters, pasta mains and desserts, portions are available for two or four people, available for Friday delivery if ordered before midday on the previous Tuesday. Delivered with packaging that’s as green and sustainable as possible, dishes contain all necessary ingredients besides salt, pepper and parmesan, including the likes of burrata with kale leaves, marinated beetroot and chive oil; exemplary mafalde with a fiery ragù of pork and ‘nduja; and refreshing coconut panna cotta to finish, complete with mango and passionfruit, plus coconut and cherry crisp. Deli ingredients are also available, as well as a selection of wines and beers. Further information can be found at bancone.co.uk.
Providing some of London’s most gloriously decadent burgers, Burger & Beyond have also launched their own DIY Lockdown Kits. These kits include everything needed to make the restaurant’s BBB (Bacon Butter Burger) or Krispie Fried Chicken burger. Additional dishes include ‘Dirty Tots’, fried chicken, ‘Truffle Tots’, and gourmet hazelnut brownies. For the BBB, four demi brioche buns are provided alongside eight slices of pancetta, American cheese, burnt butter mayo, pickled onion, and enough 35 day aged minced beef to produce four patties. This is accompanied by a full guide to recreating the burger at home, involving dividing the meat into four balls and smashing in the pan, toasting the buns, and adding a splash of water before covering to steam, encouraging the cheese to melt perfectly. Priced at £11.50 each, in the restaurant, the DIY kit is priced at £25 (£6.25 per burger). Further information can be found at burgerandbeyondshop.co.uk.
Towards the start of the UK’s imposed lockdown, BAO launched Rice Error, a new delivery format available to local residents. As part of the brand’s ongoing mission to bring the restaurant experiences to customers’ homes, new BAO Home Kits have been launched. Available via BAO’s online convenience store, CONVINI, the kits are available for nationwide delivery. Priced from £22, the DIY meal kits feature six ready-to-steam bao as well as the elements needed to build their namesakes. The ‘Classic BAO Box’, for instance, is packed with 12-hour-braised pork, fermented greens and peanut dust, while the ‘Daikon BAO Box’ features individual panko daikon. Boxes of plain bao are also available to buy separately alongside a selection of BAO Bakery goods. Further information can be found at baolondon.com.
In response to the temporary closure of their Covent Garden home, Truffle has launched their DIY burger kit, including all the ingredients needed to create their unique burgers at home. Within the M25, kits are available for Truffle’s ‘The Aged Beef Burger’ (90-day aged beef patty, caramelised shallot puree, smoked cheese, house pickles, truffle and garlic sauce, brioche bun) and Truffle mac and cheese. The ‘Truffle Burger’ is available nationwide, however, featuring bacon and beef blend patties, truffle mayo, fig jam, raclette, crispy shallots, and brioche buns). Vegetarian options are also available, using Beyond Meat products. Each meal kit box is £25 and includes enough ingredients to make four burgers (usually priced at £8.50 each). Further information on delivery can be found at truffle-london.co.uk.
Inspired by 1960s Hong Kong, Wun’s is a Cantonese restaurant, bar and tea room from Alex and Z, the husband-and-wife team behind Bun House. As many restaurants continue to deliver kits for customers to make restaurant-quality dishes at home, Wun’s has launched a new sugar skin Iberico char siu pork kit, available for delivery across London. With the kit, the restaurant’s glorious signature dish is quick and easy to assemble at home, featuring two slabs of pork, a house-spiced sugar pack and pillowy blini buns, enough to feed two – three people.
Wun’s sugar skin Iberico fatty char siu kits are priced at £18.81, and can be ordered via wunstearoom.slerp.com.
Coinciding with the launch of ‘In Viaggio Regione’, a series of monthly-changing regional menus, Bocca di Lupo now also offers the chance to make their regional Italian feasts at home via their online delivery service and shop, Bocca di Lupo at Home. Established at the beginning of lockdown, the team have put together a selection DIY boxes filled with some of the restaurant’s most-loved dishes, plus Italian wines to accompany. With a choice between a meat, fish, or vegetarian box, October’s feasts focus on the food of Lazio. The meat box for two features a starter of mozzarella in carozza – thin, crispy toasted sandwiches filled with cheese, basil, and anchovy, with tomato sauce; suckling pig with Fragolino grapes and tender chestnuts cooked in stock and bay; and slices of burnt ricotta pie. Bocca di Lupo at Home boxes are available to order from boccadilupoathome.com.
Following the success of their ‘Honest at Home’ kits, Honest Burgers has launched two new DIY kits, available for nationwide delivery. In addition to the ‘TRIBUTE’ kit, featuring everything needed to re-create the burger at home, the vegan ‘PLANT’ kit has also been introduced by popular demand. In addition to revolutionary plant-based Beyond Meat patties (unusually meat-like in flavour and texture), the kit also includes vegan smoked gouda, Rubies in the Rubble chipotle ‘mayo’, mustard, red onion and homemade pickles. All that’s needed to recreate the dish at home is a head of lettuce, which doesn’t tend to travel well. Honest Burgers’ DIY kits are available in packs of two or four, with gluten free buns available, sold exclusively via the Honest website. A reusable Honest Burgers tote bag is also included with all orders, plus rosemary salt to season fries at home.
Based in Camden Market, Rudy’s Vegan Diner has launched a new range of DIY delivery kits, available nationwide. With four kits to choose from, each box is filled with high-quality homemade products, made using original recipes created by chef Matthew Foster. Kits include the restaurant’s ‘Dirty Burger’, ‘Grilled Chick’n Caesar Burger’, ‘Broccoli Mac ‘n’ Cheeze’, and Rudy’s Reuben – a vegan take on the classic sandwich. In addition to vegan pastrami, the Rudy’s Reuben kits also features a loaf of rye bread, sliced ‘cheeze’, pickles, sauerkraut, grilled and crispy onions, and Russian and creamy ‘cheese’ dressings. Each kit arrives with all necessary ingredients, plus a full recipe card and a QR code directing customers to the Rudy’s YouTube channel. Rudy’s DIY delivery kits are available from the restaurant’s website, priced at £18, with £1 from each box donated to Friend Farm Animal Sanctuary.
A brand new recipe box delivery service, Wild Radish works with top chefs on recipes featuring great, seasonal ingredients. Co-founded by chef Anthea Stephenson (formerly The River Café and Polpetto) and entrepreneur James Bhardwaj, Wild Radish has been designed to share the participating chefs’ love of great ingredients, providing home cooks with easy-to-follow DIY recipes and tips to recreate exceptional restaurant quality dishes at home.
Inspired by each chef’s work at celebrated UK restaurants, recipe boxes provide the ingredients and tips to make the dish at home, without spending hours in the kitchen, or searching for specialist ingredients. Instead, participating chefs source ingredients themselves, using their favourite artisan suppliers, while core ingredients are sourced by Stephenson at Wild Radish with seasonality always at the forefront: Natoora for fruit and vegetables, Rare Breed Meat Co for meat, James Knight of Mayfair for fresh fish. Wild Radish uses the same suppliers as their chefs, providing its customers with farmers market fresh ingredients that are unable to buy elsewhere.
In line with peak seasonality and the natural farming cycle, the recipes change fortnightly, with a meat, fish, and vegetable option. Wines are also available, specifically matched to the dishes and ingredients in each DIY box, chosen by Matthew Jukes, championing suppliers such as Liberty Wines and Enotria & Coe – both of which are usually only available in restaurants.
For the launch of Wild Radish, participating chefs have included the likes of Philip Howard (Elystan Street), Alyn Williams (formerly Alyn Willams at The Westbury), Anna Hansen (formerly The Modern Pantry) Mark Kempson (Kitchen W8), Marianna Leivaditaki (Morito Hackney Road), Richard Galli (The Goring’s Dining Room), Daniel Fletcher (28 Market Place in Somerton), and Sam Ashton-Booth (formerly The Ledbury).
Recipe boxes with the wine are priced at £70 (£55 without wine). Orders must be made by midnight on Sunday, to deliver the following Thursday morning. Orders will arrive before 7am each Thursday and can be left in a designated safe space for ease, using relevant packaging for chilled items. Wild Radish currently delivers to London postcodes only. Further information can be found at wild-radish.co.uk.
Hackney restaurant, The Barge House, has launched its ‘Breakfast En Bread’ for nationwide, next-day delivery. Here, sourdough loaves are filled with locally sourced ingredients, easy to reheat at home and ready in just 20 minutes. Free next-day delivery is offered to anywhere in the UK when four items or more are purchased, and a Click & Collect service is available from Monday-to-Friday on orders before 2pm (for same day collection).
Inspired by the Full English breakfast, ‘The Original’ is filled with oyster mushrooms, bacon, Barge House banger, spinach, and egg. A vegetarian option is also available. ‘The Smokey Salmon’, on the other hand, teams locally smoked salmon from Chapel & Swan with crème fraiche, spinach, slow-roasted tomatoes, and leeks, garnished with dill and a squeeze of lemon, topped with an egg. ‘The Au-Barge’ is filled with baked aubergine, tomato sauce with black olives, oyster mushrooms, vegan feta, spinach, and green sauce. All are complete with a fresh egg to be cracked on top. Further information can be found at breakfastenbread.com.
Michelin-starred Pied à Terre is continuing to serve its Vegan Feast, available for delivery. Including a weekly-changing three-course menu of dishes based on the restaurant’s award-winning vegan menus, the Vegan Feast for two is priced at £50, with food arriving chilled, simply needing to be heated at home, complete with easy-to-follow instructions. Local delivery is available on Friday and Saturday, while nationwide deliveries are made on Fridays via DPD. ‘Local pickup’ can also be arranged on ordering. Example dishes from the weekly-changing menu include the likes of French onion soup with croutons; ‘ricotta’ dip with flatbreads; basmati rice salad with sweetcorn and peas; vegetable stir fry with noodles and ponzu sauce; and pecan and orange halva, to finish. Further information can be found at pied-a-terre.co.uk.
Let’s be honest, pizzas cooked in conventional ovens are often disastrous. But with a new nationwide delivery service, PASSO make their signature pizzas easy to recreate at home with DIY meal kits. Of course, pizza ovens are ideal for perfect pizzas, but PASSO TO GO sees recipes slightly tweaked for home ovens or frying pans, with easy-to-follow instructions and video tutorials available. In addition to pizza kits, the Italian-inspired Shoreditch restaurant also offers a selection of pasta dishes. Pizza kits include all necessary ingredients to make two or four pizzas at home, including balls of their three-day fermented dough. Alongside the standard toppings, PASSO has collaborated with LA restaurateur and Chef’s Table star Nancy Silverton on a one-off pizza special. On a sourdough base, Silverton’s pizza has a white base, topped with fennel sausage, mozzarella, onion, and fennel pollen which works exceptionally well with the sausage. Further information can be found at passotogo.com.
With restaurants in Borough Market and near King’s Cross, Arabica has launched a new meal kit – Feast for Beirut – following the success of its Bake For Beirut cake sale. Available for nationwide delivery, the kits showcase the food culture of Beirut while raising money for Lebanese charities, donating five per cent of proceeds to Red Cross Lebanon.
Both priced at £45 for two people, the original Feast for Beirut DIY kit is available alongside a vegan alternative. Featuring all necessary ingredients (even cooking oil), the original kit includes the likes of crunchy pickles; hummus Beiruti, loaded with sweet peppers, red chilli, garlic, and roasted chickpeas; baba ghanoush with pomegranate; tabbouleh; grilled halloumi; exceptional pumpkin kibbeh; and pita bread. To follow, the main course includes slow-cooked beef short rib stew with vermicelli rice crowned with crispy onions and pickled barberries; finished with a selection of baklava. As well as offering excellent value, the kits’ portion sizes are particularly generous. Moreover, Arabica has also launched a ready-to-bake range, including Börek in either lamb and potato or spinach and feta; and Kunefe. Both are delivered frozen, ready to bake. Further information can be found at arabicalondon.com.
Celebrating 75 years of Thailand’s national dish, Tourism Thailand and Rosa’s Thai Café have collaborated on the launch of Rosa’s DIY Pad Thai kits, available nationwide. Since opening its first restaurant in Spitalfields 12 years ago, Rosa’s Thai Cafe has sold over 1.4 million pad Thais. Now, for the first time, customers can make founder Saiphin Moore’s signature dish at home, without the hassle of sourcing and measuring ingredients. Available from Great Food 2 U, kits include everything needed to make either Rosa’s prawn or tofu pad Thai at home, besides a splash of oil and optional peanuts, to garnish. Each box is also embellished with a QR link to a step-by-step cook-along video, hosted by Saiphin, delivered alongside simple, easy-to-follow instructions. Priced at £40 for four people, it’s also worth noting that the portions are at the generous end of the spectrum. Further information can be found at greatfood2u.co.uk.
Soho restaurant 10 Greek Street has just launched food and drink delivery across a variety of platforms. In addition to delivery of their new pizzas and own brand Braybrooke beer, initially through Slerp, the restaurant has also introduced DIY meal kits, available for nationwide delivery via Dishpatch. Each month, limited-edition feast-boxes are created by Head Chef and Co-Owner Cameron Emirali, showcasing the best of seasonal ingredients. Priced at £55 for two people, the two-course menu may include the likes of slow-cooked short rib of Dexter beef with confit potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and braised curly kale; plus poached quince, polenta and almond cake with crème fraîche to finish. Each kit is delivered with simple instructions to warm the easy to prepare dishes at home. Further information can be found at 10greekstreet.com.
Delivered to addresses throughout London, Fidelari produces fresh and homemade pasta. Set up by a team of close friends, founders Vanessa and Valentina met while working at Restaurant Theo Randall on Park Lane – Vanessa managed the restaurant while Valentina worked as Head Pasta Chef. Hailing from Puglia, the pair’s first solo venture hopes to produce some of the best handmade pasta in the capital, sticking to age-old Italian traditions, executed with a contemporary twist.
In addition to delivering plain fresh pasta, Fidelari also offers quick and east to prepare pasta kits, with dishes including the likes of gnocchi with rocket pesto and tomatoes Datterini confit, or shin of beef ragù with pappardelle. Aperitivo dishes include the likes of focaccia Pugliese, while a dessert kit is also available. Further information can be found at fidelari.com.
Mortimer House Kitchen has launched a brand-new finish at home delivery menu, delivered to doorsteps across London every Friday. Created by Head Chef Antonio ‘Lello’ Favuzzi, the DIY meal kits are inspired by his childhood memories of growing up in Sardinia surrounded by family. A ‘Porchetta Sunday Feast box’ is available, complete with extras for leftovers; a lasagne for four; and some of the restaurant’s signature pasta dishes.
Made for pairs or groups of four, the Porchetta Sunday Feast is designed to “take guests on a tasting journey to the heart of Italy”, with each box containing a burrata, capocollo, and house-pickled onions to start, followed by a centrepiece of high-welfare Porchetta from independent butcher HG Walter, rolled with Italian sausage meat and fresh herbs. Potatoes roasted in goose fat are also offered to accompany, plus purple sprouting broccoli with fresh chilli and olive oil; pork and mustard jus; and salsa verde (enough for leftover sandwiches, for which fresh ciabatta rolls and home-made onion jam are available). Plant-based options are also available, while Tiramisu is included for dessert.
In addition to the Porchetta Sunday Feast, a seven-layer lasagne is available for four, plus pasta dishes such as red beetroot tortelli with smoked burrata, pistachio, Swiss chard, and aged balsamico; or rich wild boar mafalde with chestnuts and pecorino, both of which are delivered with easy-to-follow cooking instructions. Moreover, cannoli is also available for two, alongside a selection of drinks including beers from Forest Road Brewery in Hackney, 50cl bottles of pre-mixed Negroni, and a selection of wines from the Mortimer House Kitchen wine list.
Further information can be found at mortimer-house-kitchen.myshopify.com.
A Black-owned, family business founded by brothers Troy and Jarrell Johnson, Juici Jerk has launched new Caribbean DIY meal kits, inspired by contemporary West Indian cuisine. Offering restaurant-quality produce, the London-based Caribbean kitchen and pop-up delivers nationwide, with the easy-to-follow home DIY meal kits packed with ingredients freshly-prepared by Juici Jerk’s in-house kitchen team. Feeding up to five people, the DIY kits are priced from £30, for ‘The Juici Jerk’, which feeds 2-3 people, and £60 for ‘The Kingston Platter’, feeding between four and five. Both boxes are available Halal and include the likes of marinated chicken thighs, rice and peas, plantain fries, festival dough, macaroni cheese, coleslaw, fruit punch, a selection of sauces, and fresh fruit and vegetables to garnish. Each box also uses sustainable packaging, with no single use plastic.
The Juici Jerk DIY Kits are available to order weekly for nationwide delivery. Further information can be found here.
Launched during last year’s first lockdown, Pizza Pilgrims Pizza in the Post DIY meal kits provide all necessary ingredients to make frying pan pizzas at home (plus a Nutella ring kit). While traditional, restaurant-quality pizzas are extremely difficult to replicate at home using conventional ovens, the Pizza Pilgrims kits feature dough that’s intended to be started in a frying pan then finished under the grill. Throughout January, Pizza Pilgrims are also sending out 250 kits in partnership with Samaritans.
Each frying pan pizza kit contains ingredients to make two Neapolitan pizzas, including hand-made, 48-hour-proved dough balls made with flour from Caputo Mill in Naples. Toppings include the likes of classic Margherita, ‘Nduja, double pepperoni and spicy honey, mushroom and truffle, and a vegan option. The double pepperoni and spicy honey kit, for instance, comprises Fior Di Latte mozzarella, made just outside Naples, basil, tomato sauce made using tomatoes grown in the foothills of Mount Vesuvius, two types of pepperoni, chilli-infused honey, and Caputo flour for dusting.
Further information can be found at pizzainthepost.co.uk.
Creators of the Under One Kitchen project and food concept brand Sugoi JPN have kickstarted the new year with the launch of Japanified, their new delivery and takeaway concept. Inspired by the food of Osaka, the team have taken popular dishes and “Japanified” them. Available to collect from their kitchen in South Wimbledon or via Deliveroo, the menu features a variety of sliders, sides, and new Blue Corn Taco FIY (fill it yourself) DIY meal kits. The blue corn taco kits are complete with eight tortillas, and a selection of fillings such as tuna and salmon sashimi with kimchee sauce; glazed chicken karaage; vegan ‘beef’ with tonkatsu sauce and kuromame beans; and Asado negro beef with kuromame beans. All tacos and fillings are also accompanied by pico de gallo, avocado, house cabbage salad, coriander, and a selection of sauces: chilli sauce, sour cream, and avocado dressing.
Further information can be found at japanified.uk.
With a collection of pubs in central London, Cubitt House has re-launched its Cubitt House at Home website, delivering both hot food and ‘Heat at Home’ meal kits. Of the available DIY meal kits, Marylebone Village pub The Coach Makers Arms’ Sunday roasts are a particular stand-out. All ingredients are sustainably sourced in the UK, with a selection of either Castlemead chicken, roasted root vegetable and pine nut wellington, or roast beef sirloin. Sourced from Lyons Hill Farm in Dorset, the cows are grass-fed to full maturity, with the beef dry-aged for 30 days, served here with roast potatoes cooked in dripping, carrots, parsnips, tender stem broccoli, gravy, and a fluffy Yorkshire pudding. The signature Cubitt House Bramley apple pie is also a must-try, featuring apples cooked in cinnamon, sugar, and brandy, wrapped in puff pastry and finished with salted caramel sauce. Pub classics are also available to ‘Heat at Home’, plus a selection of pre-batched cocktails.
Local delivery can be made within a six mile radius from The Orange in Belgravia. Further information can be found at cubitthouseathome.co.uk.
Carnaby restaurant Ugly Dumpling has begun to deliver its frozen dumplings across the city. While the dumpling packages don’t feature all necessary garnishes, as typical with DIY meal kits, each pack is also served with an Ugly Dumpling ‘Frozen Dumplings 101’ printout, with details on cooking as well as plating and garnishing selections. With a range of interesting fillings, highlights include the likes of prawn and chive, and aromatic duck – best served with spring onions, chilli, sesame seeds, crispy shallots, and soy sauce or chilli oil for dipping; mushroom and truffle with truffle oil and grated parmesan; or the cheeseburger dumplings, surprisingly good with ketchup and mustard. Vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free options are also available alongside dessert dumplings. Orders can be placed via Instagram DM. Further information can be found at uglydumpling.co.uk.
A re-launched pub in Marylebone Village, The Cavendish serves “refined but honest” cooking, well showcased through their selection of meal kits, easy to heat at home. As well as offering supplier boxes filled with ingredients and Sunday roast kits, The Cavendish also serves dinner date boxes for couples, and family feasting DIY meal kits for four. With a weekly-changing menu, the family feasting kits offer great value at £65 for two courses, for four people, including the likes of slow-roasted tikka lamb shoulder with Bombay roast potatoes; fried chicken with Cavendish house hot sauce, creamed polenta and slaw, complete with Heritage apple and cinnamon crumble; or slow-cooked Hereford beef brisket with caramelised onion and red wine cobbler, finished with banoffee pie. Discounts are also offered on four-weekly subscription orders. Further information can be found at 35newcavendish.co.uk.
A brand new delivery concept from the team behind Gunpowder, Empire Biryani is inspired by founders Harneet Baweja and Devina Seth’s memories of India and celebratory occasions. In keeping with the restaurant’s regional focus, Empire Biryani champions the Northern Indian tradition of Dum biryani. The result of a 36-hour preparation, the two biryanis (lamb shank or Shahi mushroom) are steamed over a low heat, then crowned with a shortcrust pastry lid embellished with spices. In addition to the biryanis, a selection of Northern Indian dishes also include the likes of masala chana aloo chaat; achari aloo gobi (pickled cauliflower and potatoes); pepper chicken fry with curry leaf, onions, and spices; and beef boti kebab cooked over charcoal. Additional accompaniments include Hyderabadi egg curry; paneer butter masala; and a boondi and kachumber raita.
Delivery can be made to addresses within the M25, or within six miles of the Tower Bridge restaurant for same-day delivery via Deliveroo. Further information can be found at empirebiryani.com.
With Japanese Izakaya-inspired restaurants in Covent Garden and Fitzrovia, Flesh & Buns has launched its first at-home kits, available for nationwide delivery. Featuring all necessary ingredients to make the restaurant’s crispy piglet belly bao at home, the DIY kits include six buns, pickled apple, karashi miso, shiso leaves, and a slab of suckling pig belly with gorgeous, brittle crackling – easy to prepare at home. Kits are priced at £27.50, or £35 with the inclusion of a bamboo steamer. Orders can be placed at restaurantkitsuk.com.
In partnership with Restokit, Bar Douro has launched a new feast box, available for nationwide delivery. Dishes are delivered cold, with detailed instructions for heating at home, featuring highlights from the restaurant’s menu inspired by the traditional cervejarias and tascas of Lisbon and Porto. A selection of additional dishes are also available, plus Portuguese wines and white ports, chosen especially by Bar Douro founder Max Graham. Highlights from the feast box DIY kits include Pata Negra ham that’s cured for 24 months; smoked Portuguese sausage croquettes with lemon mayo; salt cod hash, mixed with straw potatoes and an egg; braised lamb shank with grilled cabbage and soubise; plus toucinho do céu to finish – a rich almond cake made with pork fat, served with orange créme fraîche. Bar Douro feast boxes are priced at £60 for two people. Orders can be placed at restokit.co.uk.
Bringing restaurant-quality food and drink experiences to homes across the UK, Six by Nico restaurants has launched a new retail platform, HOME-X. Alongside various food and drinks brands, Home by Nico kits are available to order, following a similar format to the Six by Nico restaurants, with an ever changing four course tasting menu themed around memories or places.
With ready-prepared ingredients simple to heat at home, complete with full instructions, the Home by Nico menus change monthly. Past examples have included the likes of a “Cooking the Hebrides” DIY kit, inspired by the group’s Scottish roots, complete with Isle of Harris gin-cured salmon with cucumber and apple chutney, and dill crème fraîche; Stornaway black pudding and pork belly pressé with Scotch broth and white bean ragù; Tipsy Laird trifle with stem ginger jelly, sea buckthorn, and vanilla ice cream; and Mull Cheddar with onion and tamarind relish, and water crackers. Vegetarian options are also available. Home by Nico is priced at £60, including nationwide delivery. Further information can be found at home-x.com.
Specialising in South Indian street food, curries and tandoor dishes, Brighton’s Curry Leaf Café has launched a DIY at-home service, delivering chilled ‘finish at home’ versions of their dishes. Available for nationwide delivery (and free delivery across much of Sussex), some of the proceeds from each order are donated to Brighton Food Bank each month, funding the donation of 100 free meals. NHS staff across Sussex are also offered 10 percent discount on orders. With a large menu available to order from, highlights include Keralan chicken mappas; Persian-influenced lamb seekh kebab; sweet-sour gobi Manchurian; and aubergine Kuzhambu, with aubergine, peppers and okra in a sweet-and-sour sauce. Tiffin meals for one are also offered, including a choice of curry, biryani rice, spinach and onion pakoras, aloo jeera, mango chutney, and coconut and mint raita. Further information can be found at curryleafcafe.com.
Showcasing traditional Greek dishes, OPSO has launched a new range of DIY meal kits. As well as food from the Marylebone restaurant, selects from the exclusively Greek wine list are also delivered. Featuring ready-prepared dishes to heat at home, the menu includes dishes such as OPSO’s superlative spanakopita; hand-stretched pitas with houmous; mousakas topped with crispy potato straws; lamb kleftiko (a shoulder steak with roasted baby potatoes, sweet red peppers, and feta cheese); Guanaja chocolate brownie; and bougatsa rampant with cinnamon. Further information can be found at opso.co.uk.
A new meal kit platform working with London restaurants, offering nationwide delivery, Restaurant Kits has Mac & Wild’s Andy Waugh and Calum Mackinnon at the helm, and Flank’s Tom Griffiths as Head of Partnerships. Offering unique cooking experiences, menus change monthly, seasonally, and in response to special dates. Exclusive to Meal Kits, Flank founder Tom Griffiths has launched The Ribinator, inspired by McDonald’s cult classic McRib. Taking each of the sandwich’s core elements to the next level (at least), The Ribinator features layers of pork rib meat glazed with Korean-inspired BBQ sauce, smoky ketchup, crispy onions, and sweet pickles, loaded into a soft brioche bun (£25, serves two). Further information can be found at restaurantkitsuk.com.
On a mission to bring fine dining to anyone, anywhere in the UK, Finish & Feast was launched out of a desire to support the struggling hospitality sector. Working with a collection of chefs, including the likes of Marianne Lumb, Tom Aikens, Thomas Frake, and Dean Bank, Finish & Feast offers fine dining DIY meal kits with hyper-seasonal menus. Chef Marianne Lumb’s winter menu, for instance, features three courses that are simple to finish at home. A Piedmontese classic, vitello tonnato is followed by a meaty sea bass fillet that’s baked and served with blackened celeriac puree, nutty beurre noisette, broccoli, and raw fennel wings. To finish, pistachio macaroon is joined by tart Yorkshire rhubarb and a whisper of cardamom, topped with freeze dried raspberries and chopped pistachios. Further information can be found at finishandfeast.com.
Inspired by recipes Head Chef Dani’s Grandmother taught him growing up in the countryside just outside Rome, La Nonna is an artisan fresh pasta concept. La Nonna’s at-home offering – La Nonna in Casa – has recently been reintroduced, with nationwide delivery available. Four pasta courses are intended to epitomise the core of Roman cooking, with ingredients to feed two, joined by easy-to-access video instructions. DIY kit options include Carbonara with guanciale and pecorino; creamy mushroom and truffle; Cacio e Pepe; and gorgeous oxtail ragù cooked for 10 hours, paired with ribbons of fresh pappardelle, complete with a generous amount of parmesan. Further information can be found at lanonnaldn.com.
A new home for Robin and Sarah Gill’s The Dairy, Bermondsey Larder opened soon after The Dairy’s closure, last autumn. Continuing to focus on produce-led dishes, the new restaurant has also launched a selection of weekly DIY meal kits, available for collection and delivery. On the new Bermondsey Larder at-home kits, Robin Gill has produced a menu of favourites, showcasing new and familiar dishes from The Dairy. Expect the likes of homemade sourdough with smoked bone marrow butter; silky chicken liver mousse with blood orange jam; and house-made charcuterie. To follow, Cashel Blue agnolotti bathe in a Delica pumpkin sauce, crowned with cavolo nero, while slow-cooked short rib is easy to heat in its vacuum sealed bag, joined by celeriac gratin and Tropea onions, plus a leaf salad with pickled walnut vinaigrette. To finish, bay leaf panna cotta is capped with poached Yorkshire rhubarb.
Further information can be found at bermondseylarder.com.
One of London’s best burgers, the Bleecker Black has been unavailable since 2017. Initially reintroduced as a one-off exclusively for St Patrick’s Day, the burger has been permanently added to the Bleecker’s range of At Home DIY meal kits.
Joining the likes of Bleecker’s superlative double cheeseburger and bacon cheeseburger, the Bleecker Black DIY meal kit features four 45-day-aged Bleecker beef patties (enough for two burgers), four American cheese slices, two sesame seeded buns, a bottle of Bleecker house sauce, Bleecker seasoning, and two slices of Clonakilty black pudding, from Cork. While the beef is remarkable (cooked rare at home, without rules), the black pudding brings extraordinary richness to the burger, plus additional depth of texture. Simply, it’s as close to perfect as can be achieved from a burger cooked at home.
“We have been talking about bringing the Bleecker Black back for years. It is something people have wanted for so long,” Bleecker founder Zan Kaufman told The London Economic. “But after selling 600 Bleecker Blacks in a few hours, it will be hard to keep it on the shelf. It wasn’t retired, it was just on a break.”
“I love our at-home kit. It is as good at home as it is from one of our shops. For that reason, I think it has to stay. The demand is peak right now and it will drop off once restaurants open, but we will fight to make Bleecker At Home stick.”
The Bleecker Black At Home Kit is available from greatfood2u.co.uk.
With restaurants in Marylebone, Knightsbridge, and Monte Carlo, Crazy Pizza has launched an ‘At Home Tiramisu kit’. With ingredients to make the restaurant’s tiramisu at home, the DIY meal kit includes Savoiardi finger biscuits, quality-grade coffee, a pre-piped bag of vanilla cream, and cocoa powder. The kits also feature a Crazy Pizza apron and a sieve for the cocoa powder. As well as being delicious, the dish is also easy to assemble at home. Simply soak the biscuits in the pre-measured coffee, pipe the cream over the biscuits and allow to soak in the fridge for 30 minutes. Finish by dusting with the cocoa powder.
Crazy Pizza’s At-Home Tiramisu kits are available directly through the Crazy Pizza website, Supper and Deliveroo.
Following the success of their DIY ramen kits, Shoryu Ramen has launched another meal kit: DIY BBQ pork buns (£18), available for nationwide delivery. With four buns and enough filling for two people, each kit is ready-to-eat in under 10 minutes, complete with char sui BBQ pork belly, lettuce, cucumber, QP mayonnaise, and spicy sauce. While a steamer isn’t required for the bao, non-stick steamer liners are included with the kit, which make everything so much easier. The restaurant’s Ganso ramen is also available to order alongside their vegan White Natural ramen kit.
Further information can be found at japancentre.com.
With its London restaurants having re-opened for outdoor dining, Hard Rock Cafe has also launched new Hard Rock @Home DIY meal kits in partnership with Plateaway. Delivering nationwide for the first time since the original London restaurant opened in 1971, the kits feature one of the restaurant’s most popular dishes: smoked baby back pork ribs. With boxes sized to feed either two or four (£26/£52), each Hard Rock @Home kit (for two) features two racks of baby pork back ribs, smoked in-house for at least four hours using hickory wood chips; ‘signature’ BBQ sauce; Hard Rock’s ‘Love All’ seasoning; coleslaw; and two jacket potatoes. Detailed cooking instructions are also included for the dish, ready to eat in just over an hour of almost entirely inactive cooking time, in the oven.
Further information can be found at plateaway.com.
This article was updated on Tuesday 13th April, 2021.
