For a more up to date review of Canada's meal kit delivery services, check out my 2021 comparison.
When friends heard about my cooking extravaganzas (er.. all
right, week night dinners), the ones who actually prepare meals would ask if I’d
be trying Chefs Plate. Indeed, it seems to be Toronto’s most popular service having
been around for a couple of years. Friends rave about the easy to prepare meals
– one who’s moved into a temporary rental even able to cook for a family with
only one pot and pan. After all the praise, I was excited to try it for myself.
Dependability
With a choice of two delivery dates (varies depending on the
area), it certainly allows you to cater to when you’ll cook most. For my area,
the dates were at the beginning and ending of the week:
- Monday – ideal for the weeknight cooks and fits into my schedule the best as I’m most likely eat a meal at home during Monday – Wednesday or Sunday.
- Thursday – a great option for individuals who predominantly have time to cook on weekends or may even want a meal kit for entertaining. Think about it, you get all the ingredients and if it doesn’t work out, you always have someone to fall back on.
Of all the packaging, Chefs Plate’s box was the most
impressive – regular cardboard but incorporates a built in foil reflective
layer. Additionally, they seem to be the only company that didn’t freeze the
proteins (so you can cook them on the delivery date), with an abundance of ice packs
everything stays cold.
A nice touch with the introductory box was a welcome pamphlet
and an apron that really put me into the cooking spirit. Moreover, I enjoyed
the paper bags containing all the ingredients for each dish – they’re sturdier
and took up less space within the fridge.
However, there was a mishap: the pizza dough that should have
accompanied the calzones didn’t arrive. Had I read the pizza dough information
card carefully, I should have realized it wasn’t in the bag and therefore would
know it’s missing – unfortunately, I didn’t realize until I was about to cook for
the evening. Good old Uber Eats saved the night.
In following up with Chefs Plate, they noted a missing
ingredient doesn’t happen frequently. However, if it does, their Customer
Service group will refund the customer for the meal.
Recipes: Ease of Use
My friends were right: the recipes were simple, straight
forward, and no fancy gadgets were required. For two meals, I only needed a
baking sheet. The salmon was the most “equipment intensive” requiring two
frying pans and a pot.
Additionally, the dishes were quicker to prepare – no recipe
took more than 30 minutes. Chefs Plate helps save time by prepping ingredients
more than any company: garlic cloves arrived peeled and the green beans were
arranged in the same direction (a quick wash and one chop was all it took to
remove the ends).
Trust the timing on the cooking instructions, they seemed a
tad short but ensured restaurant quality doneness… the salmon was a beautiful
jewel-toned medium in the middle and the chicken fairly moist.
How It Tastes
Everything was good but nothing wowed us.
Take the nori salmon: the fish was cooked nicely but adding
toasted nori slivers into melted butter for two minutes really didn’t infuse
the butter with much flavour. The most pronounced taste was the rice wine
vinegar tossed into the steamed rice, which was delicious and an idea I’ll
re-use. And as a warning, don’t use a rice cooker (or at least use more liquid
than called for in the recipe) as mine turned out al dante.
Despite the roasted vegetable medley accompanying the
chicken being a tasty combination of potato (make sure these are actually cut
to half an inch), onions, green beans and carrots, I found they needed
something more than just garlic and olive oil. Another herb like rosemary
likely would have paired nicely with the lemon thyme chicken.
After buying my own pizza dough, I also made the cheese
calzones. To be fair, it’s difficult to determine if I had too much dough (since
recipes don’t include measurements) and if Whole Food’s pizza dough would be as
good as what should have arrived in the kit. But, the calzones were also fairly
bland – if I were to do it again I’d brush the dough with olive oil and
sprinkle salt on top.
Conclusion
Out of the three companies I’ve tried so far Chefs Plate is
definitely the most polished. Of course, it was disappointing that such a
long-standing company would have forgotten to include the pizza dough (a key
ingredient for calzones)… guess the quality control person had a slip for the
day.
Overall, the recipes were quick and safe – there’s not a lot of spices, herbs or unfamiliar
ingredients. So, I see the dishes being a good choice for family with young
children or for those who are picky eaters. However, for a person who loves a
diversity of flavours and eats out often, I couldn’t help but want more. Oh
well, maybe my taste buds need a rest sometimes.
Price and How to
Order the Service
Chefs Plate also offers two or four-person plans. However,
you’re also allowed to choose the number of meals for the week (two, three or
four), which is helpful for those who have an active social calendar and eating
at home three times a week isn’t possible.
Of course, the pricing will vary with the number of people
and meals:
- The basic charge is $10.95 per serving for the two-person plan or $9.75 per serving for the four-person plan.
- A $6 delivery charge is tacked on for the two-meal two-person version, but still free if you’re ordering two meals for a family of four. It is of course free for any other plan.
If the above has intrigued you, sign up and try a week for yourself. Chefs Plate is offering Gastro World readers $110 off throughout their first four orders for new customers. Just click on this special referral link to go to their website.
Follow me on twitter to chat, be notified about new posts and more - https://twitter.com/GastroWorldBlog
