The main problem I encounter regarding my recipes is that whilst many of my readers love the idea of cooking from scratch, they lack time to go shopping for ingredients and revert back to the same old meals over and over again.
In 2011 two friends, Timo and James, were experiencing exactly that problem, they liked good, nutrious food but navigating their way through a florilegium of recipes, often found they didn't have the necessary ingredients to complete the meals they desired. Like many busy, working people, they lacked the time to shop for fresh ingredients on a daily basis.
In 2011 they started a company called Gousto, originally selling their food boxes from market stalls. Proving popular the company grew and the food boxes are now accessible via their website. Each week the chefs upload a new menu, the boxes provide ingredients measured into the right proportions with the accompanying easy to follow recipe, these dishes can be anything from basic recipes to rather more exotic and innovative dishes.
Everything is fresh and tailored to the seasons. The vegetables are all organic, the fish responsibly sourced, the meat from high animal welfare farms and the eggs free-range. Gousto have been awarded by compassion in world farming, receiving the Good Egg award. Most of the packaging materials are recyclable and the amazing wool cool liners (used as insulation in the recyclable cool bags) can be disposed of in the compost bin.
The couple's box for three meals costs £42 or £39 for the vegetarian option, I found that the couples's box fed three of us amply. Whilst this might seem expensive for three meals, when you compare this with £5 a head for a McDonald's meal for example, or an average takeaway meal costing £20 for two, you realise these boxes are extremely good value for money.
These scrumptious meals take away the faff of trying to find those fresh herbs or exotic spices that add pounds to your shopping bill, how many times have you had to source mirin or shichimi or some other elusive ingredient never to use them again. The measured ingredients enable even the novice cook to feel confident and most importantly the produce is excellent, no nasty unnatural chemicals or additives.
I ordered the vegetarian box, customers place their order on Wednesday evening for delivery the following Tuesday. For busy working people who want the stress taken out of shopping - preparing and cooking whilst wanting to eat fresh, delicious food, Gousto is invaluable.
Shepherdess pie
'Another thing cooking is, or can be, is a way to honour the things we're eating, the animals and plants that have been sacrificed to gratify our needs and desires, as well as the places and the people who produced them. Cooking something thoughtfully is a way to celebrate both the species and our relation to it.'
- Michael Pollan
Love Donna xxxxxxxxxxxx
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