10 of the Best: New DIY Dinner KitsBy Alicia Grimshaw
With lockdown 3.0 in full swing, it’s fair to say we’re a bit fed up of cooking spag bol every week. If you want to liven up your dinner routine, we’ve discovered 10 new DIY kits that are all *sensational*:
1. For All the Poultry: Chick ‘n’ Sours
What: Next level fried chicken and sour cocktails? It’s all included in Chick ‘n’ Sours new kits. Founders David Wolanski and Carl Clarke have been busy perfecting the meal kits over the past few months, ensuring that each dish replicates the flavours and textures of the restaurant dishes as closely as possible, without you having to master tricky kitchen techniques.
Eat: The All In kit features the restaurant’s most loved dishes, with that same crispy, juicy fried chicken, plus fresh, punchy sides that pop with flavour: 2 chicken sandwiches (choice of K-Pop or The General or mixed) – fried thigh on a soft bun loaded with flavour bombs; 4 kung pao wings; 4 hot wings; 4 tenders topped wth seaweed crack; house-made dips (Gochujang mayo, sriracha sour cream, house ‘Kewpie’); watermelon salad, coriander, mint and chilli; and green ‘slaw, and bang bang cucumbers.
Price: £50
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2. For Feasting Boxes: The Tramshed Project
What: The Tramshed Project has created five fresh new feasting boxes – perfect for the change in season. The finish at home feast for two includes a main and a side dish to share, and there’s also the option for adding wine or cocktails to the box to boost your slap-up dinner.
Eat: The new feasts include two vegan offerings: Scandinavian-inspired butternut schnitzel served with redcurrants, blood orange and seasonal greens, as well as marinated kohlrabi vegan steaks with foraged mushrooms and coco de paimpol beans. For meat-eaters, they have carefully sourced British produce. Think 60-day aged Hereford chop, Tamworth pork chops or bavette steaks.
Price: From £28 for the vegan boxes. From £40 for steak boxes.
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3. For a Collaboration: Burro e Salvia x Wildfarmed Grain
What: Burro e Salvia has collaborated with Wildfarmed Grain (the stone-ground flour with the power to change the world) for a string of limited edition fresh pasta meal kits.
Eat: The kits feature Burro e Salvia’s famous fresh handmade pasta, rolled in-house by head chef Mitchell Damota and his team of pasta makers using Wildfarmed Grain’s wholemeal flour. A choice of dishes include – Tagliatelle with Braised Leeks and Parmigiano; Strozzapreti with Sausage and Saffron Ragu; and Artichoke and Pecorino Tortelli with Butter and Sage. Each pasta kit comes complete with its own sauce alongside step-by-step cooking instructions, feeding two people.
Price: £16
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4. For Gyoza: Rainbo
What: One of London’s best-loved street food outfit, Rainbo, have just pivoted into the DIY game with their brand new Gyoza-At-Home range, delivered on ice nationwide.
Eat: Rainbo’s menu is inspired by the amazing street food that owner James Palmer discovered on trips around Tokyo, Osaka, and other parts of Japan. On the delivery menu is Shittake Mushroom, Chicken, Prawn, Pork and Chinese Chive, and Duck and Hoisin Gyozas. To fully complement these little parcels of deliciousness, there’s also Hot Chilli Dipping Sauce, Sesame Soy Dipping Sauce, Fukujinzuke Pickles, Pickled Daikon, and the perfect accompaniment – Asahi beer.
Price: From £9.50
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5. For Finish at Home Kits: Homestead
What: Homestead on London City Island has launched its delivery offering including its new stone-baked pizza range, finish-at-home meal kits, pre-mixed cocktails and organic, locally-sourced produce boxes.
Eat: The steak night box contains two 10oz rib-eye steaks, a rich and creamy truffle mac ‘n’ cheese accompanied with roasted Hasselback potatoes, and creamed leeks served with red wine bordelaise sauce. For dessert: chocolate mousse served with caramel cream. Each box comes with the option of a cocktail or bottle of red wine. The Homestead fry-up box features treacle cured bacon, Cumberland sausages, baked beans, slices of black pudding, chestnut mushrooms roasted in thyme, tomatoes and free-range eggs from St Ewe farms. To drink, freshly squeezed orange juice and a Bloody Mary or Mimosa
Price: From £19.95
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6. For a Filipino Kit: Sarap BAon
What: Sydney-raised chef-owner Ferdinand ‘Budgie’ Montoya relaunched Sarap BAon in Brixton Village last December. Since then, he’s been working on a DIY kit to help you get your Filipino fix from home.
Eat: The meal kits focus on Budgie’s signature ‘Lechon’ – slow-roasted pork belly, rolled and stuffed with lemongrass, garlic, chilli and ginger – and served with lechon liver sauce, sawsawan, atchara, kale laing and garlic rice. Finishing off the at-home feast is Sarap BAon’s cassava cheesecake, and a two-person serve of the Tito Collins – their take on the classic Tom Collins.
Price: £65
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Photo Credit: Nic Crilly-Hargrave
7. For a Burger Kit: Ethical Butcher
What: The Ethical Butcher’s Farshad Kazemian and Lily Bovey, founder of STAKEhaus, are behind the new climate-positive burger brand, GROUND. Now available as a DIY burger kit, GROUND delivers a premium product for the planet-conscious meat eater.
Eat: GROUND burgers are made from dry-aged, pasture-fed beef (absolutely no soy or grain feeds are used) from four of The Ethical Butcher’s UK farms. The other ingredients in the burgers have all been sourced from companies that share GROUND’s commitment to sustainable, environmentally positive food production. The brioche bun is from Paul Rhodes bakery in Greenwich; cheddar cheese from Lye Cross Farm, the UK’s only PFLA (Pasture Fed for Life Association) certified cheese; green chilies grown in Cornwall; and a jar of seasonal veg pickled in a brine of ginger, chilli, garlic, cardamom, cloves, and oregano.
Price: £37 for four burgers
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8. For a Vegan Kit: En Root
What: En Root’s ‘DIY Dosa Dine in For Two’ is the ultimate way to spice up lockdown 3.0. The DIY Dosa kit enables you to recreate En Root’s most popular in-house dish, and give you a taste of home-cooked Gujarati meals.
Eat: The kit comes with 2 gluten-free dosas (South Indian pancakes made of lentil and rice), Saag Aloo for the all-important winner filler and Sambhar (lentil soup) as the perfect accompaniment. The meal wouldn’t be complete without the Coconut/Mango Chutney infused with Raja Bonnet hot Sauce as well as two gluten-free blueberry beetroot cacao brownie and CBD chai hot chocolates for afters.
Price: £40 for two people
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9. For a High-End Box: Finish and Feast x Ruth Hansom
What: Finish & Feast have partnered with the inimitable chef Ruth Hansom for a new finish at-home kit. Ruth’s debut kit includes three-courses of restaurant-quality dishes, 90% prepped and ready to finesse at home.
Eat: Start with treacle cured sea trout, gherkin ketchup, homemade soda bread and cucumber pickles. Then there’s slow-braised neck of lamb, minted gnocchi, Jerusalem artichoke and juniper sauce, followed by an indulgent dessert: chocolate nemesis, creme fraiche and caramelised orange.
Price: From £80
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10. For an Italian Feast: Carluccio’s
What: Carluccio’s all-new, nationwide Dine at Home kits, stays true to Antonio’s philosophy of MOF MOF (Minimum of Fuss, Maximum of Flavour), with each box featuring Carluccio’s signature best-selling dishes.
Eat: There are three to choose from: the classic Penne Giardiniera with antipasti of homemade focaccia and olives; The Caserecce Picante, spicy tomato pasta with Italian sausage, plus focaccia with nduja and burrata; and The Funghi, featuring a creamy mushroom soup and Carluccio’s classic mushroom risotto.
Price: From £29 for two
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