Swaledale online butchers is a whole-carcass, nose-to-tail butchers that’s headquartered in Yorkshire who focus on making sure they get the maximum yield from every animal they process, making sure they constantly look for improvements in all of their processes to make the end product the best it can possibly be. It’s an approach that allows for traceability and can instil great consumer confidence amongst potential buyers, along with the knowledge that they’ve been operating for a decade and supply many of the regions best places to eat. Delivery is available most days of the week and the packaging is as environmentally sound as possible with a full list of recycling solutions available on their website. I didn’t have anything particular in mind when I had a browse through their site, settling on the Chef’s Choice meat box that came in at a shade under £50 plus delivery.

Ordering from the impressively comprehensive and well laid out website was simple enough and a few days later I was merrily unpacking the produce and trying to come up with a few recipe ideas to take full advantage as the Chef’s Choice box had a few cuts that I hadn’t cooked before. This £48 box from Swaledale Butchers included:

• 1 x 480g pack Lamb Merguez Sausages
• 1 x 480g pack Yorkshire Breakfast Sausages
• 1 x 250g pack Dry-Cured Smoked Streaky Bacon
• 1 x 500g pack Tuscan-style Pork, Fennel and Red Wine Sausagemeat
• 1 x 800g Pork Shoulder Chop
• 1 x 500g pack Marrow Bone Canoes
• 1 x 1 kg Salt Beef
• 1 x 750g Smoked Pig’s Cheek

I’m a pretty confident home cook and happy to have a crack at most things but it’s worth noting there’re plenty of other more common products available too. First up I couldn’t resist the pork shoulder chop for an indulgent mid-week lunch so I quickly set about getting a heavy bottomed pan to a good heat and set it to work with generous seasoning, some garlic and some thyme that I was able to grab from the garden. I ended up cooking it longer than the directions given on the website to get it to an internal temperature I was happy with but the end result was really quite special and easily the rival of similar cuts I’ve been served in restaurants. Some boiled new potatoes given a quick blast in the pan juices did a great job accompanying and were something I was able to pick at for another day or so when I wanted a snack! It’s worth noting that this, amongst a good number of Swaledale Butchers products, has been given an award by the Guild of Fine Food. As a judge for this scheme I know it’s a genuine marker of quality and this certainly earned its 2 stars.

The next morning I assured myself that the breakfast sausages were able to live up to their billing, a feat achieved with the help of some Tracklements Cumberland sauce which was emptying at an impressive rate over the preceding days. Streaky bacon subsequently also proved a winning start to the day. After a respite from all this indulgence the next product I came to was salt beef, which I was preparing for the first time. Following the recipe on their website I braised this in a covered container with onion, garlic and so on for a good number of hours until the strands of meat were coming apart easily before blasting in a hot oven to give the exterior a bit of bite. By this point the fat had rendered beautifully and the meat was arrestingly tender, making it perfect for a hash though I served the majority of it with pickles, poached egg and a sweet mustard ketchup I’m fond of with some CS Sourdough bread as a base.

I made a slight mis-step when I came to cook the pig cheek, over seasoning it and rendering the slow cooked product a little aggressive to be eaten in isolation. Live and learn though, portioned appropriately it works really well as a replacement for Guanciale in Carbonara so is portioned and ready to go in the freezer. I’d lingered a little while over what to do with the Tuscan style sausage meat, trying to think of a way of doing it justice, but eventually settled on forming it to meatballs to slowly cook in a pasta sauce. With the generously-sized meatballs formed and given a good browning in a hot pan I got a bit of colour into some onions in the same pan, got plenty of garlic into the mix too then reduced a bit of red wine before adding tomato puree and a couple of tins of tomatoes as well as some chicken stock and a good splash of Hendo’s. This then sat on the hob, covered, on a low temperature for a couple of hours before having a generous amount of finely chopped parsley stirred through it before I served it over Yorkshire Pasta with a bit more parsley and some shavings of Parmesan. I’d made a bit of effort with this one but the results were hugely more compensation than they deserved with the dish being comfortably the equal of most bistro food (though my plating maybe needs work still…) and easily demonstrating why so many chefs rely on Swaledale Butchers.

It’s impossible to deny that things are hard at the moment and many will dismiss products such as this as an unnecessary luxury. While I certainly don’t deny the difficulties we’re in, what we also need less of is poor quality meat from unsustainable supply chains – we really need to shift attitudes away from the default of chucking cubes of value range supermarket chicken breast into dishes and toward habits that reflect the need to eat less meat from producers who care. This really is something that Swaledale Butchers exemplifies, making it easy to advocate for them with clear attention having been made to every interaction with them. I’m still on the lookout for a local butcher but it’s great to know I can order from Swaledale with confidence too.

(Disclaimer – gifted product)

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Little Weighton Kitchen is an offshoot of village pub The Black Horse, which can rather predictably be found in Little Weighton and sounds similar notes of quality, locality and sustainability to sibling Little Weighton Kitchen. Thanks to a slick website, it doesn’t take long to get up and running with the service, picking from a selection of recipes that regularly rotate into something new to try. My fancy was tickled by Prawn Thai curry, Tandoori Salmon and Pork Piccata and after a few decisive clicks and a few days of anticipation, I was thanking a now-familiar delivery driver for the latest object of his labours.

Branding and packaging was attractive, easily navigated and well segregated to get everything into the fridge/cupboard in double quick time, so later that day I got straight into the Thai prawn & aubergine curry which packed in tomato and spinach for maximum sense of health. Cooking this one involved a not-unreasonable amount of chopping and grating before assembling the results of that effort over heat to cook through, and it turned out to be the first meal eaten outside in 2021, fully deserving of the accompanying glass of wine. I bulked it out with some noodles to make sure it satisfied our appetite. Next up was a Tandoori salmon dish served over roasted sweet potato and with the elements of Kachumber salad (tomato, cucumber and red onion) roasted to form a bedding. This was another easily constructed and tasty dish, but the final dish of the trio I’d chosen was the star of the delivery.

Preparing Pork Piccata had me flour and sear pork medallions to serve over a bed of grated celeriac and finely sliced cabbage which had been softened over shallot and garlic with a hit of mustard dressing, which was also used to accent the pork. Tenderstem broccoli added freshness to the plate while more bold flavour came from a caper & parsley butter that the pork’s residual heat had turned into a dressing. The quality of the pork here shone through without being overwhelmed by the slaps of caper and smacks of lemon, all backdropped by the earthy celeriac into a very serious plate of food.

Little Weighton Kitchen is a welcome Yorkshire voice in the burgeoning recipe box world. It may not be conspicuously cheap but the quality of the ingredients and the supply chain it supports speak for themselves. The dishes are intelligently constructed and instructions written with a welcome dose of common sense in mind, offering a good mix of accessibility and willingness to put you to work where there’s reward to be had. This taste of it has also piqued my interest in The Black Horse so, in due course, I’ll have to make my way there for a little more Little Weighton.

(PR product, no charge made)

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Berenjak is, in more normal times, a restaurant in Soho characterised by hearty rustic dishes that should hopefully translate well to the home environment. I plumped for the basic Berenjak Bazaar kebab kit that offered a brace of kebabs each for two people along with lavash bread, a dip and components of a simple dressed salad. Ordering was very simple and £30 was a very fair price for a generous meal for two, especially given that the kit included the kebab skewers necessary for cooking the meats.

I decided that firing up the barbecue in February would be a step too far given the amount of snow on the ground so pushed my grill to its highest setting after I’d prepared the kebabs, a simple process aided by a instructional video and a rubber glove to avoid staining one’s hands. The process of cooking them took a few logically ordered stages with tomatoes first to be scorched under the hot grill before the kebabs were similarly treated and sides made up concurrently. Then finally placing the breads at the top of the pile to warm through. Nothing we had to do involved any particular skill or required the use of judgement borne of experience, just the ticket for this sort of meal.

To remove the meat from the skewers I followed the instruction to effect a heat shield using a piece of bread and the resulting spread was both inviting and eye catching as it came to the table for dishing up. The portion size was well judged and the whole thing felt like the feast I expected it to. The kebabs were deeply, richly flavoured and I’d managed to get a decent bit of char on the outside without drying them out, and with the charred tomatoes and the light flatbreads these wrapped together into a very enjoyable experience. The accompanying Mast-o-musir dip was quickly mopped up with more flatbread to extract all the enjoyment possible from this shallot and yoghurt based dip, and the red onion salad was a welcome crunch of sharp acidity.

These aren’t dishes that I would generally think to cook at home, which are easy to produce to a high standard and good value with the convenience of delivery thrown in. It’s hard to think what more you’d expect from a recipe box such as this and at only £30 it’s good value too. One side effect of eating at home so much is increasingly pent-up demand to eat out, that combined with a strong desire to visit London again means I’ll be looking to pop along for a meal at Berenjak and compare my efforts to the real thing.

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My experiences of the Zaap Thai branch in York have been very good but the standard of the ready meals really impressed me, particularly given the abbreviated timeframe in which they were introduced, so their entry into the recipe box market was intriguing. The Ban’s Kitchen recipe kit boxes are each designed to offer a particular Thai dish and clock in between £19 and £26 plus shipping. I plumped for the Massaman kit and looked forward to getting cooking. The kit includes the majority of the fresh ingredients you need, though you need to add your own protein, garnishes, stock and rice. It’s noteworthy that the quantity of the dry ingredients delivered are far, far in excess of what’s needed for one meal though, which comfortably compensates for the slightly curious absence of rice.

The instructions included with the Ban’s Kitchen recipe box are durable enough to last a good few cooking sessions worth of spills and easy enough to follow without the need to extend one’s mental facilities too far. I augmented the included potato, carrot and onion with some chicken breast and after a very manageable amount of chopping, stirring, cooking and simmering I was ready to dish up and garnish with generous amounts of coriander (I’ll hear nothing against the stuff). The results lived up to the promise of enabling us to “cook the perfect Massaman curry at home” with the mild balance of sweet, salty and tangy well achieved and comfortably competing with takeaways or restaurant dishes. I was even compelled to ponce the rice into a bit of a shape to serve.

In all honesty ‘recipe kit’ is something of a misnomer here. While it includes some of the fresh ingredients needed to bring the meal to the table, the quantity of the dry ingredients will let you cook the same dish repeatedly with the addition of onions, potatoes, carrots and your choice of protein. The building blocks of curry paste, fish sauce, palm sugar and star anise will envelope many more than the included coconut milk. It’s almost more appropriate to describe this as a ‘Thai store cupboard in a box’ with a convenient recipe thrown in. I’ve made Massaman from this on more occasions than I can bring to mind now, it suiting leftover turkey particularly well, and absolutely recommend trying it for yourself if you’re missing Thai meals out at the moment.

Disclaimer: PR Sample with no charge.

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Hello Fresh is one of the main players amongst those who offer this service nationwide, Gousto being the other big name. Incidentally, my favourite amongst those that I’ve tried (who are still operating) was from Riverford whose veggie dishes were really well rounded and have stuck in this household’s collective memory.

Signing up to Hello Fresh was as easy as one would expect, barriers to entry being anathema to a service such as this, and it only took a few minutes to choose my three meals and arrange delivery. I went for sweet chilli beef, spiced pork ragu and harissa lamb pie all of which were delivered exactly on schedule within an hour long time slot confirmed on the morning of that day. The (contactless obviously) delivery was carried out exactly as promised and I quickly got stuck into the box of neatly presented ingredients.

Each of the meals came with the ambient elements packaged separately in paper bags, with a separate chilled bag accounting for the chilled ingredients. The accompanying recipe cards were clearly labelled and the instructions logically presented requiring minimum of interpretation. There’re few things more frustrating than cooking instructions that throw a surprise at you two thirds of the way through. None of those indiscretions were here though thankfully with a logically constructed list of kit and ingredients followed by well paced steps toward a completed dish.

All the produce came with surprisingly long use-by dates so after a pause of a couple of days we put our first meal through its paces, choosing sweet chilli beef. I tried to follow the instructions as closely as possible to remove any influence of my competence (or otherwise) and while the timing went a little over that advertised, as it always seems to with this sort of deal, everything went to plan and the dish gave us plenty of flavour and generous portions to enjoy.

Second up came the pork pappardelle that was similarly easy to construct and pleasurable to dispose of and generous of quantity, even flowing into a light lunch the next day, and finally we enjoyed a harissa lamb pie. This final dish included a combination of crushed and whole chickpeas that bulked it out more than I anticipated and will be a technique I replicate. The leftover pastry turned into some wild garlic and cheese swirls the following day too, bonus!

All three dishes that made up my first order delivered on flavour and ease of preparation, removing the need to buy large quantities of a particular ingredient for one meal and giving me a couple of new ideas while maximising convenience without sacrificing freshness or nutrition. I’ve no idea if this habit will continue as our freedoms continue to return, but I’ve already placed a second order…

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These guys have always been up for something new and that attitude has stood them in good stead in adapting to offer meal kits based around their quality steak offering. These are carefully prepared with meticulous hygiene measures and practical steps to minimise contact between people, all directed at giving you the option to still enjoy an occasion even if leaving the house is impractical.

As you can understand this is a fluid situation, so check The Whippet Inn social media for the week’s menu but expect to find Sunday roasts and steaks at the core of the offering. I was lucky enough to bag a brace of ribeye steaks that came with dauphinoise potato, garlic mushrooms and a peppercorn sauce that came in at £30 for two portions. These came with practical instructions to get all your goodies onto the plate quickly, taking you though a series of steps designed for maximum concurrency in order to shorten the process. First I made sure the steaks would be at room temperature and well seasoned by the time they would hit the pan before kicking off the longest process, popping the portions of dauphinoise into the oven. At the same time, I got the sauce into a pan ready to heat slowly and heated my trusty griddle.

When cooking steak, you should never be afraid of heat so with the pan angrily hot and the steaks brushed with oil, I introduced them to one another, giving around 3 minutes a side for these ribeye. That left just enough time to lower the heat and cook the mushrooms in garlic butter while the steak rested (if you’re not up to speed cooking steaks, this is extremely important). I’d taken the steak out to come up to room temperature a while earlier but the whole cooking process only accounted for around twenty minutes after familiarising oneself with the recipe.

The results represented decent value and felt like something of an occasion in the home, to what extent though dictated by how much you’re up for buying in by dressing the table and splashing out on a decent wine. I’m comfortable in my ability to bring the best out of a steak, but even if you’re not, the instructions from The Whippet Inn are a good substitute for experience. Dauphinoise and garlic mushrooms always couple well with a good steak and, while I generally don’t opt for a sauce with my steak, the peppercorn example here balanced its elements well and didn’t invade the steak’s territory.

There’s little that can substitute for a buzzing restaurant producing food you couldn’t imagine, let along execute, served by enthusiastic staff. In these strange days though, this is a good substitute that lets us play pretend and get dressed up for an occasion that features great food while risk is minimised. The sense of supporting a local business that’s far from unique in the challenges it faces at the moment really just adds to the attraction. We may not have much choice about staying in being the new going out, but while we’re staying in, it’s a relief to have well executed ways to pretend.

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January started with a trip to London where I took the opportunity to indulge in a Kejriwal from Dishoom, one of my favourite breakfast dishes. This month also saw The Ivy on St Helen’s Square open its doors and a fun day helping Brew York put together the newest variant of their Tonkoko Imperial Stout. Mrs Fork showed admirable fortitude for a visit to Whitby to enjoy a stay at The White Horse & Griffin despite her advanced state of pregnancy, even finding space to enjoy a meal at The Star Inn the Harbour. Finally, the Star Inn the City had the chance to show off to the great and good of the food world, hosting the Estrella Damm UK Gastropub Awards which was a very special day.

Dishoom Kejriwal

The Ivy

White Horse & Griffin

Bisque from The Star Inn the Harbour

February was something of a quiet month as we waited for Baby Fork to make her arrival. While her debut was of rather more personal import than that of Humpit Hummus, it was still a pleasure to sample their hummus and falafel. I also finally got the chance to try bread & butter pudding spring roll when Street Cleaver popped up at the Fossgate Social. Millers Fish and Chips in Haxby gave us strength in the days before birth, as did a fabulous Reuben sandwich from Shambles Kitchen.

Shambles Kitchen Reuben

Street Cleaver Bread & Butter pudding spring roll

Baby Fork

March was mainly marked by a lack of sleep, but I still found time to get out and about. Radix started its cutting edge regular tasting menu at 45 Vinyl Cafe. It was a pleasure to be involved with judging the Garbutt & Elliot Food Entrepreneurs Awards so it was particularly rewarding to see the winners crowned at the Hospitium. There’s not much that can prepare you for the first few weeks of parenthood so brunches became something of a refuge. We particularly enjoyed Trinacria (the sausages are superb) and the Brisket Benedict at Source, which was en even more welcome distraction after the loss of one of our beloved cats. The first meal we braved without Baby Fork was to sample the new menu at Goodramgate Ambiente, just as reliably tasty and great value as ever.

Garbutt & Elliot Food Entrepreneur award winners

Radix Hen of the woods, poacher & root vegetable tagliatelle

Source beef brisket benedict

In April Tommy Banks launched his first book, Roots, which later shared its name with his new restaurant in York. I had a stab at his ox cheek recipe and produced a dish that even Tommy complimented me on. A trip out of York to Gio’s Italian Diner uncovered a great value spot that delivered simple food, done well with great ingredients. Our wedding anniversary celebration was less ambitious than previous years but still took in a delicious rosti at Betty’s Northallerton and some beautifully honest pies at Lordstones Cafe. I also finally had the chance to get back to Melton’s for lunch, which was a great opportunity to remember the understated quality these guys bring to Bishy Rd.

Betty’s Rosti

Melton’s celery & gruyere ‘rarebit’

My attempt at Tommy Bank’s Ox cheek from Roots

May brought about the long awaited opening of container park Spark that brought together a well curated selection of the best of local streetfood. While there’s been some turnover amongst the traders involved since then, it remains a welcoming space. With a young baby, we were still struggling to get out for special meals so the chance to visit The Park from Adam Jackson remains a fond memory that Baby Fork was able to share with us. With summer starting, it was lovely to pay a visit to Raithwaite Spa and take the time to relax in the sun, not to mention grab some crab sandwiches from The Cod & Lobster en route. This busy month also saw the launch of Yorkshire Cheddar from Wensleydale Creamery with a menu from Yorkshire legend Steph Moon, a pasta class with the indomitable Sara Danesin, the launch of The Cat’s Pyjamas in York and Malton Food Festival.

Poussin, white onion, ham, hen of the woods from Adam Jackson at The Park

Raithwaite Spa

Spark

As we got to half way through the year, June took me out to the Herbs Unlimited open day and the openings of Shakespeare’s Globe, The Press Kitchen and L’Uva. I also took the chance to check out a fully vegan menu at The Whippet before we popped to Ludlow and enjoyed some small plates with great local produce at CSON’s by the river.

Family Fork at the L’Uva opening

Mussels in the sun at Shakespeare’s Globe

Vegan dishes at The Whippet

By July we were starting to find our feet with Baby Fork a little so managed a few more days out. The hot summer days were perfect for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Fountains Abbey. Fantastic meals came from Arras and The Star Inn the Harbour while I finally made it to Everyman Cinema for a Spielburger to celebrate my birthday after a film.

Salmon and Greek Salads at Arras

One of the Follys at Fountains Abbey

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Spielburger at Everyman

In August I travelled further afield to Leeds to enjoy the launch event for new Pudsey neighbourhood bistro Feed, featuring cheeseburger spring rolls and the “Hangover cone”. I also made it to Bradford to finally visit Prashad, which lived up to sky high expectations despite some enforced needlework, and Stamfords in Pocklington that represented great value. Cooking at home included sampling a recipe box from Riverford and it was a real pleasure to see Born to Lose open in Brew York from the guys behind Street Cleaver.

Whipped Goats Curd with Carrot at Stamfords

Hangover Cone from Feed

Kopra Pethi at Prashad

The big things in September were the York Food & Drink Festival, with whom I was very happy to work and curate the food and drinks trails, and the much anticipated launch of Tommy Banks’ new restaurant on Marygate, Roots. Sunday lunch came from the Principal and Born to Lose, whose Alternative Sunday Lunch was characteristically brilliant. I also made it to Skosh for the first time in too long and for a great value Bento lunch at Sushiwaka. A lowlight of the year came courtesy of a broken plate that necessitated a rather painful and invasive check for tendon damage in my hand and a number of stitches (NB: link to graphic pic), and I was even late for lunch! Thankfully my thumb remains fully functional, if still rather achey.

Born to Lose Alternative Sunday Lunch (2 hours after having my thumb stitched together!)

Lemon & Blueberry Cheesecake at The Principal

Garden pea falafel, pork fat and carrots at Roots launch event

Things quietened down in October a little; fine dining came from Hudson’s in The Grand and a more casual offering from Los Moros, whose opening and success was great to see. A set price lunch from The Rattle Owl was an accessible treat that makes for a great value midweek lunch.

Stone bass, langoustine and Fennel from the Hudsons Tasting Menu

Small plates for lunch at The Rattle Owl

Los Moros Tagine

November took us back to Roots for a final treat before Mrs Fork went back to work. I visited Leeds again to check out Dough, the new city centre offering from the guys behind Feed, and the Assembly Food Hall that packed a cracking burger from Slap & Pickle. The lunchtime pie menu from The Whippet hit the spot and I had great fun running a blogger event with the lovely Avocado Events and the Star Inn the City, to whom I wish a quick recovery to after their recent fire.

Slap & Pickle burger at Assembly Underground

Introducing the Children’s menu at the Star Inn the City

As we moved toward the end of the year, December took me to The Cutlery Works in Sheffield, a great addition to Kelham Island, which featured some great sashimi and poutine. The Christmas decorations at Castle Howard were good enough to encourage us to make it a habitual visit with Baby Fork in coming years and I finally got to see the stage show of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds that even exceeded my expectations.

Castle Howard

Martian fighting machine with War of the Worlds!

Sashimi and small plates at Cutlery Works

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Taste Trail
I’m hugely excited to announce that this year’s Taste Trail is a collaboration between York on a Fork and The York Food & Drink Festival. I’ve been working hard with the Festival to organise a great selection of businesses to offer samples and discounts to trail participants. Make sure you preorder your booklet from the festival site for only £5, or two booklets for £8, or collect it/them from the Festival Information Point.

Food Factory
This is your chance to get stuck into a range of activities that’ll get into the detail of where some of our favourite foods come from. You’ll have the opportunity to make bread, butter, pasta and ice cream along with preserving fish and making cheese. You’ll also get a chance to try a chocolate activity at York Cocoa Works. A family ticket for four (including up to two adults)​ which offers all of these activities is £15. You can book places here.

Gin, Fizz & Ale Trail
This year the Ale trail is being broadened to include options for gin and fizz too. Grab your booklet from the Festival Information Point and after visiting six venues you’ll be eligible for entry to a prize draw!

Chef Demos
As always, there’s a packed schedule of chefs ready to show their stuff in the demo tent. Amongst many others this year features:
Rafi’s Spicebox
James McKenzie from the Pipe & Glass
Craig Atchinson from Hudsons at The Grand
Adam Jackson from The Park
Neil Bentinck from Skosh
​Tommy Banks from The Black Swan and Roots
Matt Hunter from The Star Inn the City

Taste Workshops
This year’s Festival features a series of “Taste Workshops” that offer the chance to take advantage of specialist knowledge from some of the city’s food experts.  Details of them all can be found here. As well as these, there’s the chance to enjoy a Pinot Noir tasting at The Chopping Block (The new restaurant at Walmgate Ale House from Michael Hjort) which also hosts a charity “Call my Bluff” dinner on September 25th. Check out the full list of food events here.

​Beer & Cider Festival
York Knavesmire again hosts the Beer & Cider Festival from 19th- 21st September as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. There’ll be over 500 beers and 100 ciders to choose from, live performances, expert briefings, cooking demonstrations and tastings.

Little Vikings Recipe Trail
York Food & Drink Festival 2018 is absolutely for all the family. This year, Little Vikings have put together a free recipe trail that allows children to collect recipes from ten locations around the city as you explore. Book here to reserve your recipe hunt pack to collect from the Festival Information Point.

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Having arranged delivery, I was a little surprised to find the Riverford recipe box arriving at five o’ clock in the morning as I was tending to Baby Fork, though thankfully the delivery driver was sensible enough to not bang at the door. A few hours later, I retrieved the box from its hiding place and found it still in perfect condition ready to get stuck into cooking later that evening. All the produce in the box was great quality and measured out appropriately. The only misstep was mine as I failed to grasp the subtlety of the part of the box labelled “Lift Here” and took rather longer than I should have to retrieve some of the ingredients.

The first recipe I tried was “Herby Whipped Wootton & Balsamic Veg” that Riverford characterised​ as “Vegetarian Simple”. The “Wootton” in question was Wootton White, a British made Feta-style cheese that the recipe directed to whip up with creme fraiche until light and fluffy. This was to be served over roasted veg and brown rice. The recipe did a good job of issuing instructions in a sensible order to maximise time efficiency, the pre-measured ingredients helping to speed things along too. There was a reasonable amount of chopping involved and as I wanted to do the dish justice, I took my time. The investment was worth it though as the finished dish was excellent. The timings on the recipe card were all spot on and the combination of summery veg roasted with basil, balsamic vinegar under rice and the whipped cheese was delicious.

The second dish I was sent to prepare was “Lebanese Spinach & Chickpeas”. This one was alleged to be a little tougher as “Vegetarian Foodie”, but I can’t say I noticed any element of the prep being noticeably more challenging. The Maftoul that I started by simmering was reminiscent of large coucous and ended up being perfect to soak up the delicately spiced chickpeas which were in turn fantastic with the simmered tomato, preserved lemon, coriander, a spice mix and spinach. This was a real hit and had great depth of flavour which hit up spice against the tahini yoghurt nicely.

I enjoyed cooking both these dishes and the results were certainly striking as I’d been encouraged by the process to make a little more effort than a usual mid week dinner. The dishes come in around £12 for each meal for two and the produce was exemplary. I’ll certainly be hanging onto the recipe cards too. This was undoubtedly a convenient way to try new dishes that I wouldn’t normally think to cook at home.

​Disclaimer: No charge was made for this delivery. Opinions are impartial.

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Born and Bred deliver recipes designed by the inestimable Yorkshire food champion Steph Moon along with great quality locally sourced produce to show them off to best effect. The care and effort that goes into sourcing the highest quality produce is immediately obvious when you open the box, which contains offerings from reputed suppliers such as Herbs Unlimited, True Foods, Bracken Hill, Dumouchel Patisserie and Listers Farm shop.

For my box, I chose Yorkshire “Savoury Ducks” and “Crispy Yorkshire Haloum!” with mushroom and leek cakes and decided to have a go at the “Ducks” first. This recipe reads really well as a hearty winter dish which pairs lamb mince and liver into good sized meatballs fleshed out with onion, egg, mustard, breadcrumbs and Hendersons Relish. Preparation was easy enough with all the ingredients pre-weighed or measured for you. It was at this point it really dawned on me that this wasn’t going to be a substitute for cooking. While the pre-measured ingredients were a definite neat shortcut, there was still chopping, dicing, grating, zesting and mixing involved though with maximum amount of end user judgement removed by the recipe card. The finished product was everything it promised: a rich and hearty meal for two that was generously portioned enough to deliver some leftovers the following day. The only issue on the plate came from my failure to read the recipe card closely enough and adding too much orange to the sauce, definitely user error.

The fried Halloum! (from Yorkshire Dama Cheese) was a slightly simpler recipe. Fried cheese is a fairly obvious pleasure and the mushroom and leek cakes were reminiscent of Steph Moon recipes that I’ve cooked before. The finished plate was predictably delicious and rather lighter in character than the “ducks”. I ended up making this for a light dinner, finishing the left overs the following day, which were no less enjoyable for the delay.

These boxes are available monthly either on subscription or for a one off payment. Three meals for two people comes to £39, breaking down to £6.50 per portion. I think that’s a very reasonable amount, especially given the obvious care that’s gone into sourcing produce and delivering it in such a way as the consumer can take best advantage of that quality. The only note of caution I’d sound is to make sure you don’t see this as a lazy substitute for cooking. Yes, there are a number of shortcuts handed to you, but this is still cooking and requires some effort. If you enjoy chopping onions as much as me though, that really isn’t a problem. The ingredients I received were enjoyable to cook and turned into lovely meals. I’d happily recommend trying out Born & Bred.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for the delivery I received. Opinions are impartial.

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