CHEFS PLATE – MOROCCAN LAMB BURGER

I am guilty of eating out a lot, especially during the week. While I love to cook big meals with The Hubby on weekends, during the week I am lazy. Add in the fact that The Hubby often travels for work during the week, means I’m usually eating noodles straight from a pot or take-out container. Chefs Plate makes weekday dinners easy by delivering 99% of the ingredients for a delicious meal, all measured out, ready to cook, right to your door (or condo security guy). Chef’s Plate would be a great meal solution for busy professionals, people learning to cook, or if you’re hoping to impress a date.

Disclaimer: Products reviewed below were provided complimentary by Chefs Plate. All opinions expressed below are wholly mine and not indicative of the opinions or positions held by Chefs Plate.

The Basics:
Chef’s Plate is a weekly meal subscription delivery service based on downtown Toronto. Each week, subscribers choose from an array of meals designed by their executive chef. Meals include gluten free, dairy free and vegetarian options. There are currently 2 plans available priced at ~$11/plate, one for 2 people with the option of 2 or 3 meals per week (an additional shipping fee is charged for 2 meals) or 4 people with 2 meals per week. Deliveries are made on Mondays of each week for the GTA and Tuesday for the rest of Ontario. There is no minimum week commitment, however the subscription will auto-renew if not paused or cancelled.

My Experience:
My box from Chef’s Plate arrived before 5pm on Monday and it was a bit like Christmas. The package was well insulated and had 2 large ice packs to keep all the meat and produce fresh. I had ordered the Moroccan Lamb Burger and Flank Steak meals for the week. Fresh ingredients for each were separated in large plastic bags and colourful recipe sheets on thick cardstock were provided.

What I Liked:

• Most important, the finished product! I really enjoyed my burger, the lamb was amazing with lots of flavour, fatty and juicy.
• All of the produce were fresh and the bun moist.
• Seriously, another callout to the lamb.
• I liked the packaging, the contents were layered thoughtfully to protect each ingredient (buns on top!)
• It was quick, in total making this meal did take less than 30 minutes.
• Chef’s Plate has an extensive FAQ on their website that answers pretty much every questions I had.
• When you’re choosing a recipe, the amount of time required, skill level and calorie estimate was all listed. This information was repeated on the recipe cards. Great for those with dietary restrictions or counting calories.
• Being able to skip weeks or pause your subscription at any time.
• Introduced new repertoire of flavours. When I cook, I skew towards Asian flavours, aka soy sauce, so it was nice to try a different profile in such an easy to cook format.
• The convenience, it can be hard to get the right amount of groceries to cook for just one or two people. Chef’s plate eliminates the worry about leftover ingredients like half a carrot, by providing exactly what’s needed.

What could use work:

• While I liked the packaging, with each ingredient being individually packaged, there was a lot of plastic bags. I’m not sure if there’s a way to improve this, but it did feel very wasteful.
• Too much onion, I had enough to top at least 6 burgers. Again this would be a hard point to improve on. Half an onion would not be the way to go and it may be difficult to provide only small red onions.
• Price. If I compare to buying groceries ourselves, Chef’s Plate is more expensive. However the service was well executed, delivered great ingredients and is worth it, paying for the convenience. This would make a great gift to busy professionals or people just learning to cook.

TL;DR: Plenty of choices to fit all tastebuds, easy to follow recipe instructions, fresh quality ingredients, more expensive than buying groceries but the convenience is worth the cost.

If you’re interested in checking out Chef’s Plate, use this link to receive 2 free plate (or 1 meal kit) with your first order.