Making cooking box clever

Boxes and hampers seem to be the thing du jour. From beauty boxes, promising secret goodies for skin, to book boxes taking reading clubs to a new level, you can barely move on the internet without seeing the phrase 'chef-prepared hamper' or 'vegetable box'.

I’ve tried snacking boxes, veggie boxes, meat boxes, everything. And by this point, I’m a bit bored to be honest. So, when I heard about another company sending food through the post, I wasn’t immediately grabbed.

But after a quick check on the website it became clear that Gousto are so much more than just convenient food delivery. Not only is the website full of pictures of vibrantly bright veggies and other ingredients, it’s also packed full of brilliant recipes.

The blurb on the website lays out their three objectives:

• Enjoy hassle-free cooking
• Choose the recipes you love
• Eat local, organic and seasonal ingredients

All three grabbed me. I was a dedicated vegetable box user from a leading brand, but unsubscribed after becoming frustrated with how much of my food was coming from abroad. Is it just me, or is the whole point of a veg box to eat local, organic produce? Gousto have a policy of sourcing ingredients from the countryside, mostly from the south west. So, as well as being organic and local, you also get the sense of community. While some ingredients are from abroad, it’s only the more unusual ones like Japanese miso paste.

And rather than a random box of veggies, you base your choices on the size of your household and recipes you like. I also like the thought of being able to prepare quick and tasty meals. And with reports saying  most families rotate a repertoire of about 9-10 meals, I really needed some shake-up in my routine. My lasagne may be good, but after eating it once a week for a month it starts to feel a bit stale.

When I browsed the recipes to pick out my choices for the week they all made my mouth water. Even the ones that wouldn’t normally be my thing, like fish dishes or mushrooms, which I have an eternal love-hate relationship with. I picked out two meals, settling on Spiced Ground Beef with Hummus and Raddichio and Scamorza Risotto.

The ingredients arrive in a chilled box by courier, and are measured out for single use. This saves a
lot of preparation, but as a cook who likes to reuse ingredients to get the best value from them was a little bit frustrating. You also receive recipe cards with laid-out, photographic instructions to cook the meals. If I’d had the boxes six years ago, I would have been absolutely thrilled. I had just moved in with a man who is now my husband, and I couldn’t cook. This is no exaggeration, while living on my own I existed on Supernoodles and cheese on toast with a layer of ketchup – classy

The instructions were easy to follow – if at times a bit ambiguous. It was a fun process cooking with the correct portions of everything, I felt a bit like a TV chef with perfectly measured, neat dishes of ingredients. And, to be honest, the unusual dishes I was cooking only added to that feeling.

Both meals were quick to make, taking about 20-30 minutes, and I ended up with attractive and REALLY delicious food (which is a great thing, as although I make tasty food, it usually looks a bit untidy!). My husband was particularly happy, as the meals were very large portions, however this did mean large calories and fat. I think Gousto are about the pleasure of good food rather than waist-trimming.

It’s safe to say, while the food won’t make you thin it will make you happy. Very happy. And isn’t that the point of social eating? To sit down with loved ones, enjoy a home-prepared, delicious meal, and ignore the calorific values. If only Gousto did puddings...

If you want to give it a go, sign up for Gousto here. What's better, the Gousto guys and girls are currently offering our lovely readers £15 off your first box with this code: SIXOUTOFTEN. Now that's what we call yummy.

Louise balances her many daydreams with the reality of being an animal scientist. So by day she’s lab-coated and covered in animal bits and by night she’s a knitter, obsessive reader, cat-botherer and midnight baker. She lives in Yorkshire with a husband, bunnies and cats. She loves PJ Harvey, pastel hair and drinks cola obsessively.