No one got into meal kits for the fun of it. Packing up pre-prepared food for a customer perhaps hundreds of miles away was not the reason why most chefs got into the profession. And adding a series of logistical headaches reallocation of space, different quality-control standards, appropriate packaging, national distribution to an already tenuous business model was no restaurateur’s idea of a good time.
And yet as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified during the second half of 2020, more and more of London’s restaurants found themselves moving toward some form of prepare-at-home option often in addition to more conventional delivery, but in many cases entirely separate from it. Fast-casual brands like burger and pizza chains Patty & Bun and Pizza Pilgrims led the way, with the Pilgrims’ frying-pan pizza kits reportedly selling out in 37 seconds; in time, even Michelin-starred restaurants like Kitchen Table, Core by Clare Smyth, and Lyle’s were offering customers the oppor
So here we are again, pubs shuttered, restaurants closed, our hospitality industry on the edge of collapse. The furlough scheme may ensure that employees are looked after, but those bills keep flooding in. And it’s not just the restaurateurs, publicans and hoteliers that suffer, but the whole supply chain. Which is why our support is more important than ever.
Restaurants and producers have pivoted with admirable speed, putting together magnificent cook-at-home kits, giving a taste of your favourite place delivered to your door. I’ll be picking the very best, available nationwide, from the glittering heights of Michelin-starred masters, to the more homely charms of dazzling regional cuisines. Along with takeaway reviews and favourite suppliers. Not so much Eat Out To Help Out, as Splash Out To Keep Them Alive.