[Product Review] One Kitchen, a new meal kit delivery service in the GTA

*Disclosure: I was given the meal kits by One Kitchen to try out and was asked to provide an honest review. The opinions in the post are truly my own. I have used “no follow” links.

I heard so much from friends about these popular meal kit delivery services, but have not tried it myself. Thank you to One Kitchen (OneKitchen.ca) for giving me this opportunity so I can share my experience with you. The timing was perfect as the meals were delivered the day after my week long family vacation.

About One Kitchen:

“We deliver fresh, local ingredients to our customers and provide step-by-step instruction on how to create restaurant-quality meals at home. Our objective is to develop the ultimate cooking experience. With a new menu every week, we ensure our customers are always excited to taste new dishes and challenge their cooking skills.

We have also built relationships with local charities and organizations throughout the GTA and surrounding areas. For every 10 boxes sold, we donate 1 box to each charity. We want to give back to the local community as must as possible” (Source: OneKitchen.ca)

Ingredients and Recipes:

• 6 to 8 original recipes that change every week
• Chef inspired and curated for home cooking
• Wide ranges of difficulty from fast meals to multi layered extravagant dishes
• Farm fresh ingredients and specialty items handpicked from Canadian farms

Delivery: Across to the GTA (delivery map)

Meal Plans and pricing: There is a 2 person plan for 3 days ($11.49 per serving) or 4 days ($10.99 per serving). There is a family plan for 2 meals ($10.99 per serving) or 4 meals a week ($9.99 per serving). The price includes taxes and delivery.

Customers can “cook like a pro, save time, and discover new flavors”.

My experience:

I went with the 2 person plan for 3 days, and chose the Moroccan Style Chicken, Mushroom and Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken and the Pork and Sweet Potato Curry.

My box was personally delivered by Michael C., one of the owners, which was really nice to put a face to a name from our e-mail interactions. The food was kept cold with a box lined with thermal wrap with ice packs at the base. Each bag was labelled with the corresponding meal.

 

 

As the meats were frozen, I waited until the next day to start my first dish. I like my meat to thaw naturally in the fridge rather than putting the meat in a cold water bath or microwave.

In each bag, the ingredients were in containers or in a plastic bag with most items individually labelled, even garlic. There was a picture guide listing the ingredients, difficulty level, spice level, preparation time, as well as instructions with pictures.

 

I used the instructions as a guideline but did find shortcuts that worked for me. For example, I used my rice cooker to cook the basmati rice rather than their stove top instructions.

What I liked:

• I was impressed by One Kitchen’s professional and simple website, with full recipes listed and step-by-step picture instructions.
• Variety of menu items on their website with vegetarian dish options.
• The instructions were easy. The picture guide was helpful.
• I learned new techniques. For the curry dish, I learned to add ingredients like garlic, curry paste, leek and water into a food processor before adding in the coconut milk mixture.
• It did take 30 minutes to make each meal.
• I liked that there were fresh herbs in the dish to enhance the flavours and for presentation. The dishes were visually appealing.
• The dishes were tasty with quality ingredients. I was afraid healthy meant bland.

Suggestions:

The portions were reasonable per person, but there weren’t leftovers. I made 2 meals on our second night for variety and saved the leftovers for my husband’s work lunch.

I am not sure ingredients like garlic needs to be labelled, but I guess it is better to be consistent and for clarity. Plus, the packaging likely helps to keep it fresh.

For the Moroccan style chicken thighs, the instructions said to “sprinkle the dish with almond flakes” but I did not see it as an ingredient in the instructions or in my kit. Perhaps this should be added as an “optional ingredient” in their picture guide.

Each bag with the ingredients took a lot of room in my fridge, so I removed the ingredients from each bag and organized it nicely in my fridge. Plus, ingredients such as tomatoes are best kept outside the fridge. I don’t think that One Kitchen needs to teach customers how to best store the ingredients, but these are my recommendations.

Verdict:

At this point, I do not have a comparison point with another meal kit delivery service but I liked what I saw and tasted. The price is reasonable given the cost per meal also includes tax and delivery (Less than $12 per person). It saves customers tons of time to grocery shop and to meal plan. The weekly menu changes to keep things fresh. With different difficulty levels for each dish, the meals are also a fun way to learn new techniques and dishes. One Kitchen will definitely top my list when I am looking for a meal kit delivery service.