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How do you eat a varied, reasonably inexpensive and healthy diet when you can't actually cook?
Eating out is currently flat, always picking up and ordering costs money - various cooking boxes from different providers offer start-ups for those who don't like cooking.
The principle is usually similar: you order the box that contains the ingredients for one or more dishes and have it delivered to your home at a certain time.
The ingredients are mostly fresh, the food is guaranteed to arrive warm on the plate and the quantities are precisely adapted to the corresponding number of people.
So much for the advantages over conventional delivery services.
But do the boxes keep what they promise?
Does what you produce taste good?
And how easy is the preparation made for you?
The editorial team tested seven boxes.
HelloFresh
HelloFresh was founded in Berlin in 2011, and the company now sends cooking boxes to 14 countries. In the third quarter of 2020, five million users ordered food from HelloFresh.
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Price:
Varies a little depending on the box selected.
In the Classic Box with three dishes per week for two people, one portion costs 5.71 euros.
In addition, starters or additional dishes can be ordered for a surcharge.
Ordering process:
The box is firmly ordered;
First you choose between culinary preferences (meat, vegetarian or family-friendly), then choose the number of people and dishes per week.
HelloFresh delivers food for up to four people.
Every week you are asked by email to select the dishes for the next delivery.
Attention when pausing the delivery: If you don't want to receive any more boxes, you have to confirm this request several times and select a reason for it.
Unlike when placing an order, one click is not enough to cancel the box!
Sample
dishes
:
pasta bowl with buffalo mozzarella, chilli sin carne with avocado, minced meat burger with mushrooms.
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Are there specials for the holidays?
Yes, there are two Christmas menus with four courses to choose from, one with duck and one vegetarian.
However, the Christmas boxes are sold out immediately.
Recipe card from HelloFresh
Source: private
Delivery and packaging:
HelloFresh has perfected the delivery service: Several time slots can be selected and an SMS is sent shortly before delivery.
The service was tested intermittently over a period of around six months and delivery was always on time and reliable.
A little more information on sustainability: HelloFresh advertises with short delivery routes from the food supplier directly to the customer, which saves CO2.
But of course there is a pile of packaging waste with every box;
According to the company, at least the shipping boxes are fully recyclable.
The ingredients, some of which are packaged in plastic, such as small sauce packs, are more problematic.
At least an idea: on the plastic cooling elements, ideas are printed on what you can do with the water it contains, for example: "Mix me with vinegar and use it to clean your sink."
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
The steps are explained in detail on nicely made recipe cards.
The recipes are arranged according to difficulty levels one (no previous cooking knowledge) to three (a bit more complex), you can pay attention to this when ordering.
Most dishes are not difficult to prepare, but cooking can sometimes take a long time - if, for example, dough rolls are to be made as a side dish with the paprika soup.
Many boxes are therefore less suitable for short lunch breaks
Bell pepper soup with puff pastry rolls
Source: private
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.
How does it taste?
The vegetarian dishes in particular offer a lot of variety that you would otherwise not necessarily organize yourself in everyday life.
The meat is sourced from Switzerland, the origin of each piece of beef can be traced by tracking number.
Nevertheless, if you want to treat yourself to a steak, it is better to seek advice from a trusted butcher: at the HelloFresh prices, top quality simply cannot end up on the plate.
Order here
Marley Spoon
Marley Spoon was launched in 2014 by the Lieferheld founders and is now active in seven countries. In 2020 the company was able to increase its sales tremendously, the concept is identical to that of HelloFresh.
Price:
You can choose between dishes for two or three to four people and between three to five meals per week.
Three meals for two people cost
7.15 euros per serving
.
Such a box costs a total of 42.90 euros and you should plan around a week in advance.
Ordering process:
It's pretty easy (via app or in the browser) and it's fun: Preferences are asked - you can exclude pork or fish depending on your taste - and then only recipes are displayed that contain what you "like" In the test case, the conclusion was: “We recommend a mixture of
vegetarian
,
beef
,
fish
and
poultry
recipes.” However, you can also look at the other recipes and still select them.
An email is sent beforehand informing you what you should have at home for your three recipes (such as salt, ketchup or oil).
Sample
dishes
:
Surinamese-style chicken sandwich with baked potatoes, fennel risotto with salad and orange, Thai noodle pan with peanut and egg with tamarind sauce.
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Are there specials for the holidays?
Yes, for example: Orange chicken on a winter salad with cranberries or baked apples with a speculoos filling.
Delivery and packaging: It worked
great - on the delivery day there was an email with a limitation of the delivery period and shortly beforehand an SMS with the exact time.
In the box there are three large paper bags for the dishes and an insulated bag with a cooling element for the products that need to stay particularly cool.
Eggs are cleverly packed in sturdy cardboard triangles, but one was still slightly cracked.
The leek wasn't fresh either, otherwise everything was of good quality.
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
Recipe cards explain step by step with photos what to do, a lot cannot go wrong.
You need a few utensils, the recipes may not be suitable for the absolute basic student household.
But they definitely take away the reluctance to cook meat in water or dare to try a risotto!
How does it taste?
First of all: The portion sizes are definitely filling (sometimes a difference to HelloFresh), there is sometimes even something left over.
The ingredients are of good quality, if you prepare everything correctly, you will definitely have a dinner that is different from the usual delivery and tastes good.
Order here
Dinnerly
Dinnerly belongs to Marley Spoon - but wants to offer the concept at a lower price. The “most affordable cooking box in Germany” offers eight recipes every week that only require six ingredients and are prepared in five steps.
Price:
They advertise "2.99 euros per portion" - but you only get that with larger packages with more portions.
If two people want to eat three dishes a week, one pays 4.39 euros per dish, plus five euros shipping costs.
If four people want four dishes a week, it is just under 58 euros per box and week.
Ordering process:
This is exactly like Marley Spoon's - only the selection is smaller.
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Sample
dishes
:
puff pastry and leek strudel with cheese, spicy, sweet chicken with pak choi and rice, crispy gnocchi with spinach and cheese sauce.
Are there specials for the holidays?
Yes,
Pear and chocolate braid with walnuts and spiced speculoos.
Delivery and packaging:
Unfortunately, nothing came in the test on the agreed delivery day.
No tracking e-mail, no information and no box either.
In the quickly accessible chat, they found out when asked that the parcel volume at UPS was too high and would only be delivered the next day.
So not a reliable variant for the run-up to Christmas.
The next day the package was simply left somewhere in the apartment building.
The dishes are not individually packaged, the ingredients are loose in the box, only what has been chilled is packaged in an insulated manner - and despite the delay it stayed cool!
No recipe cards are included, instructions are available by email.
Instead of parsnips, as in the recipe, there were carrots.
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
You have to have more at home than with other providers - milk or cloves of garlic are included with HelloFresh or Marley Spoon, Dinnerly requires that as a basic.
Otherwise, the recipes are relatively easy and yet not boring.
How does it taste?
Although the recipes consist of comparatively fewer ingredients, special dishes come out of them, little extras such as onion jam, for example, make the puff pastry pockets spicy.
The size of the portions is always neat, no skimpy on that.
Order here
Viani food box
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In 2019, the delicatessen retailer Viani took over the insolvent Berlin gourmet shop Kochhaus - and continued the food box business. In addition to pre-portioned cooking boxes, individual delicatessen items and wines can also be ordered in the online shop - but only within Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt and Munich.
Price:
You can choose between vegetarian / vegan and classic Italian dishes for two.
Each food box must contain at least two dishes - it is delivered once a week.
Two meals for two people cost around 12.25 euros per serving - so it is more in the upper price segment.
With a delivery fee (five euros) and an individual glass deposit, such a box costs a total of around 55 euros;
you should plan at least two days in advance.
Ordering process:
First you choose which food box you want to receive.
You can choose from: "Ricetta" (contains all the main ingredients for a whole dish), "Cucina" (basic equipment for the kitchen) or "Spuntino" (small snacks between meals).
Six days before delivery, Viani suggests product combinations for the upcoming box - coordinated with the recipes in the "Giornale", a kind of in-house food newspaper, supplied.
But you can also choose from over 35 dishes yourself - this is possible in the store or online.
You can still exchange dishes up to two days before the planned delivery (or collection in the store)
Sample
dishes
:
Neapolitan pizza, truffle risotto, stuffed zucchini pasta with artichoke pesto and parmesan, fresh ravioli with sugo all'amatriciana or polenta with porcini mushroom sauce and panforte.
Are there specials for the holidays?
Yes, for example: cheese fondue all'italiana, vegetarian festive lasagna or Italian Christmas cookies with chestnut cream.
Delivery and packaging: Delivery
is fresh from the nearest Viani, so that neither a lot of packaging nor long distances are required.
The delivery period is between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. - always on the agreed weekday.
In the box, all fresh ingredients - such as sauces or pizza dough - are filled in deposit jars.
They can either be returned in the store or with the next delivery.
The box also contained a frozen cool pack for the sensitive products.
Nothing broke during transport and the quality was right.
This is how the Viani food box was delivered
Source: st
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
Recipe cards on the individual products or recipes in the "Giornale" provided briefly explain what needs to be done.
But that's not much, since the sauces are largely prepared and already seasoned.
In this respect, utensils or ingredients corresponding to normal kitchen standards are not superfluous.
As all ingredients are pre-portioned and fresh, they can be prepared quickly.
Disadvantage: In the case of the pizza, the quantities for the topping were not sufficiently portioned, so that instead of two, only one and a half pizzas could be filled.
How does it taste?
The portion sizes vary from dish to dish - the ravioli was 500 grams, the fresh taglierini only 250 grams.
In this respect, two times you get full from the dishes - and then again not.
Unfortunately, some of the prepared sauces are too heavily seasoned, so that they do not appeal to a child's palate.
You can taste the freshness and exclusivity of the ingredients.
Dishes out of the box: Neapolitan pizza, fresh ravioli with sugo all'amatriciana and a mini panettone for dessert
Source: st
Order here
Good bank
The Good Bank from Berlin offers a combination of a vegetable box and a cooking box. The concept of the “Good Farm Box” is to combine regional vegetables with international specialties and to pack them sustainably. The company tries to avoid mini packaging. While the regular boxes are only available in Berlin, special offers are available throughout Germany.
Price:
There are three different packages, vegetarian (29.90 euros), vegan (27.90 euros) and omnivore (34.90) with the variations gluten and / or lactose-free.
The package can be ordered as a subscription every one to four weeks and canceled at any time.
Ordering process:
The order can be placed on the website.
The selection options list which ingredients are contained in the box.
The packages contain ingredients with which, depending on the package, three to six different dishes can be prepared for two to three people.
The recipes for it are included.
Every week the boxes are put together under a different motto.
ICONIST tested the vegetarian box on the subject of "Heat up - time to warm up".
Sample
dishes
:
Spicy kimchi and pumpkin “Mac & Cheese” from the “One Pot” and stir-fry vegetables with lotus root and kale chips.
Are there specials for the holidays?
No.
Delivery and packaging: It
worked out great.
On the delivery day I received an email with a limitation of the delivery period and a link to track the package.
It was not absolutely necessary to be at home to receive the parcel, as the box could also be parked in front of the front door and the food could withstand a few hours without refrigeration.
Most of the ingredients in the box were wrapped in paper.
A lotus root, which is naturally very moist, was welded in.
The food to be cooled - organic Gouda cheese and homemade dressing - were packed in an insulated cooler bag.
The vegetables were unpacked.
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
A list of contents was supplied in the box, which informs about which ingredients are contained in which quantity in the box.
It also provided information about where the food came from.
There was a list of four different recipes, but it took a moment to understand which ingredients went with which recipe.
More precise labeling would have made this easier.
The individual cooking steps were explained in detail and easy to understand.
How does it taste?
The recipes are interesting and offer a combination of ingredients that differ from the typical standard repertoire of vegetables.
For example, the box contained kimchi and a lotus root.
The portions are large, and two people always left something on the prepared dishes.
A two-person household can prepare around four to five meals with the veggie box.
The dressing made by the Good Bank itself was tasty in combination with different dishes.
An enclosed homemade spice mixture gave the lotus root and carrot dish a special touch.
Delicious and from the region: The “Good Farm Box” from Good Bank
Source: maru
Order here
Lesser panda ramen
Lesser Panda Ramen is actually a Hamburg restaurant that, due to the pandemic, has specialized in the Germany-wide shipping of cooking boxes. Ramen, a Japanese noodle soup, is not suitable for ready-made delivery, as the noodles would lose their consistency in the hot liquid. The company sources its ingredients directly from two Demeter farms, everything is hand-made and regionally produced.
Price:
At Lesser Panda Ramen you only order as needed, subscriptions are not offered.
The ramen sets are available for two, four or six people.
A box of two costs 34 euros, plus just under five euros for packaging and shipping.
Ordering process:
On the restaurant's website, you can choose between different ramen variants in the online shop, including a vegan one.
In addition, individual ingredients are offered separately.
The selection and the payment process are uncomplicated and self-explanatory.
Sample
dishes
:
Shio Shoyu Ramen, Spicy Miso Ramen, Hatcho-Miso Ramen, Vegan Ramen Soup, Vegetarian Ramen Soup, Grilled Cheese Sandwich.
Are there specials for the holidays?
No.
Delivery and packaging:
The delivery time is usually two to three days, and you will be informed of the delivery date in good time by email.
The logistics partner offers to deposit the parcel at an agreed storage location when you are not at home.
In our case, the package was in front of the apartment door, all the ingredients were conveniently packed.
The use of plastic is avoided as much as possible.
The eggs, for example, are delivered in a reusable canning jar.
The broth doubles as a cold pack.
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
The attached instructions explain the really simple preparation, which according to the manufacturer should only take five minutes.
In fact, it doesn't take any longer.
Radishes and spring onions are cut into small pieces, then you just put the ingredients together in the pot - you can't go wrong with this.
It is advisable to have large soup bowls on hand, as well as chopsticks, as these are not included.
How does it taste?
The portions are sufficient, which is partly due to the fact that the soup consists of a lot of noodles.
If you like more liquid, you could stretch the broth a little.
It's all delicious in any case.
Like the rest of the ingredients, the noodles are fresh and tasty; the heat can be adjusted with a separate pepper oil.
We tested the Shio Shoyu ramen variant: the classic with pickled pork belly
Source: private
Order here
The alternative: gorillas
The start-up Gorillas does not deliver a classic cooking box, but rather groceries to your home, the promise: It takes just ten minutes. One of the founders used to work at HelloFresh. Everything you need is on offer, from fresh milk and eggs to vegetables to flour, sugar and pasta. So far, Gorillas only delivers in the Berlin districts of Prenzlauer Berg, Mitte and Schöneberg. Each delivery costs 1.80 euros, there is no minimum order amount.
Price:
The delivery service advertises "supermarket prices".
However, the products cost a little more.
An example: 400 grams of “egg spaetzle ready to pan” from Henglein costs 1.49 euros in the app, and between 99 cents and 1.39 euros in supermarkets.
Ordering process:
You order in the app, which is pretty straightforward.
However, you should be quick: As the day progresses, more and more products are already sold out.
Some are available the next day, others are not.
Sample dishes:
Everything you need to cook yourself is available here, from fresh vegetables to meat substitutes.
Gorillas also has many ready-made meals on offer, for example frozen pizza and mashed potatoes to mix.
Are there specials for the holidays?
There is currently an “XMAS” section in which you can find dominoes, marzipan potatoes and candles, for example.
Delivery and packaging:
Gorillas promises that the food will arrive at the front door within ten minutes.
But that only applies if you live in close proximity to one of their camps.
Depending on how far you are, delivery can take up to 35 minutes.
But: The forecast of the delivery time in the app is pretty accurate in 90 percent of the cases.
And the drivers are in a good mood - that doesn't apply to every delivery service.
The order is packed in a paper bag, just like you know from the supermarket.
How good are the instructions, is everything correct, does everything work?
Gorillas is great when you don't have time to shop.
The driver was late for one out of five orders, but with a very nice excuse: He was new to Berlin and discovered so many Berlin sights on the tour from the warehouse to the apartment.
How does it taste?
Just like ready meals from the supermarket.