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Vale chef serves up dinner in a box

McLaren Vale chef Nigel Rich designs 11 different dishes each week for a new national meal-kit delivery service that seeks to meet a global trend towards online food shopping for the time-poor.

Mar 02, 2016, updated Mar 02, 2016
Lamb Backstrap with Green Pea Mash. Photo: supplied

Lamb Backstrap with Green Pea Mash. Photo: supplied

Rich, who runs Elbow Room and has previously cooked at d’Arry’s Verandah, Jarmer’s, the Universal, the Oxford and Jolley’s Boathouse, says he was approached last year by Thomas Foods International – South Australia’s largest family-owned meat and fresh produce processor – to bring his culinary experience to its new venture, Thomas Farms Kitchen.

He says Thomas Farms Kitchen is designed to integrate the company’s processing operations and national distribution networks to offer a service for busy people, singles and the elderly by delivering fresh, local, value-for-money produce and chef-created recipes so they can prepare nutritious meals at home.

Dishes on his Thomas Farms menu this week include Mediterranean-Style Baked Lamb Chops, Coconut Infused Garlic Prawns with Basmati Rice, Sweet and Sour Pork with Brown Rice and Veggies, and Beef Rump with Potato Salad and Green Beans. Each week the 11 options offered include three vegetarian, two seafood, three white meat and three red meat meals. Each meal costs $12.50 per serving.

He draws ideas for the Thomas Farms Kitchen menus, he says, from “30 years of cheffing all over the world” and what he’s cooking at Elbow Room.

“The main focus is on local, seasonal produce and then I try to design the recipes so they can be prepared and cooked within 30 minutes and streamlined so there is not much washing up to do afterwards.

“The biggest challenge is breaking the recipes down into simple serves and I have to be mindful of packing and transport.”

Thomas Farms Kitchen is not subscription-based so InDaily ordered a couple of meals which were delivered in a large Styrofoam box containing recipe cards and each ingredient packed separately with ice packs. The produce was very fresh and the quantities generous, but there’s possibly a little guilt to be had over all the packaging used.

The recipes presume you have basic pantry items such as salt, pepper, sugar and olive oil to hand; they are easy to follow, true to form, and present a good-looking and very large serving for the price.

“We did a price shop at a couple of supermarkets and we were almost half price,” says Rich.

Rich’s meals are inspiring for home cooks and could perhaps even offer a simple and economical dinner party solution.

Nigel-Rich-resized

Nigel Rich. Photo: supplied

 

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