Learn about this new pre-made food brand in Lima aiming to bring the restaurant dining experience home.
Food Ready to Cook was an absolute surprise. From a very clean delivery service, professional and neat packaging, to the (unexpectedly) delicious food from around the world, Food Ready to Cook is carving out an important place in the booming space of pre-made food.
In fact, what the brand offers is not frozen food; it only requires refrigeration and cooking in the oven for 30 minutes. I promise you, those 30 minutes will be worth it.
Ready to eat at home
Let’s start with what matters most: food. We got Steak & Ale Pie, Butter chicken & Thai rice, Beef Bourguignon & Potato, and Chocolate Crack Pot for dessert. Each dish is an experience of great pleasure that brings with it the inescapable remembrance of the times you brought international restaurants to your home, to your table. It is not at all about fast food or very tasteful street food; We are talking about another type of delight, the pleasure of a restaurant; that place where we called to reserve seats, where they welcome you and accompany you and everything revolves around your experience as a commensal- and that experience now sounds so far behind.
A bit of this starts as soon as the oven begins to give off warmth and the aroma of inviting food is expelled; that warm and fine aroma that only in certain restaurants is perceived but before we did not appreciate so much because, usually, we were focused on conversations. Try and you will know what I’m talking about because while the food is baking, you can easily have a whole relaxed and gallant prelude. As soon as the food is in the oven, the atmosphere changes its tone, it is almost like a movie effect: the lights become warm, the music becomes harmonious, the mood calms down. Take out the good wine! And put on good music. Food Ready to Cook food is worth it. If it’s night, light candles.
Thai flavors
The Butter chicken & Thai rice was my favorite. It’s been a long time ago since I’ve eaten such a rich curry dish, and in Peru we are more used to paprika, yellow chili, to seasonings with chili peppers, in general. And being unusual, it is difficult to have a good point of reference. But the synergy of the ingredients is due to the expertise of Food Ready to Cook: Indian curry, chicken leg, Greek yogurt, coconut milk accompanied by Thai rice.
The curry sauce was the creamiest, it was one of those things that makes you close your eyes and turn on all the most positive sensations that your body has. And if you’ve never tried curry, this is the best way to try curry for the first time. You do feel the pinch of cashew, it is very creamy, like yogurt and deliciously spicy. As for the Thai rice, without a doubt, the best I’ve had in Lima. Each one is so, so good that you can easily eat them separately and still find delight.
Comfort food
Now, the Beef Bourguignon & Potato Pie had such tender meat that you didn’t even need to cut it with a knife. Such nice pieces of meat and the best quality of bacon; greaseless. The mushrooms, the slightly sweet onions and the carrots are felt in a wonderful wine sauce. The sauce was very delicate, fine. The best example that it is more than homemade food, it is food a la carte. Regarding the potato cake we obtained a light and delicious dish. Sure, one may wonder, how could potato and cheese be light? This is the magic of Food Ready to Cook. Very thin potato layers with, not heavy at all, creamiest cheese. So smooth and with a perfect salty balance.
Regarding the steak & ale pie, gosh! The fine and delicate puff pastry. The soft strip roast in a perfect blend with the vegetable stew. This I must say is perfect for the oven because it gives you all the experience of watching the puff pastry grow and even makes you believe that you made it yourself. I even dare to say that it is ideal to show off if you want to look good with someone else because it looks so beautiful when it comes out of the oven and it tastes so delicious that there is no loss. This tastes like a hug, it tastes like warmth, something worth loving. It is a dish made by someone who has mastery.
Time for dessert
And finally, the dessert: Chocolate crack pot. Absolutely chocolaty! But, it is not a dessert for confectioners only. It is a dessert where the protagonist is bitter chocolate; but, the reflectors are on the salted caramel. Therefore, I recommend it for those who do not usually ask for it, for those who rarely enjoy a dessert: this is the chocolate dessert that is worth the seldom given the opportunity to enjoy it.
Reusable or recyclable packaging
Something no less important is the packaging. The first positive impact comes because one can notice that resources were invested in packaging: there is technology, customization and professionalization. The material allows you to see that it is not anything improvised or mass-made, everything flawless. The design of the boxes, the spaces and the containers themselves speak for themselves. In fact, the food containers are reusable; Depending on the plate, you can have a wooden, ceramic or plastic container. You can decide if you will send it to recycle or reuse it (as we did with the ceramic containers). This I liked a lot.
Each box tells you how many people the serving is suggested for, the ingredients in the dish, the baking instructions, and the expiration date. In conclusion, a pleasant remembrance of the times one dressed well to go out to enjoy a nice restaurant with someone special where food was recommended by connoisseurs. That is why I mentioned at the beginning that I did not expect it to taste such delicious meal. Food Ready to cook is an emotional compensation for all these months in which we have not been able to have those experiences.
You can find Food Ready to Cook in Wong or in the Rappi and Fritz apps. The prices – quite attractive in the quality-price equation – are between 20 and 58 Peruvian Soles.
Instagram: /foodreadytocook.pe
All photos: Maria Alejandra Baraybar
