Which restaurant should you pop in YOUR trolley?
From Gourmet Burger Kitchen to Leon, more and more High Street eateries are offering supermarket meals. ROSE PRINCE dines out ... at home
Working from home, we’ve not only missed colleagues but also our favourite High Street food haunts. Whether you’re a sushi or a sarnie fan, a lunchtime treat can be what gets you through the working day.
Unfortunately, for most of us, such shops are nowhere near our homes, with little chance of delivery.
But if Leon was your preferred option there’s some good news; the chain, whose Mediterranean and Asianinspired dishes were once daily fuel for thousands of workers, has launched a range of ready meals at Sainsbury’s.
They’re not the first. itsu, Wasabi and nando’s already sell their customers’ favourites in supermarkets.
Leon’s decision to make its Aioli Mac ’n’ Cheeze Bites, and Coconut & kaffir Chargrilled Chicken, easily available is not just for fans’ benefit, but to boost sales hit by the pandemic.
Trading in the sector was down by 87 per cent in July this year, compared with the same period in 2019, according to industry body UkHospitality.
But can the taste of a supermarket meal ever measure up to the original? ROSE PRINCE finds out.
LEON
Sainsbury’s, meals from £2. Leon’S grocery range imitates the brand’s eco-friendly, natural theme. Dishes include its signature glutenFree Chicken nuggets, Baked Waffle Fries and Lentil Masala Dahling.
Brazilian Style Black Beans (400g), £3.50.
WHAT TO DO: Five minutes in the microwave. With a fruity sweetness and soft texture, this black bean curry with brown rice and quinoa topped with vegetables and pumpkin seeds was nicely cooked through. The rice was a little overdone but the pumpkin seeds added welcome bite. LIKE FOR LIKE? This has all the attitude of Leon, even if it is on the simple side. i’d definitely buy it again. 4/5 Dip Dip Hooray: Pea-Lentiful (150g) and Hummus with Extra Virgin Olive Oil (150g), £2 each. WHAT TO DO: Simply scoop out either of these dips and eat with warm pitta bread. The dips come ready dressed with good oil and tapenades. My initial reaction to the vegan pea-and-tahini-flavoured Pea-Lentiful was: ‘Ugh! A grey-green puree.’ But it looked better on the plate and the taste was wonderful — freshly minty, sweet not starchy and velvet-textured. Leon’s hummus was as nice as supermarket best. LIKE FOR LIKE? i’d be hap-pea to serve these. 4/5
ITSU
All major supermarket chains, Wholefoods, M&S, Market and Holland & Barrett. Meals from £1.75. EAST-ASIAN inspired chain itsu’s offering is most accomplished, with a mixture of ready meals, frozen food and meal kits.
its instant noodle pots make Pot noodles look crass and the dumplings are packed with fresh, traceable ingredients. Itsu Gyoza: Classic Prawn, 14 dumplings (240g) and Chicken, 12 dumplings (240g). Prawn £3.75; Chicken £3.50. WHAT TO DO: Steam, or boil for four minutes. otherwise sauté in oil for ten mins. Bursting with flavour, itsu’s chicken gyoza are one of the best preprepared meals on the market. The fact they’re frozen means i can stock up, too. But the prawn gyoza tasted dull and are best fried. LIKE FOR LIKE? A successful replication, these both match up to the real deal. 4.5/5
Spicy Vegetable Bao Buns, six buns (270g), £3.75.
METHOD: Steam for 10-12 minutes or microwave for one minute in the bags provided. Bao buns, soft as a bath sponge when perfectly cooked, are hard to pull off.
These are good but not totally successful — just soft enough when piping hot but hardening as they become cool enough to eat. The vegetable filling (carrots, wood ear mushrooms, cabbage and red pepper) was good, with authentic seasoning LIKE FOR LIKE? Tasty enough, but not quite like being in-store. 3/5
NANDO’S
From all supermarkets. Prices from £1.30. THE chicken chain sells its famous peri-peri sauces and meal kits nationwide. The kits are tailored to different cooking methods: spice mixes for barbecues, a ‘bag and bake’ set for the oven, and others that expect the cook to do more.
Peri-Peri Bag & Bake (serves four), both £1.35.
WHAT TO DO: You provide the chicken, bag it with the spices and bake. ready in 30 minutes. i liked the en papillotte method — putting the fresh chicken wings into the bag and shaking with the spice, before popping the lot in the oven, produces beautifully cooked, juicy meat. There are three versions, so you can choose your heat level. The lemon and herb was also excellent. LIKE FOR LIKE? it’s as if i’m there in nando’s. 4/5
Peri-Peri Meal Kit: Cornflake Chicken (496g, serves 2-3), £2.80.
WHAT TO DO: You put your own chicken in the sauce and cornflake crumb, then bake for 20 minutes.
What promised to be fun cooking — coating chicken pieces (not provided) with a sticky sauce, then a real cornflake crumb, was disappointing. The sauce turned the cornflakes slimy on cooking. LIKE FOR LIKE? not crispy enough to be from a restaurant. 2/5
WAHACA
Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and Ocado. Meal kits from £3.70. MASTERCHEF winner Thomasina Miers started a revolution when she launched Wahaca in 2007, a restaurant serving wonderfully fresh Mexican food.
The delightfully packaged kits in the small Wahaca range are based around ‘soft tortilla’ recipes, and come with spice mix, the breads and a sauce. Cooks need only to add the fresh ingredients for instantly good, all-natural food with a home-made feel.
Mexican Street Market Tacos – Sweet & Smoky Chipotle (409g, Serves 2-3), £2.76.
WHAT TO DO: You provide the chicken, sour cream, avocado and mint to go with this. Pan-cook the meat with the spices, then assemble with the tacos and sauce.
Wahaca’s spice mix goes into a hot pan with the chicken and a little oil for a few minutes. Then you add the spicy sauce provided, and put the whole lot in the lovely soft tacos. LIKE FOR LIKE? The end result is very Wahaca. Bravo! 5/5
WASABI SUSHI & BENTO
Sainsbury’s. From £2.25; meal kits from £3.50. When i first came across Wasabi it was just a takeaway in a train station; a bizarre sort of sushi pick ’n’ mix. it has evolved into a successful lunch spot that also serves Japanese ‘bowl food’ including rice dishes and yakisoba noodles with katsu chicken.
Six fried Chicken Gyoza served with soy and vinegar dipping sauce (105g), £2.25.
WHAT TO DO: The instructions say that these gyoza only need one minute in the microwave - or six to ten in the oven. But the microwave method does them absolutely no justice. instead, heat for eight minutes in the oven to really taste the freshness. There are nice notes of sesame oil, chive and shredded cabbage, and i also like the chicken skin, which amplifies the flavour of the meat. More in the pack would have been nice. LIKE FOR LIKE? if you oven -cook them, these are as good as Wasabi’s best. 4.5/5
GOURMET BURGER KITCHEN
Waitrose. Fresh burgers starting from £3. It’S interesting to see a burger chain expand into groceries, and GBK’s patties are very distinctive. The chain sprang out of one restaurant which opened in 2001, serving burgers with pure beef and good provenance. House relishes also available.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen 100% British Beef, 2 Gourmet Burgers (342g), £3.
WHAT TO DO: Simple —just grill and flip.
The size of these burgers is just right and the decent amount of fat they contain gives them great flavour. This makes the burgers paler than supermarket alternatives, but it’s important as the fat makes for tenderness. LIKE FOR LIKE? Just like! A truly posh burger. i’d buy again. 4/5