How to eat well during a pandemic, from pre-mixed cocktails to Michelin home delivery
Another endless week approaches its inglorious mid-season finale. But what do we have to look forward to in the barren cultural landscape of November 2020? Well, restaurants may be closed but many canny entrepreneurs have turned their empty kitchens into home delivery hubs, allowing you to feast like it’s 1999, or indeed 2019.
Each week throughout lockdown we will round up our favourite home delivery services, from pre-shaken cocktails to paella kits complete with those massive pans.
Vallebona 
Take Cuvee 
Nutshell 
Fallow 
Restaurant Kits 
Crockers Henley 
Arros QD DIY Paella Kit 
Kricket 
Stein’s at Home 
Pied à Terre
Restaurant Kits
Restaurant Kits specialises in sending out ingredient boxes allowing you to create signature dishes from beloved restaurants. Pick from favourites including Dirty Bones, Pizza Pilgrims, Flank, Yum Bun and Scotland specialists Mac & Wild. Created by Mac & Wild co-founders, Andy Waugh and Calum Mackinnon along with Edward Alun-Jones, the kits have been a huge success since their launch during the pandemic.
Vallebona
Vallebona’s selection of Grazing Boxes promise to inject some excitement into lockdown life. The company is offering home delivery on the same foods it usually supplies to the likes of the River Café, Bocca di Lupo, Alain Ducasse at the Dorchester and Le Gavroche, right to your door.
Stein’s at Home
For a taste of Rick Stein’s famed seafood dishes at home, look no further than Stein’s at Home. Each box contains all you need to feed two people a delicious three course meal. All the preparation has been done by the Rick Stein team – you just need to cook it and plate up.
There are three boxes to choose from, The Hake Box, The Indonesian Curry Box and The Lobster Box, priced from £40 each. Dishes include grilled scallops with a hazelnut and coriander butter, Indonesian seafood curry with pilau rice and lobster thermidor. To round off the experience, add a bottle or two to the box, chosen by head of drinks and sommelier Charlie Stein.
Kricket
Indian-inspired Kricket will be running a Call & Collect Service at their Soho and White City restaurants. They will also deliver signature dishes such as their Keralan Fried Chicken, Hyderabadi Aubergine and King Prawn Moilee across London, as well as “Feast” menus for one or two people.
Crockers Henley
If you’re missing the mixologist in your life, head to the website of Crockers Henley, where you can find home-batch bottled cocktails available for home delivery. Crockers at Home cocktails are mixed by ex-Fat Duck mixologist Ryan Osnowski, who has been crafting mixes including Old Fashioned, Espresso Martini, Margarita, Negroni, Manhattan, Maverick Martini, Cosmopolitan and Daiquiri. There are also seasonal bottles of Gingerbread sours and eggnog mix ready to spice up a wintry evening. Prices start from £12 a bottle.
Pied à Terre
Michelin-starred Pied à Terre in Fitzrovia has launched a Vegan Feast home delivery. For £50, receive a three-course menu designed for sharing in the comfort of your own home. Dishes include Globe Artichoke & Pink Peppercorn Soup, Vegetable Green Curry with Lemon Pilau Rice, and Chocolate Mousse with Bananas & Toasted Desiccated Coconut.
Fallow
The sustainable restaurant on Heddon Street will deliver a host of signatures dishes throughout the month. On the menu will be its much-loved Corn Ribs, the Ex-Dairy Cow Burger, and Kombu Fries. Don’t forget to order some homemade sriracha sauce on the side.
Top Cuvée’s Take Cuvée
The team behind Highbury food and wine emporium Top Cuvée launched spin-off venture Shop Cuvée just as coronavirus really started to bite. As well as selling their expertly curated wine list by the bottle, the team has developed a line of home delivery meals.
Under the helm of head chef Will Blank (ex Lyle’s), menus will change daily and will be available to order for same-day delivery in London. They will also select natural wine pairings to complement each menu, and even send you a Spotify playlist to accompany your order. Meals, priced at £35 for dinner for two (before wine), come with simple heating instructions.
Nutshell
The St Martin’s Lane restaurant this week launched a home delivery service allowing you to “celebrate the wealth of flavours and diversity of regional dishes of Iran” from the comfort of your sofa. Delivery will be available every Thursday and Saturday from their website or for local London pick up, and will offer a special home kit for two, featuring seven dishes from their winter menu.
This week you’ll find Bazaar Bread with Zaytoun Barvedeh, an olive tapenade with pomegranate and walnut and their Mushroom Kotlets with barberry and burnt yoghurt; Mazandarani Lamb Halibut Mast; and a warming toasted flour tart with pistachio and spiced clotted cream. You can also order wine, cocktails or a house infused gin. Meals for two start at £55.
Arros QD DIY Paella Kit
These DIY paella kits are delivered nationwide by the three Michelin-starred chef Quique Dacosta. They include his secret recipe stocks, specialist bomba rice and famous paella pans with which to practice the art of paella making!
Your one-stop-paella-shop should be with you in 3-4 days after ordering, with kits starting from £76. If you’ve been promising yourself you’ll learn a new skill over lockdown, this could be for you.