Last Saturday I sat opposite Dave, eating at a table set with candles and linens. We ate asparagus with mozzarella followed by sea fresh monkfish, lemon syllabub and the finest French cheeses. Where were we? Not in a fancy restaurant, just in our little kitchen enjoying our dinner party in a box from the new and rather exciting Foodelity.

New to the ‘food delivery service’ market, they offer something a little bit different to the other brands out there. Foodelity focuses on special meals, dinner parties rather than weeknight cooking. They source the finest ingredients and come up with menus to suit everyone – from their busy bee menu (designed to be prepped and cooked in under 90 mins) to completely bespoke where you select each course individually. A sommelier can advise on wines to suit every course and they even offer a whole range of cheese boards. Happy days!

Foodelity - dinner party in a boxFoodelity Recipe Cards
Foodelity ingredients

I spoke to founder and Managing Director Simon Granshaw to find out more! 

What made you give up your job and start Foodelity? 

I have a long-standing passion for food, great British produce. Since graduating from university had an eye on starting my own business when the right opportunity presented itself. Cooking dinner parties I was frustrated with the quality of produce available in the local area – although we have some great farm shops nearby it was considerable effort to source all of the ingredients, so the idea for Foodelity was born. I learned a lot from my time working in the city but was never drawn to any of my roles as a long-term career, so last year I decided that the time was right to develop the idea into a viable business. I now get to spend my days working with beautiful ingredients and wonderful producers which I love.

How do you differ to the other food box delivery companies out there? 
I think the main difference between Foodelity and other food box delivery companies is that we are focused on providing outstanding meals for events and special occasions. Dinner parties, special dinner for 2, family lunches, etc with multiple courses. To do this we offer a wide selection of starters, mains, desserts and cheeses. We also offer matching wines for our customers to choose from. And recipes suitable for the novice to the experienced cook, and provide meat, fish, vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Who are you targeting with Foodelity? Do you have a certain type of person in mind?
Who comes up with the recipes? 

We are trying to target 3 main areas with our products. Firstly, people that want to have access to the finest ingredients to cook with; secondly, customers who like the recipe cards to assist them through the cooking process; and finally, the convenience of having the entire package delivered to your home or office ready for the evening or next day. So far we have found our main customers to be working professionals and busy mums. They appreciate the ability to turn out an amazing meal for their friends and family, without the time and effort spent finding recipes and sourcing produce.
I mainly come up with the recipes by myself with some input from our consultant chef. My thinking is that if I can cook it, then there is a good chance that the average customer will be able to do so as well. We have tried to get a good balance between classic dishes and more adventurous options to appeal to different tastes, and every dish is tested by our focus group before it goes on the website.

You have some fantastic suppliers, do they ever suggest menus to you? For example, whats in season or what they can get hold of? 

Thanks, we think our suppliers are brilliant and allow us to offer the very best products to our customers. We consult with them on a regular basis to find out what British produce is in season and base our menus around this. For example, we will be launching autumnal dishes in September offering more game and root vegetable options, and our offering will continually be updated throughout the year to reflect when ingredients are at their best.

Anyway, back to our meal: 

We had the busy bees menu which consisted of asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with mozzarella, bacon wrapped monkfish and a simple lemon syllabub. We also had the strong and sumptuous cheese board to follow. The recipe cards were clear and concise and the ingredients were well packaged.
The quality of the ingredients was second to none. The fish came from Fowey Fish in Cornwall, the meat from Aubrey Allen who supply The Fat Duck, Le Manoir and more. The cheeses came from The Fine Cheese Co, based in Bath.
To start – Asparagus, Mozzarella and Proscuitto Parcels with Rocket Salad. Salty ham and gooey cheese with the cut through of peppery rocket and basil. What’s not to love?

For main: Bacon wrapped Monkfish Tail with Oven Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and New Potatoes. I’d never cooked Monkfish before but it was meaty and really delicious. I wouldn’t have put thyme with fish but it really worked well.

Monkfish wrapped in Bacon
Something sweet for pudding: Lemon Syllabub with Crushed Amaretti Biscuits. Simple, refreshing and spot on.
Lemon Syllabub

Finally, although we barely had room, we squeezed in the cheese – we opted for the French range and it was beautiful, including Tomme de Savoir, Morbier, Crottin de Chavignon and a lovely Camembert, not for the faint-hearted! The Lime and Chilli jam was particularly delicious and went perfectly with the Morbier.

What a treat! To have such fine ingredients at home was a joy. And the recipe cards were clear and simple to understand. Foodelity is not cheap but for a special occasion, worth the price. If you want to try a box for yourself, save 10% with code FJAX10. Spend over £50 and get a free cheeseboard with code GINGEYBITESCHEESE. 

0 thought on “Foodelity – Dinner Party In A Box”
  1. I'd been looking forward to this review since you told me about your little dinner party 🙂 Definitely going to take some inspiration from the dishes – thyme with fish is an interesting one! xx

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