Dinnr: a review

A few months ago the very lovely people at Dinnr got in touch and asked if I would like to review their service. What is Dinnr? Good question. Promising to bring cooking back into the lives of busy people, it’s a takeout service offering fresh and organic meals couriered straight to your door. The twist is – you cook it yourself. There are quite a few similar services out there – like HelloFresh and Gousto – so I set out to see if Dinnr really cut the proverbial mustard.

Unboxing the Farmer’s Choice meat box

These past couple of boxes have been moving slowly, for which I do apologise but can blame on work and life in general. It’s really quite spectacular to think that since September I have made my way through six different meat boxes. My next and seventh box is slightly different to the others – it’s from Farmer’s Choice, an online butcher that acts as a collective for local free range farms. Farmer’s Choice isn’t a farm itself and also offers products at a slightly lower price point, I suspect because everything is delivered flash frozen. I will disclaim that I was approached (and flattered!) by Farmer’s Choice to feature their stuff on my blog, and having found them an interesting proposition, I said yes.

Mini Buffalo Wellingtons

I’ve tried mozzarella and ricotta from the Laverstoke buffalo to great satisfaction – now it’s time to move on to the meat itself. The premium piece in my Laverstoke meat box was a buffalo fillet. I immediately knew what I wanted to make: an alternative to Beef Wellington. I haven’t seen the buffalo version done anywhere on the internet, BUT I first got the inspiration from reading Obama Foodorama, which reveals that Bison Wellington was served to David Cameron at a White House Dinner in March. I love it!

Roaming Roosters competition giveaway!

Hello dear meatheads, and apologies for the nonexistent posts. I’m abroad on a little trip but will be back to London (and my meat-stuffed freezer) very soon. In the meantime, I hear the weather in the UK is still horrendous, which is perfect for the purpose of this blogpost… to announce my first competition giveaway!

Roaming Roosters, who were last month’s featured meat box, are generously giving me one Winter Warmer Selection Meat Box to give away, in celebration of the launch of their brand new website. The Winter Warmer Selection is worth £39.95 and includes a selection of hearty cuts for family meals – such as a  whole chicken, brisket joint and a shoulder of lamb on the bone.

To enter:

1. Subscribe to Meat in a Box by clicking “Subscribe via email” on the blog home page.
2. Go to Roaming Rooster’s website to find your answer to this question: Which member of the Mellin family started the family farming business, before it even came to be know as ‘Roaming Roosters’? Clue: look at the ‘Our Heritage’ page!
3. Email your answer to meatboxing@gmail.com by 1st May 2012. The winner will be picked at random and notified via email (competition is open to UK residents only).

Good luck!

Laverstoke organic black pudding

Black pudding can be rank, or it can be delicious. I’ve never experienced the latter, but mind you I’ve not eaten much black pudding in the first place. It’s one of those few English ‘delicacies’ whose taste I never understood, and I’ve generally chosen to stay away from it. I think one of my latest encounters with black pudding was when I tried the Hawksmoor Breakfast for Two (which can only be described as epic). Even then, I turned down the black pudding and slurped up the bone marrow instead.