With Auckland now in Alert Level 3 again talented Cookalong chefs Nic Watt and Darren Johnson have extended their gourmet meal delivery service to include a new Heat & Eat delivery option, available seven days a week in Auckland with the menu changing every second Friday.
The new Essential Eats box is $98 and contains two Heat & Eat chef prepared meals, catering to a family of four to five for two nights. With three menu options available, customers get to choose two of the three options. Order cut off is 3:00 pm the day prior for contactless delivery 3:00 pm-5:00 pm the following day. Delivery is free within a 5 km radius of Auckland CBD, $15 outside of the 5 km radius. This week’s options (for delivery 18-24 August) are listed below. For more see www.cookalong.co.nz.
- Cottage Pie with Green Bean Salad/ Feta and Yoghurt Dressing
- Cannelloni with Green Bean and Roasted Capsicum Salad
- Chicken and Mushroom Pie with Roasted Cauliflower Salad
Auckland chefs Nic Watt and Darren Johnson launched the new venture called Cookalong – a gourmet food delivery service offering fresh, pre-prepared restaurant quality ingredients and meals just two weeks ago and have been pleased with the response. The initiative reflects international platforms that have seen independent restaurant operators join forces to launch restaurant quality meal kits through on line ordering.
Watt is the name and face behind three Auckland restaurants – SKYCITY’s MASU, Orakei’s Akarana Eatery and Newmarket’s INCA – while Johnson is a long-time friend and colleague of Watt, having been executive chef at MASU and now co-owner and culinary director at INCA. Both chefs are committed to creating recipes for their customers using only the best local, seasonal and fresh produce.
With menus that change weekly*and delivered every Tuesday, most of the hard work is done in the restaurant. All meals require 30 minutes or less of preparation and/or cooking time with customers able to simply sauté and serve or heat and eat. Each recipe card includes easy to follow instructions and also includes the full recipe, “Cookalong from Scratch”, to recreate those favourite dishes at home. Cookalong’s product offering includes:
The Four-Night Gourmet Dinner (subscription service): From $180 or $22.50 p.p. per night (serves two or more) – sauté and serve chef-prepared dishes with restaurant sauces and prepared garnishes, such as a Beef and pumpkin ragu with orecchiette and lemon gremolata or the Master stock braised pork belly with daikon, shiitake mushroom, rice and bok choy.
The Three-Night Family Heat and Eat (subscription service): $150 or $12.50 p.p. per night (serves four) – delicious meals like the Chicken, mushroom and hidden vege pie with wood-roasted cauliflower almond salad or the Beef cheeks and parsnip mash/ tomato, broccoli and toasted almond salad, that customers can simply heat, eat and enjoy.
And The Three-Course Date Night: $99 or 49.50 p.p (serves two) – sauté and serve chef-prepared dishes, such as Salmon tartare (entrée), Ginger miso free range chicken breast on roasted corn puree with spinach and ruby grapefruit salad (main), and Vanilla bean rice pudding with roasted spiced pineapple (dessert). *Date Night menus change fortnightly.
Watt says the Cookalong concept of having chefs do the food prep and inviting diners along for the ride by finishing the meals in the comfort of their own homes originated pre-pandemic, but development was fast-tracked during lockdown.
“Not everyone can dine in and there are occasions where you want a no-fuss but delicious meal solution in your own home,” he says. “Darren and I will draw on our experiences both in the restaurant and through our travels to create and deliver dishes that we would be proud to serve our friends and family at home.”
In addition to the meals, the chefs have launched a Pantry Shop which sells some of Johnson’s popular sauces from INCA, including a Habanero sauce, Smoky BBQ sauce, Pickled Chilli Salsa and Pickled Red Onions, which can be ordered as an extra when ordering any Cookalong product.
For more information go to www.cookalong.co.nz
* Date Night menus change fortnightly.
