(egg cracking)
(sizzling)
(cheerful music)
- Hello and welcome back to Sorted Food.
- Today we're going to try out two incredible meal kit boxes
to see if it's worth you guys spending your money on them.
- Now, boys, we've done so many of these in the past.
What is it you look out for from a meal kit?
- High quality ingredients.
- And an experience,
because this is often replacing going out for a meal.
So I think what you lose in hospitality,
you need to gain from an experience in your kitchen.
- For me, it's about pushing you out of your comfort zone,
giving you the ability to make something
in your own kitchen,
that you wouldn't necessarily be able to do otherwise.
- But most importantly, delicious food, right?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- Absolutely like that's a given.
(upbeat music)
- So we've got you a box and you've got us a box.
You're up first.
- Ready mate?
- Yeah, please.
- Oh, that's a big name.
- [Barry] Gordon Ramsay Restaurant.
- Heard of him.
- It has to be brilliant because he's put his name to it.
- [Ben] So this is Gordon Ramsay's signature
Beef Wellington at home.
This kit includes everything you need
to make this delicious dish for two.
- This is right up your alley because mashed potatoes made,
the red wine jus is made.
The Dulles, mushroom Dulles is already made.
- All the hard work has been done.
- It's just construction.
- There are 19 steps!
(laughing)
- How?
- [Barry] Step one, remove all the ingredients from the box.
- Tick.
- [Barry] Two, season the beef with salt and pepper.
And heat your frying pan
with one to two tablespoons of oil.
- [Mike] Sear it on all sides, preheated pan.
It did say that in the instructions,
until the meat is browned nicely.
- [Barry] Next up. Remove from the pan, brush with mustard.
- That is nice and brown.
Sealed, seared, off the heat.
- Brush with mustard.
The thing I love about these kits as well,
it almost makes you, it makes you fearless almost.
You start doing things and you stop thinking about why
you just follow the instructions.
- Lay out pastry parchment, roll out pastry,
brush with egg wash and place crepe in center.
- And this is the outsourced beauty
because I think pre-rolled, pre-made, good to go.
- Oh man, that is nice pastry, isn't it?
- Whoa, that is very nice.
That is not just shop bought puff pastry.
Yeah. Looking good.
- Okay.
So now we want to brush that with the egg wash.
- It's a bit dry in places.
- Shall I pass on your feedback?
(laughing)
- That's why I whispered it.
- So it comes with the egg wash.
- Yup. All right.
That and then place a crepe on top as well.
And I've never seen a square crepe before.
- Wow, oh yeah.
- It's a squ-epe.
- [Mike] It's a squ-epe.
(laughing)
- [Barry] Oh my goodness. Okay.
- So the text says place in the center,
the photo shows it in the center,
and Barry put it off center.
- Off center, yeah.
- To be fair it crept up on him.
- Well done, well done.
- Thanks mate.
- Okay, that is in the center.
It's pretty easy so far, isn't it?
- And you think, how much faff would have gone
to getting this point in?
- I know.
- Alone.
- I think when I made Beef Wellington for Christmas,
it took me an hour to make the pancakes.
- Okay.
Spread the mushroom Dulles over the crepe.
Ebbers, what's the mushroom Dulles?
- Think of it like a mushroom pate,
but it's kind of like cooked and sweated mushrooms,
chopped down into something that's very spreadable.
- [Barry] Step seven, placed the seared beef,
now that it's been chilled
onto the middle bottom half of the crepe.
Roll your Wellington, keeping the pastry
and filet tight.
- I kind of feel like having it towards you
and just rolling it round would've made more sense.
- Yeah, that's the way I would have done it.
- Aw, I can't stand you on the side.
- It's okay, I'm gonna be a right (beep) later.
(laughing)
- Egg wash it, all over.
- Using the back of a knife, score with desired pattern.
- I'm really annoyed about this.
- Mate, it doesn't matter
because, right, you don't serve it like that do you?
You cut it
- In slices.
- Into slices, so that's just for snacking.
- Snacking pastry.
That was a really good, you, nice.
Good positive slam.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.
And then we're going to take it out and it actually comes
with a probe and we're going to probe it.
And after 25 minutes,
hope that the center is at 30 degrees C.
Okay, it's been 25 minutes.
- Okay. Give me the probe.
- You are going horizontally
into the center of the Wellington. Take it out.
- I might not be bang in the center
- We've measured it, we've taken it out.
We're now letting it rest.
Because over the next 20 to 30 minutes,
it's going to come up from 30 degrees C up to 54.
We're talking about the center, which is then medium rare.
In the meantime, let's saute some cabbage,
heat some mash, heat some jus,
toss the cabbage in some salsa verde.
- Right now, I feel like a chef.
Everything under control, clean kitchen.
Which never happens,
especially if you're making a Beef Welly.
- So, one of the things we generally talk about
with these kits is packaging.
- There was plastic.
I mean, what more can you say.
- There was also this leaflet that tells you that
everything within that box was 100% recyclable
and tells you exactly how to recycle it.
- That is good.
- That feels really responsible to me.
- Barry, it's 54.
- Ooh!
- 54, 54, 54.
- You can stop now.
- Stop.
- You can stop.
- Stop.
- Well, that was brave.
- That was brave.
- Why would you do that?
Right, okay.
Now look at it.
It looks on that side.
- So it's all right, isn't it?
It's puffed up, it's got really nice color.
Nice criss-cross mate.
- So slice off both ends and then through the middle.
- So just there?
- Yeah.
- Then your meat, your cut through the middle
becomes your top.
- Ah, snacking pastry.
Yes. Snacking pastry, snacking pastry.
- And then right through the middle.
- Here we go. Here we go.
- How many fingers does it take?
- We don't do this enough.
This is like Ghost, but with a Wellington
Oh, mate, I can see the inside.
I can see the inside. I can see the inside.
- Should we, it's quite soft.
- Ta-da!
- Bang on!
- I would say that's perfect.
- Yeah, that's it.
- Plate on up.
- Barry, well done!
- Pipe it.
- Oh, yeah.
(dramatic music)
- Let's go for it.
- Oh, happy boys?
- Happy.
- Very happy.
- Well, I'm going just Welly first.
- Cheers.
- Oh yeah.
- That is amazing.
That's amazing.
- It's so good because the pastry alone is good.
Then the Dulles is good.
The jus is punchy like it's got such depth there.
- They've gone to town with all the Dulles
and the mashed potato as well.
It's laced with butter.
- So with the restaurant kit in general,
you like the restaurant, you trust them.
This is another level isn't it?
Cause you're like, he's got a lot riding on this
and it absolutely lives up to it.
- Have you tried the cabbage?
- Yeah. The salsa verde is amazing.
- There is an art to getting food 90% of the way
and to leave it at a place where
you can do the rest at home.
And that's what I think this does really nicely.
- Are we gonna talk about price?
- For two people.
Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington,
75 pounds.
- Okay.
Yeah, good.
- 37.50 per person.
- It feels like a lot to spend, but the name,
the quality having tasted it, if you can afford that,
I would say it a 100% delivers.
- But you're looking at least 38 pounds a head
in the restaurant and that's pretty much the same at home.
You just have to do a little bit of work.
- It's fun to make, it tastes great.
And there's a bit of sort of kudos by going,
"Yeah, we made the Gordon Ramsay Wellington Kit."
So for me, it's great.
It's really good.
(upbeat music)
- Your turn, boys.
- I don't know whether the cloches are getting smaller
or the boxes are getting bigger.
- I don't, it's perspective, but lift it anyway.
We have had an open, you know,
we just wanted to check everything.
- Okay.
I found a title, a shrimp boil
bringing New Orleans seafood to you.
- So we've been fortunate enough to travel to New Orleans
and experience a crawfish boil.
Well, this is as close as you can possibly get to that,
whilst living here in the UK.
- A stone of mussels.
- Wow.
(laughing)
- Shrimp.
- Wow.
- Look at the size of those.
- They're big shrimp, aren't they?
- Crab.
- Whoa!
- The one with the long legs, snow crab.
Oysters.
- What?
Oh, lovely.
Crystal hot sauce!
There's Crystal hot sauce.
- That's a box.
- [Mike] This is the Decatur's four-person shrimp boil
with added extras.
It's probably as close you get
to the New Orleans experience in the UK,
seasoned with our own secret blend of boiling spices.
- That meal was one of my favorites that we had
throughout that whole Lost and Hungry tour.
Not just because of the flavors,
but because of how it brought people together
around a kayak, which is what it was served in,
which is crazy to think about.
But that whole
everyone getting stuck in experience is amazing.
- Would you ever attempt to make
a crawfish or shrimp boil at home?
- I have not done. I would love to.
- The kit we ordered serves four,
but then we threw in added extras.
So the mussels, the snow crab,
and the oysters are all added extras.
So basically follow the kit, knock up a feast.
And we're going to eat very, very well.
- Can't wait.
- Instruction one, in large stockpot,
measure and then bring two liters of water
to a rolling boil.
Once at a rolling boil,
add shrimp boil seasoning and stir.
- What's next, boss?
- Slice one lemon in half
and squeeze into the water and throw it into the pot.
Do the same with half of the orange,
reserving half for later, along with the second lemon.
Also halve the onion and garlic and throw those in.
- [Jamie] Peel and all.
- So straight up.
- Yeah.
- Flavor.
- All the flavor, this has got your name all over it.
- Flavor bomb, just gone straight in there.
- But, I like this level of prep.
- Yeah.
- Cut in half, put it in.
- Yeah, it's nice.
- [Ben] Finally drop the raw potatoes into the water
and allow to simmer for 12 to 14 minutes.
- Oysters!
- So, start at this end.
(laughing)
So it's a bi-valve, you want to come in and pop the
(lips popping)
Up and down, up and down, up and down.
Boom!
- Do they look like good quality oysters to you.
- They look big, they look meaty.
They look really good and they don't smell fishy.
Snip the piping bag around an inch from the base
and proceed to pipe
about a tablespoon of compound butter per oyster.
It might seem like a lot,
but some butter will drip into the flames of the barbecue
creating flames that will give your oysters
that distinctive flame-licked flavor.
- We haven't got a barbecue going.
- Number one was start your barbecue,
use enough charcoal to get it very hot,
or preheat a grill.
Sprinkling a little Cajun seasoning
on each oyster will do for each.
Oysters in!
- Ebbers, once the potatoes are soft
go right ahead and throw in the corn cobs and sausage.
While waiting for the corn to cook
decant the garlic butter and warm over a gentle heat.
Tell you what, add some snow crab.
Why not?
- Why not?
Wow. They look great.
- All these mussels going in.
- All of these have been washed and de-bearded onsite
by our food team.
- Allow the pans to come to a vigorous boil again,
and we'll go in with the shrimp.
- This is great.
- Just, the smell in the room.
- Once that's back up to a vigorous boil,
we're going to add in the shrimp
and we're going to cut the heat.
- [Jamie] I'm adding in all the prawn juices too.
- They're just going to poach in the residual heat
of the stock.
- Oh.
- They don't shrimp on portions do they?
- Ebbers.
- Literally have no space in my--
- You've got a pile of seafood.
- Gotta get my crab out.
Give a shimmy, and back on top.
- If you are going to do this kit,
you need a massive, almost casserole dish, or bigger.
Don't you?
- You do.
- I mean, let's be honest.
- We have added the mussels,
and we have added the oysters,
and we've added the snow crab.
So like, I think the kit by itself, as the shrimp boil,
will be fine in a normal pan.
- Yeah, fair.
- What I like about the instructions
is that it lets you think ahead.
So you're going to set this for five minutes on a timer
just to poach the shrimp.
And it says,
this is a good time to call all shrimp eaters to the table
and ensure there are plenty of napkins.
- I love that.
I actually genuinely love that.
- Oh, nice. That's useful.
- That is really useful information.
- I'm also going to put my bread roll in.
If I'm honest,
it's not a huge amount of bread for all that fish,
but it's going in nonetheless.
- Oh, yes!
- Two more minutes on those.
- Doing a happy dance before it's even served up.
- I know.
- Smells so good.
- Honestly, the only gifts I ever buy people now
are restaurant kits.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- How many have you had from him?
- None.
- None?
- [Woman] None.
- Ed. Ebbers?
- No, not yet.
- Kirsch?
[Kirsch] Yeah?
- Has Barry ever bought you a restaurant meal kit?
- [Kirsch] No.
- You have no other friends.
So who are you buying these for?
Barry Taylor, that's who he's buying them for.
- Dear Barry, you've worked really hard this week.
(laughing)
Pour the boil through a colander over the sink,
remove and discard the onion and garlic,
and pour shrimp, sausage, potatoes, and corn
onto a newspaper-lined baking tray.
- It's brilliant,
because it makes you feel like you're doing a lot.
Cause there's quite a lot of steps,
but the steps are literally just putting stuff into a bowl.
It takes long enough for you to feel like
you've achieved something, but not too long
in which you've got bored and it's too long.
So it's actually perfect. Wow.
(upbeat music)
- I don't think there's any other way we can do this.
Boys, get in here.
- Yes.
- We're coming.
- Grab a fork, a claw.
Get your hands involved.
They've even gone to the effort of cutting the spines off
every prawn to make your job easy.
- Oh wow.
- That is excellent.
- Easy peel.
- So good.
- Love that.
- Cheers.
- Oh whoa, whoa.
- Yeah, it's got warmth to it, hasn't it?
- That is spicy!
- Lads!
- Oh my god!
- Go on, just go for it.
- Wow, that's stunning.
Wow, spicy sauce is spicy.
- Dip your, dip your tats in that.
- Okay, so we're not just going to eat
for the whole rest of the duration of this video.
Should we talk price?
- We got this shrimp boil for four people,
and with all the extras,
this came to 148 pounds,
without the extras is 75 pounds.
- Okay.
- So you're doubling the price pretty much.
- To be fair, we went all out
on probably an unnecessary amount of extras for four people,
but we
- The oysters alone were 33 quid.
- Yeah, you'd expect
- Quality right?
- That makes sense.
So 75 pounds for the shrimp boil,
that's the same price as your Beef Wellington.
- But it feeds twice the number of people.
- In defense to our Wellington kit,
that was like something very technical.
I think right here,
I'd describe this kit as a gateway kit.
- Oh.
- Because it's got the safety net,
you now know exactly how to make a shrimp boil
and it's absolutely achievable on your own.
- If you can get hold of that spice blend,
cause it's all about that spice blend.
- That's true, actually, yeah.
- And it kicks.
- Ebbers, final thoughts, both kits as a chef.
What are you saying?
- I think the Welly is a sense of accomplishment,
when you do that final carve.
I think that is perfect for like date night
or a special occasion or anniversary or a birthday for two.
This is more social, where it's effortless.
You cannot get it wrong.
And I think people will remember it for a long time.
But both cases, excellent, excellent quality ingredients.
- Well, you've heard our thoughts.
You've heard a chef's thoughts.
What do you think?
Which was your favorite and why?
Comment down below.
- And comment and let us know
what other meal kits have piqued your interest,
and should we trial next?
Because we are four hungry boys.
- We cannot possibly be hungry after today.
(laughing)
- [Mike] We have an app!
It's called meal packs and helps you plan
and then cook a week's worth of meals
using one set of ingredients, saving you money,
cutting down on food waste,
and answering the age-old question:
What should we have for dinner?
It's free to try for a whole month.
The link is in the description box below.
- Are you ready for this J?
There is everything in here. Spuds?
- Yes.
- Corn.
- Yes.
- Corn.
- Yes.
- And spuds.
- Yes.
- An orange. - Yes.
- A lemon. - Ooh.
- An orange. -Yes.
- A lemon. - Yes.
- Onion. - Yes.
- Some garlic. - Yes.
- An onion. - Yes.
- Some garlic!
- Yes!
(laughing)