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Let’s start with all the cards on the table -- this post may be as hard for you to believe as it was for us to write. As you might expect from people obsessed enough with ingredients to have a weekly column on a single vegetable, when it comes to pre-prepared meals the bar to enjoyment is set rather high. So the invitation to Fresh Direct’s launch of “Fresh Dining by Terrence Brennan” – a line of fresh food, vacuum packed for microwave dining at home -- was accepted with hearty skepticism.
Brennan (the chef behind Picholine and Artisanal) and his team, using his multi-European style as the jump off point, developed eight meals with an astonishing level of deliciousness achieved straight out of the microwave. This feat is accomplished by starting with extremely fresh raw and partially cooked ingredients, adding in just the right amount of moisten agents (butter, stock), and deploying a French designed high-tech cooking vessel that acts as a mini pressure cooker. This formula allows for dishes as varied as Winter Squash Ravioli with Roasted Autumn Vegetables to Chicken Saltimbocca with Yukon Gold Gnocchi to Boneless Rack of Lamb (arrived medium/medium-rare!) with Orzo to come out so perfectly you might consider eating in more often. Truth be told, numerous versions of these dishes taste better as Fresh Dining meals than they have at assorted restaurants we have visited over time. This no easy accomplishment in light of the fact that some of the meal components are delicate items that one might expect to lose their integrity during the trip to microwave – gnocchi, swiss chard and shrimp from the microwave? You bet. This kind of high-end convenience comes at a price, ranging from $9.99 for shrimp and chicken dishes to $16.99 for fancy items like lamb; salmon and trout fall in between.
When we spoke to Fresh Direct reps, they reiterated their commitment to the customers' evolving needs and believe this line of products serves them in a pattern that hews to their efforts at servicing their base. In the past these efforts have meant reviewing customer complaints for tips on improving service, sending over free items after delivery issues or buttressing Thanksgiving delivery service with a roving set of SUV’s carrying back-up supplies for orders with missing items.
To that end, in addition to building out this line of dinners to include other chefs' creations (look for announcements soon) covering a variety of styles and ethnic food categories, they are working on ways to make it easier for consumers to gain access to them outside of ordering them with groceries. Currently numerous large companies around NYC stock pre-packaged Fresh Direct meals in corporate kitchens so that they can keep employees from leaving for lunch (Wall Street types) and Fresh Direct is working on a plan to bring the meals to vending machines at office buildings and other locations around the city.
Fresh Direct also has a weekly program running that has their corporate president selecting some products to sell for a 50% discount, current offerings are here.
Editor's note: At the end of the event more meals were sent home with each guest. Fresh Direct, upon learning that there was a microwave deficiency with this taster, sent over one so that we could taste the full line. This microware is now en route to Housing Works thrift store as a donation.
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anybody have any coupons for fresh direct??
um... pat on the back for sending the microwave to housing works?
ummm...no. i think the writer is just making clear that there is no conflict of interest or exchange of goods in return for a positive review.
Hmmm...I tried them (love Artisanal), but I didn't think they were that good. The microwave gave the chicken a weird texture. But maybe that's just the chicken dishes.
Yeah, it seemed that some tinkering with the cooking times was necessary for us to end up with optimal results. That may have been your issue as well.
Someone please decipher this sentence for me:
"Truth be told, numerous versions these dishes taste better as Fresh Dining meals than they have at assorted restaurants we have visited over time."
#6 -
I think they are saying that some of these microwaveable meals taste better than meals they (Gothamist) have eaten at restaurants. In other words, (for example) FD's microwaveable gnocci beats gnocci they've had in certain restaurants.
Wells fin hard to predict each microwaves cooking time. Microwaves are like european girlfriends, they each have there own unique personality, but once you master it they will serve you well with little maitenance.
I've tried the moroccan salmon & winter squash ravioli and will order both again.
I love comforting seasonal dishes, and would probably like the Winter Squash Ravioli with Roasted Autumn Vegetables mentioned above, but if one serving has 34 grams of fat (17 saturated) and 1260 mg of sodium, that defeats the purpose of fresh, raw, delicious ingredients. At least for me. The nutritional information looks more like an analysis of a fast food hamburger, with the exception of the high vitamin levels.
For those readers experiencing deja vu, this isn't the first time Gothamist has covered the Fresh Dining from Fresh Direct story:
http://www.gothamist.com/archives/2006/02/13/fresh_dining.php
So they're more expensive now (they were $6.99 - $9.99 back then, and they're $9.99 - $16.99 now), but Gothamist also gave them a horrible review back then. ???
Hopefully the price increase is due to an upgrade in the quality of food. Or maybe FD paid off Gothamist to give them a good review this time, and they're trying to make their money back.
Anyone have fresh direct promo codes or coupons???
gothamist once again, approximating food coverage and approximating english.
btw, wouldn't it be nice to disclose that your weekly -- and exceedingly pedestrian -- vegetable selections coverage was stolen from new york mag?
There will be hits and misses and remember it is mass produced so it's fat and salt levels are designed to appeal to the masses. What it cannot provide is specific personal palate pleasing tastes and flavors as you can when cooking for yourself. As a Personal Chef I can tell you that's why there's an increase in our volume, people need the convenience offered here but want it customized to meet their needs. FD is on the right track by improving quality and expanding its appeal, but at the end of the day it's still factory cooked food!
Does anyone know how they make money vs. all the cost associated with business?
I tried to the meals this summer and they were not good... Also Fresh Direct's service is in question. I'm waiting to see if they plan to honor my order of a Turkey on 11/10 - when I added to the order today - it popped up saying no Turkey's available until 11/28 along with several other key T.G. items... They also threaten that if you cancel an order after 11/19 you will be responsible for paying for half... No committment to the customer - the free microwave is definitely suspicious...
I feel like an empty room, but eh. Nothing seems worth doing. I haven't gotten much done today.