Stay At Home Sunday Lunch by Off The Grid Food

Nicole Read

5 years ago

[AD – Gifted] I was kindly gifted a three course meal for two but I was under no obligation to write a post – just thought it would be nice to share a local recomendation!

Hands up if you’re missing going to your favourite restaurant, pub or cafe and having a good old fashioned Sunday Roast Dinner? I am!

It’s not quite the same when you have to make it at home and there’s something about having all the trimmings, starters and a pudding to follow that makes it even better – especially when you don’t have to worry about too much washing up!

We have been craving a Sunday Roast for a while and usually, we are pretty good at making one, but since lockdown, we just haven’t had the motivation.

Luckily, Off The Grid came to the rescue and pulled through when they messaged me to let me know about their local delivery offering.

Off The Grid Food are a Northamptonshire based catering company who pride themselves on using high quality local produce to provide you with an at home dining service – which is brilliant, because I have seen SO many people using and appreciating local food more than ever.

They kindly gifted Josh and I a three course meal from starter, to main and even pudding and extra’s all to enjoy from the comfort of our home which was incredibly generous.

So I thought it was well worth mentioning in a blog post so if you guys are after a Roast Dinner in Northamptonshire, I hope it gives you a bit of inspiration.

Ordering and delivery

Off The Grid were super efficient and organised when it came to jotting down our details down for delivery and were really precise with their delivery time, so we knew exactly when to expect our order.

Prior to delivery, we had the option of Pork Belly or Beef Shin (vegetarian options are available) and there was a range of sides on offer too. Of course, they asked for any dietary requirements, so you can be sure your order is made correctly.

Our delivery was estimated between 12:30pm – 1:30pm and it came pretty much on the dot at 12:30pm, so we were super thrilled! On my doorstep, three brown bags were left with everything and of course, social distancing was put in place.

Already, we were on a cracking start!

Inside each bag contained small containers, bigger cardboard boxes and also included an A4 sheet which consisted of heating instructions (super duper helpful and incredibly easy to follow) as well as a personalised note to both of us.

Little things like this make all the difference, especially the heating instructions, which meant it didn’t take us long to figure out what to do with each dish.

It’s also well worth noting that all their packaging is recyclable, from the containers, boxes and even the tin foil and all their ingredients come from Chambers Butchers, a local farmer in Spratton who they work closely with for their beef and you can be sure everything is home-cooked.

Starter

Off The Grid offer a soup of the day which varies depending on when you order. I always think a soup to start a Sunday Roast is traditional and you can’t go too wrong; it’s an easy but effective dish to wet the appetite before the main.

For our soup, we had a Celeriac soup which both Josh and I hadn’t come across before.

Heating instructions were super easy; just pop the container of soup in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and stir occasionally.

You could add water to it if you wished, or season it, but we both enjoyed the thick consistency of it and didn’t feel it needed seasoning.

Considering it had been packaged in a container, it didn’t lose flavour and it was packed with the sweet flavour of celeriac but had a hint of cheesiness to it, which we loved.

They were also kind enough to give us some crusty bread to go alongside the soup – the crunch of the bread was complimented perfectly with the smooth soup.

Main

I was obviously excited for our roast dinner, as it was the main event after all!

With an Off The Grid roast, we had a choice between Beef Shin or Pork Belly and we both decided we fancied the look of the Beef Shin. Along with that, it came with fresh vegetables, roast potatoes, a giant yorkshire pudding and a very generous pot of gravy.

Off The Grid also kindly gave us a side of cauliflower cheese (which FYI is the cheesiest I’ve ever had and I highly recommend!) and some parsnips too – which really completed the meal!

Again, everything was packaged precisely and it was really easy to heat everything up, either in the microwave or in the oven and we were able to serve everything within 10 minutes.

The highlights for me were the incredibly cheesy cauliflower cheese, which had so much cheese coated around, the yorkshire was puffy and soft, which dipped easily in my beefy gravy which tasted immense!

I love how you could tell all the vegetables were homegrown and the beef was so moist, that with every touch of your fork, it would just collapse. All the elements offered on our plate were just what I would wish for when thinking of the perfect roast dinner.

And if you’re worried about how this all fit on our plates, don’t worry, we managed to fit everything pretty well so there’s no overloading on food – it’s just right! There are other sides to choose from, whether you want a bit extra of something, or fancy swapping one item for another.

You will also be pleased to know that Off The Grid offer a vegetarian and vegan option of a nut roast and a beetroot wellington if that tickles your fancy.

Dessert

You couldn’t go too wrong with our dessert as it was something both Josh and I approve of. Chocolate Brownie with a side of toffee cream.

With the brownie, you have the option to eat it cold or heat it in the microwave, but as it was served with a cold toffee cream, it felt right to heat it up and let the toffee cream melt on top.

And oh boy, we were right to do so! The oozy melted chocolate brownie with the sweet and soft toffee cream on top was a delight!

I can see why they decided to use toffee cream, instead of ice cream, as due to logistics, I can imagine that’s pretty difficult to deliver, so toffee cream is a perfect alternative.

The brownie felt and looked homemade, which made it taste even better.

I thoroughly recommend this service to anyone looking for a decent Sunday Roast Dinner that takes away all the fuss of cooking and preparing; but simply heat in the oven or microwave, and enjoy!

There was hardly any washing up to do, other than a few plates and all the packaging could be put away in the recycling bin, so it really was no fuss at all.

Our starters, mains, with the extra side of cauliflower cheese and parsnips, followed by the desserts would have cost £38 all together, which for two people is pretty decent considering everything is cooked and packaged for you – it’s like restaurant standard to be enjoyed at home.

Check them out on Instagram for more info on how to order.