Providoor Makes Family Meals a Breeze

Think restaurant quality meals at home are a dream? Think again!

Plus Inner West Mums gets 20% off Providoor – see code below

It’s a midweek night, the school run home has been epic, and the streetlights are already glowing by the time we hit our driveway (sound familiar?). Miss 8 has been asking “what’s for dinner?”, and I’ve given my husband (that evening’s designated cook) a meaningful look to ask what’s on the menu. As usual, he’s oblivious to my telepathic cues. I feel the start of a tension headache coming on and I wonder if we still have our stash of packet noodles.

Providoor delivery box (image courtesy of Providoor)

Thank goodness our box from Providoor is waiting on our doorstep – as per the ‘delivered’ text we received, it’s right on time. But had we been caught in traffic, I doubt the food would have suffered – there’s enough ice in the box to keep the meals fresh for several hours. Unlike meal kits, which provide ingredients and instructions, Providoor’s restaurant quality meals are cooked, snap frozen for freshness, and ready to be reheated. In fact, most dishes can be on the table in under 15 minutes.

Inside the insulated Providoor bag filled with ice packs and ready-made meals

Inside the box, each dish reads like a roll call of Australia’s fave chefs and meals: Manu Feildel’s ‘Beef Bourguignon’, Silvia Colloca’s ‘Classic Italian Lasagna ’, Anna Polyviou’s ‘Jam Doughnut Pie’, to name a few. With the mains being good for two, we decide on the Beef Bourguignon – always a winner at our house – and Silvia Colloca’s ‘Lemon Chicken Scaloppine’, and we scan the QR code to go through the instructions.

QR codes on Providoor meals link to straightforward instructions making meal prep even easier

“For optimum results, cook from defrosted,” the packet reads and I make a mental note to place Luke Nguyen’s ‘Butter Chicken’, also in our delivery box, in the fridge ready for tomorrow night’s dinner.

The easy-to-follow instructions are so fail-safe we encourage Miss 8 to join in preparing dinner. Soon there are pots on the stove, which the adults fill with boiling water, and we gently lower the trays into the simmering water. There are also microwave instructions for re-heating each meal, but we like to feel like we’ve had a hand in preparing our food so opt for the stovetop route.

Whilst the beef and chicken are happily reheating in their water baths, we pull out Manu Feildel’s ‘Pomme Purée’ (read mashed potatoes) and treat it to the same cooking technique: submerge in boiling water for 12-15 minutes. But we note that the cooking time halves if the meal is already defrosted (speedy dinner win!).

Plus there are also Chef Recommendations on each packet. For the beef bourguignon the chef suggests adding some finely chopped parsley before serving. So, we quickly dispatch Miss 8 to our herb garden.

For the Lemon Chicken Scaloppine, the instructions suggest pairing the meal with the Providoor ‘Foccacia’ and a serve of broccolini, so we throw some of our Turkish bread into the oven whilst my husband adds a few florets of broccoli to the boiling water on the stove.

Fifteen minutes later, or thereabouts, our dinner is ready to serve. And what a meal it is.

Manu Feildel’s Beef Bourguignon (image courtesy of Providoor)

Fork-tender and tasty, the beef comes with a stew spiked with pancetta, carrots and mushrooms and there’s a hint of richness thanks to the red wine. It’s delightful with the pomme purée and this goes down a treat with Miss 8 who gives it the thumbs up. This is one dish that most families will love so we suggest serving up at least two of these for families of four – or those with big eaters!

Whilst the generous serve of lemon scallopine, in a zesty sauce of capers and butter, with cannellini puree tastes like a summer’s day in every mouthful. The chicken is juicy and provides a good balance to the beef and we dip chunks of our toasted Turkish bread into bean puree, making our own tapas-style meal.

Silvia Colloca’s Classic Italian Lasagna (image courtesy of Providoor)

For restaurant quality meals, we all agree that each dish feels balanced and not overly seasoned or salty, so none of us come away from our dinner feeling heavy.

The evening meal is over in no time – and, even better, so is the cleaning up! In less than the time it took to prepare dinner (which if you’ve forgotten was 15 minutes), the plates are stacked in the dishwasher, the pots drying on the dish rack and Miss 8 is in the bath singing a song she learnt at school.

As the hubby and I settle into the sofa to sneak in an episode of Emily in Paris (we were late to the series ok?), we start wishing every mealtime could be this easy and effortless. And with Providoor delivering Monday to Friday across Sydney metro (with a flat rate of $19 or free for orders over $200), we might just get our wish.