10 DIY Food Kits To Try During Lockdown

Restaurants are finally opened their doors again, as lockdown restrictions were lifted further this weekend.

If you’re not feeling ready to venture outside for dinner just yet but are lacking for inspiration on what to make at home, you’re in luck.

To keep themselves going during lockdown many restaurants have launched at-home DIY food kits that include instructions and all the ingredients you need – meaning you don’t even need to pop to the supermarket if you don’t fancy it.

But is it as easy to make these dishes as they say? From juicy burgers to creamy pasta, we tried 10 kits to find out.

Prepare to salivate.

The Cheese Bar

If cheese makes your heart, or rather stomach, sing, The Cheese Bar is here to serve you. We recommend the cheese toastie kit. Sure, it sounds a bit basic, but it’s anything but – this is a luxury snack of sourdough bread stuffed with Brue Valley organic butter, Quicke’s cheddar, Ogleshield cheese mix, red onion, cornichons. It’s the perfect afternoon treat, and there’s a posh goat’s cheese version, too.

Price: £10

Where to buy: https://www.thecheesebar.com/

Burger & Beyond

Oh sweet heavenly meat. Burger and Beyond’s burger kit is exactly what you need on a hangover, a lazy Sunday or to treat yourself to an extra juicy lunch. The kit includes the brand’s 35-day aged beef, demi brioche buns, American cheese, pickled onions, pancetta bacon and burnt butter mayo – enough for four people (but you’re going to want to keep them all to yourself).

Price: £25

Where to buy: https://burgerandbeyond.co.uk/

Pasta Remoli

Consider this a warning – once you’ve tasted fresh pasta, you won’t want to go back to the dry stuff. Pasta Remoli has a range of flavours to choose from, including a truffle-themed kit with two types of pasta, stuffed ravioli and tagliatelle, and the creamiest pre-made mushroom sauce you will ever eat. And as an extra treat, a tiny bottle of white truffle oil.

Price: £35

Where to buy: https://www.pastaremoli.co.uk/

Pasta Evangelists

If your idea of pasta is a bit of pesto and parmesan, the Pasta Evangelists are here to expand your foodie horizons. The menu changes weekly, with three dishes on offer – this is the fancy stuff. Coming up in July is ‘Venice Week’ – featuring duck ragù, beef shin & Valpolicella wine tortelloni and crab ravioli. Your taste buds won’t know what hit them.

Price: From £6.75

Where to buy: https://pastaevangelists.com/

Kodawari

Please let us introduce you to FLOC Market – a digital food market that you will probably become obsessed with (or is that just us?). You can order pretty much anything; from baked goods to deli dishes, produce to alcohol. If you must choose just one thing, go with Kodawari’s ramen with sous vide chashu pork. You can even add-on the brand’s own super cute ceramic bowls, wooden spoons and chopsticks.

Price: £22 (food) and £40 (bowls)

Where to buy: https://floc-market.co.uk/

Dishoom

Fed up with good old regular naan bread? It’s time for an upgrade, and Dishoom is here to provide with its brand new bacon naan roll kit. It includes smoked streaky bacon from Ramsay or Carluke, three doughballs, fresh coriander, cream cheese and tomato chilli jam, best paired with Darjeeling tea and chai spices (also included). Have a baking date with your housemates, partner and family, or just get kneading on your own.

Price: £16

Where to buy: https://www.dishoom.com

Truffle Burger

Obsessed with everything and anything truffle? Then prepare your taste buds because this isn’t your average burger. There are two versions, the beef bacon blend patty or the 90-day aged beef patty – but we tried the former, topped with fig jam, raclette cheese and crispy shallots stuffed into a brioche bun. And of course, truffle mayo. Let’s just say that there is enough in the kit to make burgers for four people, but we refused to share.

Price: £25

Where to buy: https://truffle-london.co.uk/

Feast Box

Stuck in a cooking rut of bland pasta and chicken dishes? Give Feast Box a try – the company will deliver a box filled with fresh ingredients, and simple ingredients to follow for an amazing meal like roasted cauliflower with tahini (amazing), vegan feijoada (also amazing), firecracker chicken, Turkish gozleme, prawn dumplings and so much more. The menu changes on a regular basis, so that you can experiment. Food will never be boring again.

Price: From £5

Where to buy: https://feastbox.co.uk/

Dough-Re-Me

The best part about making pizzas at home is that you can control how thick you want the base to be, but the worst part about making pizzas at home is making the dough (and then waiting for it to rise). Not anymore! The pizza kit arrives with the dough (48-hour fermented Caputo flour dough) ready to go, so you can get straight to the fun stuff. Top with the secret recipe tomato base, made with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, basil and parmesan. Or go wild, and throw on whatever you have in your cupboard/fridge.

Price: £15

Where to buy: https://www.dough-re-me.co.uk/

Not On The High Street

But what is a meal without dessert? For something sweet, we recommend trying your hand at the delicate art of making macarons. It requires some technical skills and is on the more difficult side of baking, but we had so much fun making them. The only downside is that the kit only comes with the dry ingredients, so you’ll need to swing by the shop to get the additional bits – but it does include a macaron shape guide, greaseproof paper and piping bags.