Well, I did it. I got a Hello Fresh subscription. I don’t know how long I’ll have it. I don’t know whether I’ll have the motivation to cook the meals in a timely way so nothing goes to waste. If I don’t, I’ll cancel.
But here’s what I do know: they’re delicious. Really. I’ve eaten many Hello Fresh meals because of friends who subscribe. In some cases I even cooked them myself. So at least the quality of the food and the recipes are not in doubt. In my experience the end result is as good and as reliable as anything you make from an America’s Test Kitchen recipe.
So, what’s the value proposition of a meal kit service like Hello Fresh? Obviously it saves you the trouble of shopping for recipe ingredients at the grocery store. But I think the real value is in your refrigerator. You never have to wonder what you’re going to do with the rest of the cilantro, Greek yogurt, scallions, etc. that you bought at the store. That is, you no longer have to manage an inventory of perishable items in your fridge because they only send you what you need for that recipe and no more. You use it all to make the dish and that’s it.
For people with large families and busy kitchens, maybe this isn’t a big problem. But for a couple or a single person the anxiety and food waste can be enough to keep them out of the kitchen altogether. Hello Fresh solves this dilemma. Now you can have home cooked meals every night–complete with sides, sauces and garnishes–with nothing in the fridge but beer and lunch meat.
So my first delivery is on Monday. Wish me luck. And motivation.