By Deciding on the best delivery service might be a hard task since there are many companies with a wide range of meal options. Some focus on organic food, while some just satisfy the clients with fresh and healthy ingredients. Is Home Chef good for a subscription? Let’s overlook all of its aspects.
Home Chef Meal Kits Review and Delivery Area
Home Chef is a meal kit provider that focuses on bringing people together around the dinner table. It helps people save time on cooking, and access delicious meal combinations. It weekly offers different dishes that may accommodate the cravings of both individuals and large families. One may find a healthy gluten free meal, vegetarian delicacy, calorie-conscious as well as carb-smart options. All the recipes are extremely easy to prepare, and they come with instructions if you are completely far from cooking experience.
The company currently delivers to 48 states. You simply need to enter your ZIP code to check whether your location is serviced by the provider. Note, there might be some restrictions regarding the delivery dates, hence, you should think in advance about ordering recipes.
How Much Does Home Chef Cost?
To learn the exact price, you have to decide on the plan you will be subscribed to. First off, you should click the button Get Started on the top right on their official website, and specify your plan. Afterward, you will see the price that will depend on the number of servings, and times per week you plan to cook with the service
As per their official statement, the meals start at $6.99 per 1 serving, however, by choosing a signature collection, and some adds-on, the price may even reach $19.99.
Home Chef shipping cost is approximately $6.99. Let’s see in detail their price policy on the examples:
- 2 servings + 4 meals/weekly = $71.92 + $6.99 shipping;
- 4 servings + 5 meals/weekly = $179.80 + $6.99 shipping;
- 6 servings + 2 meals/weekly = $107.88 + $6.99 shipping.
To cut the price on ordering with Home Chef, you may also use the third-party websites where the Home Chef discount code and Home Chef promo code are regularly mentioned for savings. Beyond that, the service has a kind of referral program. If you refer the company to your friends, and they start ordering prepared foods as well, you get $35.
Menu
Currently, Home Chef has two plans – Home Chef as well as Fresh and Easy. After choosing one of them, you have to proceed with specifying your meal preferences. For instance, with a Home Chef plan, you should choose whether you are an omnivore, carnivore, pescatarian, or vegetarian. Afterward, the service asks you about your dietary preferences – carb-conscious/calorie-smart. Finally, you have to complete with mentioning the foods you would like to avoid including mushrooms, nuts, shellfish, etc. Unfortunately, there are no options for vegan.
With the Fresh and Easy plan, you simply choose either carb-conscious/calorie-smart sub-plan and mention the foods you would like to avoid. Some people believe their menu is very limited. Yes, it is somehow true, as there are no plans for vegan, Keto/Paleo followers though you may find them with other services.
2021 Meal Options
Home Chef food delivery service offers delicious and adventurous meals to choose from their menu. Some may find them ordinary though if you look for something extra, you should go to the restaurant and order there. These meal kit delivery services usually play by taking traditional recipes and changing them by adding spices or healthy ingredients. Therefore, there is no reinvention of the wheel.
For instance, if you crave adventurous meals, you will be offered:
- Japanese BBQ burgers;
- Korean Fried chicken.
Quick and simple meals are:
- Crispy Caesar chicken;
- Apple and chicken salad.
Low-calorie meals are:
- BBQ shrimp pizza;
- Roasted Salmon with Ginger Scallion Sauce.
Carb-conscious meals are:
- Pretzel crusted pork;
- Chicken Taco stuffed peppers.
Vegetarian meals are:
- Crispy Teriyaki tofu tacos;
- Fig and goat cheese flatbread.
These examples are taken from the January 2021 offers.
Frankly speaking, their dishes are very delicious and combine many cuisines, however, the absence of more dietary restrictions might be frustrating for some people. You won’t find options for Kaleo or Paleo diet but still, Home Chef is great when it comes to vegetarian dishes. Beyond that, you may easily double-up, add, as well as swap protein on selected meals. If you do not know whether any dish is safe for you based on your dietary restrictions, you may also contact them directly to learn what you should or should not order with them for your safety.
Products Quality
Home Chef meal kit company is known for its high-quality products. While most products are organic, there might be occasionally some exclusions. For select dishes, you may swap to boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of regular chicken. Furthermore, Home Chef is believed to work with sustainably sourced seafood and care about Food Safety, and animal welfare.
Based on clients’ reviews, Home Chef is famous for its freshness when it comes to ingredients, hence, the quality is on a decent level.
Home Chef Review of Packaging
There are lots of Home Chef reviews claiming that the service uses too much plastic, and it is somehow true. Every meal is packed into a plastic bag. Nevertheless, they are all recyclable. Beyond that, every meal is delivered alongside a cold gel pack which ensures it is still cool before you eat it. Note, such cold gel packs are common with other companies as well, hence, there is no need to complain. You can also reuse them.
Finally, every box contains an insulated liner made of cotton and recycled denim.
Speaking of Home Chef’s contribution to the environment is hard. Yes, they do care about the recyclability of their packaging, however, they do not provide much information about the impact, and you may only assume. By summing up their packaging, it is worth saying that they do not differ much from other services though plastic could be occasionally replaced with paper bags where possible. If you want to recycle their boxes, you may refer to their FAQs page, where they share instructions on doing it properly.
Review of Home Chef Ordering Process
Similar to other meal kit companies, the whole ordering process occurs online. They have a very intuitive website where all steps are clearly described.
You have to click Get Started, choose your plan, then specify your email address, build a box by choosing the number of servings, and meals. Afterward, you check out by overlooking the correctness of the order and pay for it.
As of now, they accept major payment methods including American Express, Visa, and Master. Furthermore, you may pay with PayPal. The good news for students is that when ordering their first meal, they may get $50%.
All in all, the ordering process with Home Chef is super easy, and won’t make one puzzled. Note, you should regularly make amendments to your weekly recipes, otherwise, you will be sent default meals.
Reviews for Home Chef Support Team
Home Chef has a designated web page for support. There one may find FAQs. If there is no answer you are looking for, you may also reach them by submitting the request here.
Their customer support team works Mon-Fri from 9 am to 6 pm, Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm. Sunday is a day off.
Their website greatly lacks online chat where you may address your inquiry. Nevertheless, by reaching the help center, you will be treated decently and receive all answers to your questions. Their team is very responsive and does its best to leave a good impression on its services. Therefore, no complaints, as everything is decent and smooth.
Home Chef Is It Worth It?
I tried Home Chef several times to ensure there won’t be any unbiased opinions. Furthermore, before concluding on the service, I overlooked Home Chef bad reviews. Consequently, this meal kit service resulted in a great experience with delicious options for vegetarians, and people who want to eat more but without gaining weight. Their prices are quite low compared to similar services. You may also cut them more by using discounts and promo codes. What many clients may like is the discount for students as well, especially during these hard times. Finally, their customer support team is a very friendly experience, as they do care about meeting all your inquiries professionally.