Phil Howard's Food to Go
There are DIY meal kits, veg boxes and takeaways galore these days, but trying to find delicious, restaurant-standard food delivered can be a challenge.
The foodie dream team that is London restauranteur Rebecca Mascarenhas and chef Phil Howard collaboratively run Michelin-starred restaurants Elystan Street and Kitchen W8 (in Chelsea and Kensington respectively) and the celebrated Church Road in Barnes. Whilst all three restaurants are back open and operating a safe and no doubt delicious dining experience, these three kitchens have also joined forces to create a seriously delectable delivery service.
The menu changes weekly and it’s a three-course affair, with each dish already cooked and requiring some simple finishing at home. Deliveries are made on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays (Sunday lunch is delivered on a Saturday), so it is a treat designed for the weekend.
My bag of tasty tricks arrived on a Thursday afternoon, complete with printed menu and simple cooking instructions, which had everything that needed to go in the fridge conveniently highlighted. Within minutes I was reluctantly back at my desk, where I clock watched until dinner time.
First things first – cocktails. We tried the Mai Tai and the Daquiri – both pre-mixed and delivered in individual glass bottles. All I needed to do was shake and poor over ice. Ideal. Both hit the spot – particularly the Mai Tai, a deliciously fruity, rum-heavy concoction.
Every order comes with a loaf of really good sourdough and a chunk of English butter – so I then diligently sliced that up and laid the table.
Starters were a beautifully silky butternut soup with brown butter and a roasted Marcona almond pesto, and a vongole, which is something I wouldn’t necessarily attempt to cook from scratch at home, despite being very fond of it. All of the components came neatly packaged and labelled – it was simply a matter of refreshing the pasta in a pan, adding the sweet, tender clams, the sauce, a sprinkling of fresh parsley and chilli et voila! It was absolutely delicious.
For the main course, I had a deliciously rich and comforting melted onion, Beaufort and cep tart – autumn on a plate – which came with juicy butter lettuce and a zingy vinaigrette to go with. There was even a small tub of freshly grated parmesan to sprinkle over the tart.
The other main was a large, perfectly cooked salmon fillet, which simply needed a quick reheat. It came with crushed potatoes and a creamy crab mixture, which I popped in a pan and mixed together along with spring onions and zesty lemon before serving with crunchy, salty sea vegetables. It was perfectly balanced, fresh and deeply satisfying.
So far, so good, and the pudding did not let the side down either; we shared the mouth-wateringly crisp, sweet, sticky baklava which was packed with chopped pistachio and almond and served with jammy roasted figs and generous pot of light and creamy crème diplomat. Every mouthful was a pleasure.
The grand finale was three beautiful cheeses; which came with freshly baked seeded crackers and a lovely zippy chutney. What a feast it was.
Having eaten at Church Road, I had my suspicions that the delivery dishes would be good, but I was also nervous; no matter how talented the chef and how good the produce, the logistics involved in ‘food to go’ more often than not can mean that the quality of the finished product often suffers, but not in this case. Each delicious dish was on par with what I would expect when eating in one of Phebecca’s fabulous restaurants.
Yes, the price tag means that it is perhaps not a meal for every night of the week, but if you’re celebrating, shielding or simply want something truly delicious to look forward to and really relish at home, then this is it.
Available Thurs-Sun. Local delivery (£7) or collection from Elystan Street or Church Road available. Minimum order £40 pp, orders to be made by 6pm on the day before your chosen dining date. churchroadsw13.co.uk
