Sunday roast is one of my favourite meals, and I quite enjoy cooking it.
But, the idea of a slap-up Sunday feast arriving at my door, ready to eat and without the need for peeling, chopping and washing up, was pretty tempting.
Seeing a photo that one of my friends posted on Facebook, of a Sunday lunch she'd had delivered from Poacher's Brasserie, was enough to seal the deal.
Poacher's Brasserie is based in Thurlaston, and is one of a number of Leicestershire eateries that are currently offering a food collection and delivery service.
What’s available?
On a Sunday, you can choose from chicken, pork or beef roast dinners - available in a standard portion size for £12 or a children’s portion size for £8.
If someone in the family doesn't fancy a roast, that's not a problem as there's other main courses available, including various pasta dishes, chicken cacciatore, and a vegan burger.
There’s also three desserts on the menu - tiramisu, lemon tart, and wild berries Eton mess (£4 each).
I called up a couple of days beforehand to place our order, and spoke to a very cheerful-sounding woman.
I asked for our food to be delivered around 12pm and was told it could be with us for 12.15pm, which was fine.
It actually arrived on Sunday at 12.40pm by which point we were all feeling hungry, but the fact that it was a bit late didn’t really bother us as we weren’t going anywhere after all!
The meal
It wasn’t a completely contact-free delivery as the food had been transported in an insulated box to keep it warm. Therefore, it was passed to me (in paper bags) out of the box - but we were at two arms’ length from one another.
The food looked and smelled good as I unpacked the bags and plated it up. The meat and potatoes were delivered in plastic microwaveable trays, the Yorkshire puddings were wrapped in tin foil and the vegetables were in a foil tray. We also received a couple of pots of gravy.
There was a generous amount of food and the only difference between the children’s and the adults portions seemed to be a smaller amount of meat, but it was more than enough for our boys.
Simon and I both had beef which was wonderful - so succulent and full of flavour. The boys had chosen one pork dinner, one chicken dinner, and both of them enjoyed what they were given. The slices of pork were lean and tender and the half chicken breast was moist and had a pleasant flavour.
The Yorkshire puddings were large and provided a lovely combination of chewiness and crispiness.
The vegetables (carrot chunks, peas, broccoli and green beans) were cooked just to our liking, with a hint of crunch remaining in the broccoli.
There were two types of potato - superb roast potatoes, which were crisp and had a welcome hint of rosemary, and delicious creamy mash. I must admit, I thought it looked a bit sloppy when I was dishing it up, but once I’d tasted it, I was won over. The gravy - clearly homemade with meat juices - finished off the dish.
Dessert was good. A portion of the tangy lemon tart was eagerly eaten by the boys ( and described as ‘delish’ by my eldest son) and Simon and I shared a generously-sized slice of tiramisu.
We enjoyed the taste and the creamy texture, but were slightly disappointed with the fact is was very cold in the centre, which was likely due to it having been defrosted.
Food and drink deliveries during coronavirus lockdown
Verdict
We all thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday roasts, and the desserts were pretty good too.
It came to £48 for the four roasts and two desserts, which I wouldn’t choose to spend every weekend on a roast dinner. But, if you want to give yourself a rare day off from the cooking (perhaps so you can enjoy the sunshine in the garden instead!) then I’m confident you’d be impressed by a Poacher's Brasserie delivery.
Our rating: 4/5
Food hygiene rating: 5/5
