Review: we test out Folly gourmet meal kits

Oh, that glorious focaccia? Yeah, I made that with my bare hands…

It’s been a long ol’ few months, and you can’t be blamed if your food game is coming up short: there’s only so many times you can order Deliveroo before it gets absurd, or open up a can of whatever’s left in the back of your cupboard. You don’t really want to learn to cook from scratch, but you also really don’t want to go to the supermarket, which is why a handful of restaurants and chefs have got your back, with make-at-home food kits that allow you to recreate your favourite restaurant dishes in your own kitchen. One that we were really happy to learn about was folly by Nick and Scott.

We signed up with the homemade olive oil and rosemary focaccia bread, and the button mushroom risotto, and here’s what we found.

The delivery

Each box serves two adults and is accompanied by a handy recipe card along with a QR, which direct home-chefs to a simple step-by-step video. Inside the box includes all the ingredients you’ll need, too.

The process

Making focaccia is a lengthy process, about three hours total, so we started with that. Everything is broken down so simply it’s almost impossible to get it wrong. Knead, prove, add rosemary and olive oil, and prove some more until it’s time to bake. Meanwhile the risotto (often a rather daunting dish to create at home), was also made simple, which clear instructions. It’s like painting-by-numbers. To have all the quality ingredients (and the right amount of each) takes the guess work out of cooking.

The results

Our dining room table never looked so good. We had a plate full of fragrant focaccia, and a cauldron of cheesy, comforting risotto. So excited were we, that we forgot to garnish our risotto with parsley as instructed, so it probably didn’t look quite as attractive as the folly team would have liked, but to us, mere chef amateurs, it was still a thing of beauty.

The verdict

Given that we were absolutely delighted with the outcome of both these dishes, we’ve already paid for two more kits. The remaining boxes available to order this month include a coconut chicken curry (on Thursday June 11), and fish ‘n’ chips with crushed peas and tartare sauce (on Thursday June 18). Date nights, sorted.

The price

Honestly, it feels like an absolute bargain at only Dhs100 (plus delivery charge), for a meal for two.

 To order your kit, call 052794117 or send them a direct message on facebook.