Review- Gourmet Food Online For Reasonable Prices

November 2, 2008 · Comments

Personal Chef To Go I can’t remember who reached out to me about Personal Chef To Go, a place where you can order fresh gourmet cooking and have it sent to your house to eat when you’re ready, but boy am I grateful. Chef Gene Castelluccio and Chef Blair Grossman have sent me a sampling of meals for the family. As I’m typing this, a grilled chicken and broccoli pasta bake is coming out of the microwave, and four dinner rolls are just about ready to pop back out of the oven.

The directions were simple: put the meal in the microwave and the bread in the oven. My house smells like a four star restaurant already.

The website, PersonalChefToGo.com has three different categories of dining: busy singles, couples on the go, and family favorites. This obviously plays to portions, but also the kind of food you can order. The family meals were a lot more likely to appeal to your children’s tastebuds as well as yours. The menu changes every week, by the way. If you’re not 100% sold on a particular week, wait and see what comes up next time.

personal chef website The pricing is kept fairly simple, too. Our meals were a “half order” which consisted of two portions of four meals (or 8 dinners in all), which cost $85 for the food, plus $12.75 for FedEx. So, just shy of $100 for 8 humans worth of food (shipping included). $12 a head, all in for the efforts of award winning chefs? Cool!

The Food

I’m munching the dinner roll, which came out crispy on the outside and doughy inside, with just a taste of brown sugar maybe? (Don’t know, but it’s delicious.) The pasta dish was delightful. It’s clearly family-friendly as the spices aren’t over-stated, and the chicken is just perfect. The broccoli was fresh. NOTHING about this meal felt like eating a frozen dinner. It’s delicious, fresh, and wonderful.

As we’re going into a time where people might not be eating out as often, and where budgets have to stretch a bit, families and couples might be able to use something like this service as an alternative to dining in a restaurant. Because it’s so easy, because I can order it online, and because it’s probably a savings over my typical restaurant bill for two adults and one kid, I think I’m going to let two chefs cook for my once a month.

About The Review

Personal Chef To Go sent me this food to see what I thought, but sure didn’t pay for my recommendation. What I like about this model: finding bloggers who might be willing to try something and share their experience, is that, provided the blogger discloses the relationship, and especially if the blogger decides a product or service isn’t worth it, or otherwise is willing/free to give a negative review.

What’s your take on that?

As for the food, I’m excited that I have three more meals from Personal Chef To Go in my fridge still.

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  • Seems a little expensive though..... (even if "award winning chefs"). Any diet-friendly menus?
  • Hmmm. I'll definitely check this out. I've used meal assembly places such as Let's Dish or Thyme out in the past to save time and planning, but some months even that's too much work.:) This is also a great concept for people going through illnesses. I have 2 family members with cancer right now, and would rather send them some good food than more flowers they don't need.

    As far as the concept of blog reviews for non-monetary compensation, I love it when transparency is in place, as you've done here. I don't think it takes anything away from the rec to know exactly what the person is receiving, in fact, I think the clarity adds to it.
  • sounds good :) definitely need to check it out.. as I tend to burn all my food in the kitchen LOL Thx Chris ~ :) best ~ Sus
  • @antje - according to the site:

    * Always trans-fat free
    * Heart Healthy with nutritional info for each menu item
    * Whole grain goodness so you know it's full of fiber and low-glycemic index carbs for sustained energy
    * All natural meats and seafood are hand trimmed
    * Fresh never frozen means full flavor and freshness with each delicious bite
    * No preservatives or additives ever!
    * Restaurant and Spa quality meals without the hassle or expense of dining out
    * Unbelievable taste and variety
    * Ready in minutes


    As for the price, what are you paying for a chicken and broccoli pasta dish in a restaurant. If it's less than $12 a head, tip included, and still tastes as good as gourmet, you win.
  • The food and service seem worthwhile.

    The model of mailing out product to bloggers and social media people could have some drawbacks...not the least of which is the question of partiality.

    I know Chris and know he's straight as they come, so reviews here I trust. But who's to say others are as honest?

    In the end, to steal the cellphone tag, it's the network.

    Who you don't know might mislead you.
  • My wife and I will definitely try this out....
  • Thanks for telling us about this, Chris. I'm definitely using it. I told my personal trainer about it. Told my girlfriend about it. She's an empty nester now and they both work a lot and can afford to eat whatever they want. She also lives alone in a condo during the week, so the singles menu is perfect for that. I do like it for a class gift to a family dealing with an illness. When I was ill, we got a lot of gift cards, but my husband still had to go out and get it. Appreciate the recommendation.
  • So cool! It seems pretty reasonably priced too.
  • Excellent idea. With just my husband and me, it sounds like a deal. Will definitely check it out.

    I'd certainly be interested in doing this sort of thing...trying something in return for reviewing. How do you get started?
  • I think it would be great - especially if, as we do, folks take their lunches or cook in bulk and portion it out (but it's homemade tasting and familiar), as well as on a night when you'd just as soon wear sweats or jammies but yearn for a good restauranty-meal!

    Good idea to send food to bloggers - nearly always will get at least a few takers on the blogger's recommendations. Many mail order businesses don't care if they have one huge order versus many smaller orders (often prefer many smaller orders as that expands their potential client base). Another example is SendOutCards.com (a network marketing company that has similar philosophy but that I don't think, as yet, pitches to bloggers).
  • I'm so glad you liked the food!

    Personal Chef to Go (PCTG) is one of my consulting clients, and Chris is both in my LinkedIn and Twitter networks in addition to my RSS feeds, so the connection made perfect sense to me.

    @Jeff Cutler - I trust Chris, which is part of why I asked if he would be interested in reviewing their food, plus it was relevant after I read the dinner post over @ DadOMatic.

    I also know the history and team behind PCTG and have eaten their delicious food myself, so I had 100% confidence I wouldn't regret hooking them up, and Chris trusted me enough to send him something useful and enjoyable.

    I think that is where marketers fail with blogs, frankly - there has to be both trust and relevance on both sides. You can't do that quickly or inexpensively. When it's a good fit, though, everyone can benefit, and I'm all about the win-win-win.
  • Interesting concept, I wonder if there is a way for in this experience tracking this review and new clients (Social media ROI?). Should I mention your name?
    It does sounds yummy and very convenient in New England winter:)
    I'm also testing this comment using new service called commentino.

    Thanks
    Keren
    my comments at http://www.commentino.com/kerendg
  • @Sue - thanks! I was banging my head against the wall looking for the email (still can't find it), so I'm glad you identified.

    Was this for Dadomatic? Oh! I'll have to run over there once I eat another meal and talk about it there, too. : )
  • I'm excited about the potential for health food in a lifestyle where I don't cook much. I prefer vegetarian (and my wife is full vegetarian), so I will have to wait to try out PC2G until they expand their offering.
  • @Chris well, the dinner post on Dadomatic spurred the offer, but I won't complain if you want to write up another review ;)

    @Keren, yes, I'm tracking the results and will be posting them on my blog (linked) as we go along using Julie Road's live case study method.

    @Jesse thank you for that feedback. Blair and Gene will read this post too, so from your lips to their ears ;)

    While I am of course interested in the SROI of social sampling, I'm also thrilled by the type of feedback I'm getting from everyone's comments. It is great to get input on a business concept, so thank you everyone :)
  • I was sold by your blog post and decided to try it out, but the Fedex 2-day shipping came to $79! I backed out. Would love to try it, but that's too much for shipping.
  • Weird. Mine came to $12.75 or something, but it was the half order. I can't imagine that the full order costs double that again. Maybe it does? Weird.
  • Great comments!

    Thank you Sue and Chris.

    Chris I am so glad you liked the food, great picture of the Jambalaya.

    Hi Ginger, one quick word about shipping, to the east coast and east of the Mississippi it is very affordable. Once we go to air is gets more expensive, say to CA. it could be $75.00 for a $120.00 order. We are puting together plans to open a west coast facility in the near future which will lower shipping cost west of the Mississippi.

    Thanks for talking it up, I am willing to answer any questions, Cheers Chef Gene
  • Thanks Chef Gene, for following up. I'm impressed! I'm in Denver, so that makes sense. Can't wait for that West Coast shipping facility so I can try it out. Your service sounds really fantastic.
  • This is pretty interesting stuff, the idea of bloggers as product conduits. Not new - after all, we have been buzzing online products and services to each other in a closed circle since email started - but definitely interesting.

    I'm interested in the contrast between this type of product review and the type of product review where you already are a paying customer. If you had been using these meals for months/years and you had found them to be serviceable to good or great over that time, I can imagine some even more strongly worded recommendations. Likewise, as in the BoA post, I can see some strong warnings coming forth if your own money/time/soul was involved previously with a company that didn't quite deliver the goods (or in that specific case, botched it completely).

    In some ways, the lack of a pre-existing customer relationship with the company is a great advantage to the company submitting samples. If BoA were to, say, "submit a sample" to someone who had no pre-existing expectations, you can bet they would put their best foot forward in a freshly shined shoe. Hard to tell how the longer term delivery might look, though.
  • It's a great way for a company to try to reach out to bloggers. I don't think a blogger should have to write a positive review, but would give them the edge. I don't necessarily think they should give negative reviews, just don't give anything then. Another great food site for those who live in NYC is http://www.nu-kitchen.com/Default.aspx.

    Craig
    www.budgetpulse.com
  • Wow! This is exciting stuff for a small business owner / chef with and even smaller advertising budget.
    Chef Gene and I welcome your ideas on how to better serve your needs. We are preparing to launch a fully customized meal service for vegans, gluten-free, Kosher etc. This service will start with a detail chef consultation and end with your meals expertly prepared to your specifications delivered to your home.
    Being reviewed on this site is very significant and we thank Sue Cline at Cyclonic for making it possible. We have always believed in grassroots marketing and the power of independent reviews. This is evidenced by the fact that the major food manufacturers are now sending samples to frozen food bloggers--you have the power and not Madison Avenue.
    We are a transformational service that allows people to enjoy real food while reaching their health and happiness goals. This may be as ambitious as losing 50 pounds and avoiding surgery or as simple as bringing the family closer together around the dinner table. We need to partner with others to fully realize that vision and that is why a CB testimonial is huge!
    If anyone else would like to participate in reviews or join our affiliate sales program on SAS, please contact Sue Cline at sue@cyclonicconsulting.com
    Thank you and Bon appetit!

    Chef Blair
  • In response to Shannon Ehlers valid commnent on product integrity I can only say that we didn't alter or modify Chris' shipment in any way and we accepted the risk that we could get a bad review. Obvously, we have confidence in our products to send them out for objective testing. We passed with flying colors in a mystery shopping review done for the March issue of Prevention Magazine: Power Meals for Busy Women

    http://www.prevention.com/article/0,5778,s1-3-6...

    And most recently we were "Handpicked" by Food411.com after a thorough review by their editorial staff.

    We promise that what you experience will be as good if not better then what CB experienced as we are constantly refining and improving our service. Here's your chance to help shape a company that is committed to online marketing.

    Cheers,

    Blair
  • SherronMeadows
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