REVIEW : EAT - Cote at Home
Like many restaurants, Cote at Home have turned to home delivery but this French restaurant chain has gone one better. As well as a range of freshly prepared chilled dishes designed for easy cooking at home, Cote at Home also has a Boucherie section where you can choose meat products that are served in Cote restaurants across the UK.
REVIEW - COTE AT HOME, EDINBURGH
The website is extensive covering Family Favourite meals such as Poulet Breton, Frites and Minted Peas; from the Boucherie choose cuts of meat such as the Dry Aged Cote de Boeuf or the Duck Confit; from the Fromagerie, a sensational selection of French cheeses including Brie Aux Truffes, Langres or Roquefort Miraval and from the Boulangerie it has to be the fougasse, with jams and pastries also available.
As if that’s not enough, and you just cant decide then head for the Set Menu section where you can choose entire meals such as the Breaded Chicken with Fennel with a baguette, smoked mackerel rillettes and a tart for dessert.
If you know what you want and what you like, choose your own starter, mains, desserts and wines - just mix and match, which is what I did.
It was Fougasse and Brie de Meaux to start; a mains of Boned and Rolled Leg of Lamb with a side of Marinated Heritage Beetroot and Gratin Potato with dessert being the Creme Caramel and Strawberry and Redcurrant Yoghurt, la Fermiere. A wee glass of La Place Sauvignon Blanc accompanied this perfect Sunday Roast.
The entire package is delivered by courier to your door (they deliver nationwide); packaged well with ice packs to keep everything chilled.
The meat comes vacuum packed whereas the other dishes come in their own containers sealed and with a cardboard wrapper which includes your cooking/heating instructions. All containers can go straight into the oven once the plastic film has been removed, which definitely cuts down on the washing up and all packaging is recyclable.
We choose to cook the lamb long and slow so that it was tender and falling apart. It was stuffed with rosemary, garlic and tomatoes, seasoned well and sat on a bed of carrots, onions and more garlic. It cooked away for around 2 hours and oh gosh, it was a Sunday Roast of epic proportions.
The gratin potatoes and beetroot were popped in the oven along with the fougasse to cook for their allocated times. We left the potatoes in for longer than recommended so that they went a little crispy on the top and the beetroot, we removed to a frying pan to caramelise; unfortunately this meant that they lost their vibrant bright pink and orange colouring but the taste was incredible.
Once the fougasse was ready I smeared it with garlic butter and let it rest. Serious bread envy - wish I could have this everyday.
The desserts were fantastic. The Creme Caramel was superb with wibble wobble that any dessert would die for. Beautifully creamy with the sauce rich and deep with a lasting note of bitter sweetness. Wonderful. The yoghurt was light and creamy too with a wee hidden layer of fruit compote at the bottom. I love these ceramic pudding cups and would have kept them had Mr TS not thrown them out!
Cote at Home, is another great home delivery service which has a feel of upmarket Waitrose or M&S about it; the difference being is that everything is prepared in Cote’s own central kitchen with ingredients you’d be happy to use in your own.
Should you order Cote at Home? You bet ya, but it’ll take you at least an hour to decide what to choose.
Cote at Home www.coteathome.co.uk
My Spoon Award - Silver Spoon 8/10
I was gifted this Cote at Home box. Food and drink were complimentary but the views are very much my own.