CookUnity Is One of the Best Meal Delivery Services of 2024
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WE KNOW, THERE'S an entire galaxy of food delivery options out there. Even before the pandemic, options were 'a plenty. Post-Covid, we practically exist in an endless sea of food-to-your-front-door platforms. And, as with any crowded market, there are forgettable players, average participants, and a few true standouts.
CookUnity, we recently discovered, is among the standouts. Why? Well, by excelling in all of the categories below. Frankly, it's become almost implied that you can get a restaurant-quality meal in your hands with a few clicks of a mouse or a few taps on your smartphone in 2024. To do so in a way that's environmentally sensitive and about as easy to prepare as tying your shoes is rare, and makes CookUnity one to try.
CookUnity
courtesy of retailerWe looked at a few key factors while reviewing CookUnity, from taste and preparation to packaging, cost, and setup. The company may be nearly a decade old, but it seems more relevant than ever. Credit to the brand's collaborative nature, working with a revolving door of trending chefs and culinary styles in your area. In that sense, you can think of CookUnity as the Food Network of the meal delivery realm, staying on top of what's hot and showcasing the latest and greatest local talent in food.
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Taste
When you work with celebrated culinary figures like Esther Choi, Andres Mendez, and more, the flavor bar gets set up a notch or two. From what I tasted, CookUnity more than lived up to the higher billing. Like great takeout, the flavors were fresh, the collection of dishes worked well with one another, and there was a general sense of balance. Nothing was grossly over-sauced or over-seasoned, allowing the details of each dish to shine.
Some of my favorites included the Korean Flank Steak Rice Bowl (chef Esther Choi), made with quality meat treated to a teriyaki marinade. The asparagus was fresh and seasonally-appropriate and the rice was fluffy—all the better after being doused with the included sesame dressing. The Turkey Bolognese Lasagna (chef Dustin Taylor) was another hit, a little sprightlier than your typical lasagna courtesy of the poultry and fresh ingredients such as baby spinach. A vegetarian dish, the Crispy Tofu & Broccoli in Black Bean Sauce (chef Chase Evans) was also well-made, delicious, and easy on the eyes.
About the only hiccup came in the form of a salad I tried: the Prosciutto Grain Salad by Dustin Taylor. This was the only dish that was not to be thrown straight into a microwave or oven, and as such, the thawing led to a bit too much moisture in the end product. The flavor was still great, even if the consistency was a little, well, wet.
Of note is the number of recipes, to the tune of about 200. Also cool is the transparent variety of cuisines, from Haitian and Yemeni dishes to Italian, Japanese, Mexican, and more. Updates comes often and genuinely seem to reflect the season, in terms of what's likely being harvested in your region at the time.
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Prep
Preparing most meals could not be much easier. Each comes with two instruction methods: chef and fast. Sometimes they're the same, but the former often involves a short cooking time in the oven while the latter involves only a quick zap of the microwave. I preferred the chef instructions for most dishes, but I generally believe an oven to be superior to a microwave in terms of food treatment, even if it takes longer.
All that's really required is removing a plastic sleeve, sometimes taking out a sauce or dressing to apply later, and that's it. You can eat the meals straight out of the heat-proof tray or plate them up for some added presentation points.
Packaging
Here's another department where CookUnity is quite dialed-in. The sleeves are recyclable and even eligible for return programs in select major cities including Los Angeles and New York City. The trays are paper-based and can be composted or recycled as well. About the only waste comes in the form of the plastic cover wrap and the condiment containers (but depending on where you live, those may be recyclable, too).
The overall shipment included freezer packs with contents that can be emptied into the garbage and packaging that can be recycled. This is all welcome news given the world we live in and our nasty habit of throwing plastic at, well, everything. What could have been added materials in terms of printouts and more marketing stuff were instead shared via handy QR codes that enlighten the diner with added info about each dish in their delivery.
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Cost
All told, the meals come in around $12-$15 a piece, which is bargain. Portions are healthy—not huge, but enough—and minimal packaging means less excess to be shipped. As is often the case, the more you buy up front, the more you generally save per meal. With no tip needed and no temptation to add drinks—as is often the case while dining out—the platform is significantly cheaper than going to a restaurant or ordering in. And in terms of quality, we like it more than most other platforms, even if a little costlier than the Blue Apron's of the world.
Setup
Getting started is a breeze, with a few dietary conditions kicking things off (vegan, vegetarian, and pescatarian are all routes and you can avoid allergens) and the ability to highlight some of your favorite proteins. You then determine how many meals you want a week before being sent to a wide selection of meals that meat your criteria. They're all rated, show all the nutritional specs, and list which chef collaborated on that item. Delivery is relatively quick and if you can't make up your mind, there's a "chef's choice" button that will assemble an intriguing and varied cart for you.
Final Verdict
Simply put, CookUnity is a great option. The platform overdelivers in terms of cost and has a pretty low environmental footprint. The quality of food was high given what we tried and the meals were not only pretty healthy but thoughtfully engineered. It's hard to imagine an easier-to-use system that affords so much flavor and such a broad cuisine spectrum.
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