Ever wonder how our chefs come up with delicious new ideas every week? Here’s a taste of how they go from brainstorming to bolognese.
First, they’ll be given a top-secret project. This will either involve cooking up a new collection (like our Greek or Italian ranges), or adding to our existing menu library (things like more healthy options, or new GF dishes).
Whether coming up with indulgent new dishes for Valentine’s Day, Easter or a series of Summer-themed recipes, they’ll always aim to excite your taste buds. So, they do plenty to keep the inspiration flowing –– from listening to the community to attending cooking clubs, expert talks and foodie events.
As they develop new recipes, they also have to think about important factors like:
- Number of ingredients - 17 is the max so recipes don’t get too complicated
- Variety - is it adding something new and exciting to the menu?
- Health - All our recipes include at least 1 of your 5-a-day and the majority contain no more than 3g of salt and 20g of saturated fat. For an extra health boost, we also have our Health Hub collection - featuring meals that meet at least one of these criteria: under 600 calories, packed with three or more of your five-a-day, or a great source of protein.
- Washing up - no one wants piles of dirty dishes
Once a chef has cooked up some new sizzlers, they’ll work collaboratively with the rest of the food team, taking on any suggestions that will make the new dishes even better. Then comes the best bit: testing and tasting the dish in real life. They’ll do this multiple times to make sure the recipe is as perfect as possible.
Testing done, they’ll write up the recipe. Then, they’ll send ‘em to Gousto’s SWAT team of recipe testers AKA the Super Testers. If this crew has any feedback, the chefs will go back to the kitchen and work their magic to fix it.
Finally, the collection or recipes are ready to launch on the menu. And then it’s over to you. Our chefs love it when you rate and review your dinners. They use your feedback to come up with new dishes and to keep improving the ones on the menu already.