After Trying Gordon Ramsay’s Home Chef Meal Kits, I’m Ready for ‘MasterChef’

Home Chef offers a few Ramsay recipes every week, but what’s also nice is how customizable the plan is from the start. When you go to sign up, you can flag your dietary goals (noting if you want to prioritize protein-packed meals or gluten-free ones), as well as the number of servings, types of meals (breakfast through dinner) and how many dishes you’d like to receive, from one to seven days a week.

Delivery was smooth too—no leaky packages and everything appeared in its place. All of the produce was fresh and in peak condition; a plus, considering some kits I’ve tried have contained veggies so withered I felt like I needed to cook them that night before they’d go bad. (To that end, Home Chef’s recipe cards also include a suggestion for the “cook within” time frame. For the recipes I tested, that was 5 to 6 days.)

Ramsay’s recipes hit at that delicate cross-section of low-effort yet impressive. Both meals were broken down into five steps, with a photo for each one, like a traditional meal kit. The techniques were simple, with minimal prep.

The Show-Stopping Steakhouse Sirloin, for example, called for washing the produce, mincing thyme and trimming the ends off the broccolini to start. From there, it was as simple as tossing the broccoli in oil, salt and pepper, roasting it, and cooking the included bacon bits, then setting them aside so you could use the grease to get a solid sear—and extra flavor—on the steak.

Each step is broken down into a short, bulleted list to follow, with the ingredients bolded, making it easy to refer to as you’re dashing from one step to another. (I can’t stand long paragraphs in recipes, where you inevitably wind up racing to re-read everything before your dish burns.)

Both meals were an instant hit—at least with the adults. The Pub-Style Chicken Curry was loaded with chicken, spinach and peas, served over rice, making it a hearty meal that didn’t bog you down, thanks to all of the vegetables. My kids weren’t as crazy about this one—even after we omitted the red pepper flakes—but that’s largely because we’re in a beige-and-brown-foods-only phase. (It’s killing me, but I digress.)

Though the recipe called for ginger, the curry and tomato flavors really won out here, infusing the dish with a lightly spiced, savory-bordering-on-vegetal flavor. It was the type of meal that’d warm you up on a crisp fall (or winter’s) day, and thankfully didn’t make me want to take a nap afterward.

Across the board, the Steakhouse Sirloin really lived up to its “show-stopping” title. I was more skeptical of this one; would Ramsay simply have us roast broccolini and get a solid sear on steak and call it a day? Isn’t that something I can do any day of the week? Yes, but he put a few twists on things to help you veer off the beaten path.

Namely, in addition to patting the steaks dry and adding salt and pepper, he also calls for a liberal coating of smoked paprika. That, combined with his instruction to cook them in the residual bacon grease over a medium-high heat pan, offered a solid sear and infused the steaks with extra smoky flavor. Even my picky eaters were clamoring for more.

In addition to the roasted broccolini, the steak kit came with ingredients to make thyme-infused polenta, which had everyone asking why we don’t make polenta more often. And honestly, though I’ve been quick to dismiss it as “so much babysitting” to stir the ingredients, it really isn’t. The whole side took less than 8 minutes to come together.

That was another surprise about the kits—the timing was spot-on. And that never happens with meal kits or recipes in general. (More chefs have been cutting them from cookbooks entirely, since everyone works at their own pace.) I never found myself going, “these steaks could use another minute per side” or “this polenta is too runny! It needs more time to thicken!”

You’ve probably made burgers, steaks and chicken plenty of times. What’s nice about Ramsay’s Home Chef kits—beyond the convenience, and not having a pantry full of spices you bought for a recipe you only made once—is that he offers fresh takes on those classics, along with easy-to-follow tips that subtly level up your cooking techniques, minus the intimidation the Next Level Chef host is known for. (Not once did I consider myself an “idiot sandwich” while following these steps!)

Who knows, you may even adopt a few into your weeknight repertoire. I, for one, will be bacon-searing my steak again in the very near future.