Review: Cook It and Goodfood Ready to Cook Delivery Services

For more than two years now, we have been using the delivery services of ready to cook meals. A formula that more and more Canadians are trying, especially in these times of pandemic.

Several companies offer their delivery services: Cook It, Goodfood, HelloFresh.

We have not tried the latter, however we will detail the services of all three and give our opinion on the first two. Some people will recognize themselves in the type of people for whom those companies catter!

Obviously, being a rewards and credit card site, here are the different credit cards we recommend for these home food delivery services:

• American Express Cobalt™ Card: 5 points per dollar (or 5% back in cash or travel points)
• Scotiabank Gold American Express Card: 5 points per dollar (or 5% back in travel points)
• BMO eclipse Visa Infinite* Card: 5 points per dollar (3.4% return in travel points)

The best choice is the American Express Cobalt™ Card.

This is the one that gives you the most flexibility to use your points. You can apply your points to any purchase made with the card: 1,000 points = $10. Or transfer them to other rewards programs like Marriott Bonvoy.

To learn more about this credit card, read our detailed review.

To begin with, I think it is interesting to give you the reasons why we use this type of service.

Over time, we have reduced our presence in the kitchen. Either because of a lack of time due to children, work, or a lack of inspiration or ideas for dishes. And it must be said that with the 2020-2021 period we all experienced, the lack of friends at home also played a role.

We liked the formula for several reasons:

• Its simplicity: in a few clicks, you can choose your dishes for the month;
• Its variety of meals: each company offers a wide variety of dishes so that you never find the same dish from one week to the next;
• The choice depends on whether the dishes are quick to cook or not: preparation time varies from 20 minutes to 35 minutes on average.
• Saves time on our other errands: now that we have our recipes for the week, we just pick u^our essentials at Costco and spend much less time there.
• Less food waste: you get the exact amount for your recipe so you don’t throw food away. All cardboard and packaging can be recycled when rinsed and put together.
• Fresh, quality food: food is chosen with care.
• The discovery of new foods: I was able to discover tomatillos or watermelon radish for example.
• The ease with which the recipes can be made: each of us is capable of preparing the recipes, everything is in the recipe cards.
• Each recipe is online if you wish to consult them in detail

Cook It is a Quebec-based company that delivers throughout Quebec and Ontario.

Once you have registered online, you can start ordering for the week. Cook It offers a regular menu or a vegetarian menu. You can choose between 2, 3 or 4 portions per meal, knowing that one portion is suitable for an adult or 2 children under 13 years old. Then choose the number of meals per week and your delivery day.

Once your plan is in place, you will be able to select your recipes online from a choice of 16 recipes each week. You will receive your Cook It box with all the ingredients and recipe cards.

The service is flexible and without commitment: you can skip a week or unsubscribe at any time by going to your online profile, before Wednesday noon in order not to receive the next box.

A basket of 3 recipes with 2 servings per week costs $69 per week. The price per serving goes down if you increase the frequency and quantities.

The choice of dishes must be made no later than Tuesday midnight online for the following week, otherwise you will receive the most popular dishes. The next day you will receive a summary of your order and the amount invoiced.

Cook It offers a two-tiered rewards program:

• Starred chef
• VIP starred chef

Every Cook It customer automatically gets Starred Chef status and gets a star for every $2 spent. Challenges and activities allow you to earn more stars and you can exchange your stars for local products from the pantry.

In addition, by referring your friends, you will earn credits on your next orders.

VIP Starred Chef status can be achieved after 5,000 stars and will give you access to personal customer service and exclusive promotions. Plus, every dollar you spend will earn you a star.

The Cook It pantry offers quality local products, carefully selected and tested by their team.

Goodfood offers a Canadian service and delivers to Quebec, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia and the Maritimes.

Once you have registered and selected your dietary preferences, you choose your plan: the number of servings and recipes you want per week.

You can then customize your recipe selection for the next 4 weeks. Each recipe can be checked out; even without being a customer, it is possible to have access to the recipes. Once you have made your choice, your basket will be updated with the amount charged.

Your plan can be changed at any time. Plus, you can skip or cancel any subscription quickly online by contacting their Happiness Brigade via their live chat on the site or by calling their service.

Every week, orders are processed:

• on Wednesdays for deliveries on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays,
• on Saturdays for deliveries on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

It also offers Goodfood WOW Marketplace, an unlimited same-day or next-day delivery service in select areas for $9.99/month (a 90-day trial is available).

Marché Goodfood does not offer a rewards program. However, by referring your friends who will subscribe in return, you will receive a $25 credit while your friend can benefit from $40 worth of Goodfood Market credits. Special offers are sometimes available.

In addition, you can offer a free delivery of 3 boxes of Goodfood to friends.

For a classic basket with 3 recipes of 2 servings per week, count $68.94 per week. The price per serving goes down if you increase the frequency and quantities.

Goodfood also offers more elaborate recipes for evening and morning parties (brunch), quick, vegetarian, nutritious; recipes to be prepared in the slow cooker or on the griddle and many other products.

Goodfood doesn’t just offer recipes. A selection of quality local products are available to complete your weekly grocery shop or to discover new products. Simply make your selection and add them to your weekly delivery.

For smoothie lovers, a package of 12 units is also available. We tried it last summer and really liked it. All the ingredients are in the jar. Just pour into your blender, blend, and enjoy.

HelloFresh is a company first established in Germany and later expanded to many countries including Canada (2016).

When you sign up for HelloFresh, you will be asked to select your dietary preferences and the number of servings per week. The cost for 3 recipes of 2 servings per week is $68.94. A $9.99 delivery fee must be added.

Delivery is available in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland, and the Maritimes.

HelloFresh delivers the boxes between Sunday and Thursday of each week.

The list of recipes is available online with the ingredients and nutritional value. However, the preparation instructions are not yet included.

Cook It and Goodfood offer two very interesting formulas that meet the needs of families or people who lack time to plan their meals, such as our family.

In our case, the choice was difficult.

Jean-Maximilien preferred the Cook It formula for the simplicity of its recipes. Simple and good food for more classic dishes. It’s simple, he loved to cook and wanted me to let him cook the recipes.

While I prefer Goodfood’s recipes for its more elaborate dishes with more accomplished flavours, and especially that make me travel!

As for the rest of the criteria, in our opinion, the services of both are equal. We’ve already had a few forgotten foods, mistakes. It happens and our requests have always been taken into account on both sides.

The boxes are sometimes late in the day but always arrive at our door on the day we expect. Everything is well packaged and the recipe cards are accurate for each company. However, I prefer the ones from Goodfood, which mention the name of the recipe (more practical to find in the fridge) on its bag and not just a number like Cook It.