10 Reasons Why Our Meals Are Better
1. Fresher Than “Fresh”
Most meals sold as “Fresh” isn’t as fresh as claimed. Nutritional value of Indian food decreases more over time, if kept ambient temperature or chilled. Manufacturers have to do unnatural things to food to increase shelf life. Restaurants and takeaways have to resort to short-cuts and pre-cook in advance.
We freshly cook and fast-freeze within minutes using specialist freezers. This retains more taste, flavour and nutrition, particularly micronutrients like vitamins and minerals.
2. Real Ingredients, Many Organic
About 80% of Ingredients we use are certified organic. Organic oils, organic spices etc., not only provide health benefits, but also have real flavours and taste.
3. From a Doctor’s Kitchen
Chef Akila and her son who is an NHS Doctor meticulously choose the healthiest and cleanest ingredients, methods and processes. Every batch is hand-cooked from scratch in their Yorkshire Kitchen, which has a 5-star food hygiene rating.
4. Tradition Meets Science
Our traditional recipes, ingredients and methods have been optimised with expert input from chefs, doctors and nutritionists. We have crafted each item to be as healthy as possible while still tasting delicious.
5. No Nasties, No Short-Cuts
We don’t use any artificial colours, preservatives, flavourings, processing aids, modified starches or sweeteners. We only use cold-pressed organic oils and natural ingredients.
We like old-fashioned ways – freshly ground spices, freshly grated coconuts etc. We don’t use any shortcuts like pre-made sauces or base gravies.
6. Lower Calories, Fat, Salt & Sugar
While we don’t believe in fad diets, our food is naturally compatible with various diet plans, being lower in calories, fat & sugar.
Compare our curries (Nutrition/100g)
| Average | Supermarket | Takeaway | Chef Akila |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy: Calories | 144 | 204 | 71 |
| Fat | 8.2 | 14 | 3.1 |
| Saturated Fat | 2.9 | 7 | 0.8 |
| Sugar | 4.8 | ? | 1.6 |
| Salt | 0.69 | 0.81 | 0.47 |
All chicken & Veg own brand Indian curries available at a premium supermarket in June’18 are compared with all our similar curries. Values are average. Takeaway data is from “What’s in your Indian Takeaway” research on 280 samples published by Safefood.eu.
Compare our Meals (Average Calories/Meal)
| Restaurant | KFC | Mcdonald’s/ Subway/ Burger King | Chef Akila Meals for 1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1033 | 987 | Around 700 | 434 |
Source: BMJ research of 13,500 meals Reported by the BBC. Chef Akila’s meal data: Average of all our Meals for 1 in January 2019.
7. Honest Labelling
Nutritional information, allergens, ingredients and organic ingredients are clearly displayed in our packs and our website. No hidden or complex ingredients.
8. Allergy Friendly
Our entire menu is lab-tested gluten free. All our items are at least free of top 11 allergens and many are free from all the top 14 allergens.
9. Curries by Post. Ready in 10 minutes.
We deliver our meals to your door by courier, in insulated boxes. No meal-kits, recipes, planning, cooking or cleaning. Our meals are fully cooked before freezing, you just need to heat-up and enjoy. All our items are microwaveable in under 10 minutes.
10. Supporting Local Businesses
From produce to packaging, we source from local small businesses and farmers as much as possible. Not only our ingredients travel less miles, our food also travels less – directly from our kitchen to yours.