UK chef makes gourmet meal kits to help restaurant survive lockdown

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Thousands of UK restaurants have been forced out of business during the pandemic, but a chef in Manchester has come up with an ingenious idea to help his business to survive.

Simon Wood, the owner of Wood Manchester and a former winner of Masterchef UK, has been making high-level meal kits that can be ordered like normal takeaway meals.

Manchester is currently subject to Tier 3 restrictions that require all hospitality venues to close except for delivery and takeaway services.

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Wood says the restaurant has been forced to adapt to frequent changes in restrictions and added that his meal kits are essential if his restaurant is to survive the pandemic.

"So, throughout every lockdown that we've had, we're a young business, we've had to adapt, so we were very very bold in the first lockdown. I'll go as far as to say we were the first restaurant in the country to start doing a home delivery service of this style.

"We've built on that up until we could open again albeit with the curfew, and … now, here we are, in Manchester, in Tier 3, and we're back at it again. I think it's important, I must stress that we're not doing this for profit, we're doing this to survive."

Wood also revealed that his chefs have had to learn brand new methods of cooking and presentation in order to maintain the quality of the restaurant's in-house dining offering.

Restaurant owner Simon Wood, right, and his team of chefs have been making gourmet meal kits for home delivery after the business was forced to close because of COVID-19 restrictions. /AFP

He added: "It's a whole new skills set to pick this restaurant up and deliver it nationally, into people's kitchens and dining rooms. Now, we've been doing that, and we've been doing that with huge success … It is only keeping our heads above water though, that's the endgame here."

The restaurant is now targeting specific clientele in the hope it can bring a slice of fine dining into people's homes, with the Christmas period fast approaching.

"We're trying to hit the corporate market, so, you know, if the boss wants to treat his team of 12 people, we offer a three courses home delivery service where they can cook along at home, on a Zoom call, instead of the office party."

Video editing: Terry Wilson

Source(s): AFP