Startup Profile: Indulge

• Indulge is a company that delivers exceptional at-home dining meal kits, in London and around the UK.  
• Customers can choose from fine-dining meal kits, BBQ meal kits, or afternoon tea meal kits, which come with easy-to-follow instructions and photos for preparation.  
• The business also offers private chef experiences and events, with bespoke menus able to be designed in accordance with the needs of guests and the particular event. 

About Indulge 

 
Indulge Dining was created by the renowned and experienced chef Andy Bowler, who saw the opportunity presented by the COVID-19 pandemic to capitalise on the burgeoning popularity and potential of the market for fine-dining meal kits delivered to people’s homes. 

Andy has a formidable pedigree in cuisine, having started his career training in modern French cuisine for Michael Roux Jnr, before going on to work in two of Simon Rogan’s London restaurants – Fera at Claridges and Roganic. 

It didn’t take long after joining Rogan’s team for Bowler to be promoted to the role of Sous Chef, and he proceeded to take on a similar role at Gordon Ramsay’s Petrus. 

The coronavirus outbreak in 2020, of course, upended so many people’s lives – including Andy’s. The initial surge of the pandemic was an immensely disruptive time for chefs as restaurants up and down the country were forced to shut their doors – some permanently, others forever. 

Andy, however, was undeterred. He seized upon the chance to refashion his career in gastronomy, reaching the semi-finals of the ‘National Chef of the Year’ competition of The Craft Guild of Chefs, and developing the concept of Indulge. 

Today, Indulge is gaining ever-greater acclaim as a fine-dining meal-kit delivery service. The principle behind it couldn’t be simpler; the food arrives already prepared and cooked, so all the customer needs to do is follow the supplied instructions in order to heat up the meal and plate it for a relaxed at-home dining experience. 

How does it work?  

 
The customer who is interested in purchasing a meal kit from Indulge simply needs to navigate to the relevant part of the company’s website, where they will be able to browse the categories dedicated to fine-dining meal kits, BBQ meal kits, and afternoon tea meal kits. 

They can then simply click through to the category that most interests them, followed by the date for which they would like to have the meal kit delivered to their home. They will then be able to order their favoured menu and extras from the options presented.  

For example, a given customer may feel particularly drawn to the opportunity of enjoying a three-course meal with bread and petit fours, and they will also have the chance to order the recommended wines and cheeseboard for their meal. The purchaser will also be asked to specify at checkout whether they favour the fish/meat or vegetarian option. 

With the menu at Indulge Dining changing every fortnight, even if you have ordered a meal kit from the site in the past, you can expect the opportunity of new and highly rewarding culinary experiences – just as you would if you were sat in any of the restaurants in which Andy has built his stellar industry reputation. 

Please bear in mind that each menu on the site is designed for one person, so if you wish to order for two people, you will need to add two menus to your virtual basket. 

Once you have placed your order, it will simply be a case of sitting back and waiting for your meal to be delivered! At the time of typing, Indulge delivers meal kits to all UK postcodes except the Scottish Highlands, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. 

If the customer orders a fine-dining meal kit, they will require an oven, hob/stove, a couple of saucepans, and a frying pan for the preparation of their food. In the event that they request a BBQ meal kit, this type of meal should ideally be cooked on a barbecue, but oven cooking is also possible if the customer prefers it, or if the weather doesn’t lend itself to a barbecue. 

Indulge Dining also has an optimised mobile site, which makes it even easier for the customer to order a meal kit ‘on the go’. 

What else does Indulge offer? 

 
As aforementioned, it isn’t only meal-kit delivery services that Indulge Dining provides; it is also through the site that Andy offers a private-chef service for events such as hen parties, retirement parties, anniversary dinners, and birthdays. 

Another possibility is to purchase a gift voucher for one of Indulge’s meal kits for a friend, colleague or loved one. This is something else that can be easily and quickly done through the well-designed Indulge website, which is continuing to make a serious impact in the fast-growing industry for fine-dining meal kits delivered to customers’ homes.