One of the greatest thing about working at Meez is getting to talk about delicious food all day. Members ask us how we develop these tasty recipes, and this week we wanted to give you a glimpse into how it works.
1) Let’s Get Thinking
Chef Max and founder Jen meet in the kitchen nearly every week to brainstorm recipes. Jen shares recipes she’s made at home or discovered on food blogs. Max talks about some of his favorite flavor combinations. And they both review comments and requests from members about what they’d like to see on the menu. The two bounce ideas back and forth until they have the basic framework for exciting new recipes.
The idea for this week’s Crispy Mushroom Cakes (above and on this week’s menu, here) came about when a member mentioned she’d like to see veggie cakes on the menu. Jen and Max brainstormed different ideas ranging from eggplant and zucchini to chickpeas and sweet peas. When Chef Max proposed a spin on stuffed mushrooms, they thought it was a natural and moved it into testing.
2) Taste Test
After the brainstorming sessions Chef Max cooks up a first round of the recipes for a bigger team, which now includes Judy, our operations guru. The group tastes and talks, covering everything from the flavor, the color, the differentiation from what we’ve offered before and what you can find elsewhere, how long it will to cook at home, how many pots it will take, the production side, the sourcing, and everything else that goes into it.
When we tasted the mushroom cakes, they were served up with a marina sauce. The team felt the cakes were delicious, but the sauce covered up their flavor. Chef Max proposed a pesto, instead. He whipped up the pesto and the team loved the delicate flavor, but wanted some extra veggies for some crunch and contrast. Chef Max made a version with carrot slaw, but it was too sweet. They bounced ideas back and forth, and when they tasted a fennel slaw tossed with the pesto, they knew it was a home run. Then Judy asked about how the ingredients would be packaged, and how it would be prepped. They bounced ideas together about which ingredients should be combined with others, until they had a production plan.
3) Home Test
Once the recipes are approved by the team, they get tested again by Mindy, one of our culinary experts who does not attend the tastings. Instead, she cooks up the recipes the way our members do, with just the description and cooking instructions. She determines the perfect pan size, cook times and helpful tips so the recipes are just right when cooked up at home. She also brings her culinary point of view forward, sharing flavor notes or adjustments to the ingredient ratios so the flavors are perfect.
For the mushroom cakes, Mindy worked out the right baking time for the cakes (15 to 17 minutes makes them perfectly crispy) and the best way to form them (make a ball, then flatten into a 1″ disk).
4) It’s All About The Feedback
It doesn’t end there, though. We track every comment and rating of a recipe. If members love a recipe, we’ll bring it back, making note of the suggestions and tips on how to make it even better. If a recipe isn’t a hit and there are comments that help us understand the recipe better and see if it makes sense to change it an offer a new and improved version of it.
This week’s mushroom cakes are back by popular demand. Members told us they loved the recipe and wanted it back on the menu, and so we were delighted to share it again. We also heard that some members served the pesto with a more traditional slaw for members of their family who aren’t sold on fennel. We thought it was a great tip, and have included it on the recipe card as a picky eater tip.
We want to make recipes our members love, and your feedback is most important part in determining what types of recipes to offer and how to make them even better. Keep the feedback coming about what you’d like to see on the menu and how we can make recipes even better!
Hungry for More?
Want your kids to eat more veggies? This week we’re featuring family-favorite recipes with veggies hiding in plain sight. From this this Spaghetti with Spinach Ricotta Bites to the Crispy Mushroom Cakes (above) and Bangkok Basil Crunch, this week’s recipes are sure to have even the pickiest eater asking for more. Creative recipes. Healthy meals in a heartbeat. That’s the magic of Meez.
Order (here) at www.meezmeals.com
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