Any feedback about Hello Fresh?

[Bookaholic73]

I’m considering trying HF for a few weeks, as life is so busy at the moment.

Has anyone tried it and have any feedback, good or bad please.

I know it’s not very cost effective, that’s not what I need feedback on. More like are the portions of the meals good, any issues you’ve had with delivery, how easy it is to make etc.

Thank you.

I've had them for about two years now and I absolutely love them.

Worth the cost in my opinion as life admin falls to me so I find the convenience of it perfect for me.

I think the pasta, noodle and rice dishes are bigger portions than the others but equally as delicious.

Delivery is via DPD so you know exactly when it'll be with you on the day you choose.

Choosing meals via the app is super handy too.

You pick exactly what you want and can view the cooking times, ingredients and calories before ordering.

Way worth it

I've just cancelled mine for a second time.

Long story short: we used to live 15 miles away, used HF for about a year - no problems over than gaining a stone.

Moved to our current house, there is always something missing. And not just little things that you usually have in the cupboard like garlic, we had a pork chop recipe and the pork chops were missing.

It seems that out new place must have a different distribution centre.

The main reason we go for it is that it works out a lot cheaper than shopping in our local supermarket (Waitrose!). But the ingredient quality isn't always the best, the recipes aren't always that healthy, you add a lot of oil to the recipes (like a recipe will be advertised as 500 cal but you have to add 3 tbsp oil making it a lot more), the recipes take a lot of time and personally find them stressful, and then there's the packaging - everything is individually packaged so a lot of plastic waste.

We're trying Gousto next week which I've heard is better.

Loved until they just didn't deliver a box one week with no warning and left me with no food. Their solution was to offer me a 50% refund and none of their staff had a clue what was happening. Have switched to gusto and they are great.

The portions are good and it’s ridiculously easy to follow the recipes.

We had a few missing items which was a pain.

I have a referral code so if you wanted to try some boxes for free then I’m happy to DM it.

I'm just about to cancel ours - the recipes were just getting too repetitive unless you wanted to pay for the more expensive range.

However the meals were nice and it did encourage the kids to try new foods.

We have had them over Covid times and really liked the ease and the diversity of recipes, but lately had some major delivery problems (whole boxes missing 2 weeks in a row) / items consistently missing from individual recipes. We have now cancelled. We tried Mindful Chef which was great but a bit too expensive, and will be trying Gousto next.

I use Gousto, but don't have a subscription so we just order it when we're in a food rut and want to try something different. It was also useful when ds1 was veggie (he's reverted to omnivore).

It is great having everything already portioned out, but there is a lot of plastic packaging as a PP said. A lot of the dishes seem to involve frying at some stage too, so not massively healthy. That said, there are some recipes that I have re done using bought in ingredients or have tweaked a bit.

I tend to buy 4 portion meals as it works out cheaper per portion. I have had items missing or short dated on a few occasions, they don't refund but will credit against your next order.

Thanks everyone, sounds like it depends on where you live.

The plastic was a concern of mine too, as I’d heard negative things about that.

Yello, I’d love that code please.

I have a Gusto code if anyone is interested. 60% off first box then 30% off the next one. It does give me some money off my next box, just wanted to be open about that if someone wants to use it.

https://cook.gousto.co.uk/raf?promocode=ASHLE42444393&utmm_source=iosapp

I found the recipes much faffier than Gousto. The quality is poorer. The quantities a bit iffy at times (a dish last week only had one potato between two adults) I also think the food isn't that tasty. A lot of it lacks oumph. We've also had ingredients missing. Incorrect recipes/quantities sent and the customer feedback people were not all that receptive. We used them whilst we had discount but I rate Gousto much higher. I enjoy cooking so the boxes are just to take the pressure off occasionally. Gousto has much more generous portions so enough for leftovers a lot of the time for lunch and it is much tastier meals that I often recreate myself again and again.

I’ve heard great things about Gousto, I’ll consider them too I think.

I like the idea of having leftovers for lunch.

It's awful. Had rotten vegetables every single time I tried it. Gousto is amazing and I can't recommend them enough. Flavourful, and amazing quality ingredients.

Recipes are revolting. Gousto is much better. Disclaimer - DH is pescatarian so we haven't had any meat recipes.

Hello Fresh has gone downhill, read recents reviews- many complaining of missing items and poor customer service.

I prefer Gousto but HF portion sizes are a bit bigger so I can usually get an extra portion from things like stews and curries. I don't ironically always find their ingredients the freshest.

I think they're quite nice ( I always have the veggie meals) but they're very often a real faff to cook, so I cut corners and adapt. If you follow the instructions to the letter it's quite frustrating how many pots and pans you use! They are a bit too repetitive and rely a lot on chilis and curries - do not suitable for DS as he didn't like spicy food. This then means I have to cook a different meal for him. I use them probably once a month and they have their plus sides. Gousto I didn't like.

We have Mindful Chef after trying Gusto and Hello Fresh. They send things packed in wooden blankets which you can send back free, they buy a meal for a child in poverty for everyone you buy and the meals come in little brown paper sacks. They're rated v well environmentally too.

Have never had anything missing and the meat etc is great quality. We did at first think the portions may be too small but what they send is what should be a proper adult portion so it's done wonders for our waistlines.

You get 25% off the first 4 boxes of you use the email of someone you know who uses them.

We had a couple of months of HF but then cancelled as work picked up again and just didn’t have the time to complete the recipes - there was just too much prep and/or cooking and cleaning up after time involved.

Gousto is much, much better.

I found with any of them that it is best to do all the prep first and not as it tells you to do, during the recipe as there is not enough time to be prepping and stirring as you go along. Less stressful for me that way.

Have used it on and off for years.

On the whole the recipes are really nice and it saves so much hassle.

But since March last year we kept having problems. I don’t think we had a week where we didn’t have either rotten food or missing ingredients. It became more trouble than it was worth. We went back to it again after Christmas as we had missed it, persisted for five months but the quality of the food and care in ensuring it was all there was missing. We had a random box they cancelled on the day that was really annoying, and they offered a £5 credit to rectify it!

One main issue we found is that a lot of the dishes are high calorie (800 plus per portion) so it’s not the healthiest diet.

Have done both gousto and hello fresh. Am
Time poor but financially comfortable. And being able to cut back on meal planning
And shopping but eat healthy and interesting foods worked so well for us especially during
The many months of full time home working and home schooling two primary age kids over last year.

Over the summer months now when its lighter and warmer and a walk to the shops for a few bits feels less daunting i am skipping a few weeks here and there or if it feels samey.

I've just cancelled my Hello Fresh subscription because the last two deliveries were with Yodel and not DPD. The first one the box arrived bashed to pieces and wide open, the second one they text the two hour delivery slot five minutes before they delivered, and I was out.

You do get random ingredients missing or veg that's gone off, but I complain every time and they always give some sort of credit.

I found the amount of single use packaging obscene. But I might not be typical. Usually I cycle down to the refill shop.

We are veggie during the week and I’m quite happy with HF’s range even though I’m a v keen cook myself when I’ve got the time. No delivery problems so far, and have skipped weeks when we’ve got other plans. What I love most is the reduction of mental load involved in planning and varying meals. Also that it’s so easy to follow the recipes that it encourages my reluctant cook DH to take his turn.