To cancel the food delivery

[MonkeyBirdy]

I live overseas and we have this thing here where you can get your dinner delivered every day. So around 4pm a guy arrives on a motorbike with a tiffin box of food for me. I get three dishes per day - one meat, one vegetable and one random which will be either tofu, fish, egg, something like that. It's mostly Indian/Chinese style food. It's home cooked and very cost effective, I don't think I could do the same for cheaper. It's obviously also really convenient.

But lately the food has changed and the woman who organises it confirmed she'd hired a chef whereas before she used to cook herself. The food is now saltier and not so nice tasting plus the proportion of spicy dishes has gone way up which I'm not a fan of. The variety of dishes is reduced as well, it feels like we're getting the same thing over and over again. Doesn't help that I'm just out of the first trimester and I kind of associate it with feeling rough as I really couldn't eat much of it when pregnant. Unfortunate that the change in chef coincided with that first trimester.

DH is all for just carrying on as we are because he still likes the food (he didn't notice the chef had changed plus he really likes spicy food anyway). But I'm so tempted to cancel. Would I be mad to? I haven't cooked regularly since I moved overseas 6 years ago and we've got an 18 month old...I'm just so sick of eating it every day!

Hi OP
services like that are available where I live. It is cheaper and easier than eating out but I really don't like the local cuisine and have food allergies so I gave up pretty quickly. DP loves it so often we order his lunch this way.
Things to consider would be can you easily get ingredients you know how to use? or are you willing to learn to cook with local ingredients. We are lucky that veg, meat and some fruits are pretty cheap here so I can make the kind of food I like without the cost being huge. Also don't forget cooking generates mess again we are lucky enough to afford live out help if I had to do the dishes everyday on top of the cooking i'd probably be much more tempted by the food I don't like but is convenient.
Perhaps reduce the days and see how you get on. Like pp. have said often posts where people talk about things alien to the UK get a lot of unhelpful comments. Do you have any local or expat friends you could ask?

sorry I meant cooking not eating out

I remember you! You're the one whose parents went through bottles of washing up liquid when they came to stay even though there were hardly any dishes to wash! Havent read everyone's comments so someone may have said that already.

The food thing sounded amazing. I wish we had that here.

I'd hate to give it up. Have you given her feedback? Maybe just let her know your opinion on the change and see if they can move back to a more balanced style and more variety?

It sounds wonderful, if you enjoyed the food, but I can see how it would be a big decision if it's culturally the norm to have it but you're not enjoying it.

Could you have a break for a week or two and see how you get on?

I do think it will be quite a shock to the system to have to suddenly shop for and cook (and clear up) your own meals, even though the vast majority on MNetters don't daily.

Could you ask her to talk to the chef? If the food is too salty then surely that's such an easy fix.

You are very lucky to have this option. But it sounds really boring as well. I love going on holiday and being fed daily. But after a week, I am fed up. So I get exactly what you mean.

Can you afford to buy and cook more? Personally I would rather eat more expensive food that I like than food I’m fed up with.

Deliveries will probably be a blessing as your pregnancy progresses and after your baby is born. Maybe go for a couple of times a week deliveries? It’s simple to batch cook food so you don’t need to be cooking every day.

Most people in the UK live off ready meals and take-away, the concept of proper "cooking" is completely lost on half the population. You can even buy ready-made omelettes!

Don't go from no cooking to cooking 7 days a week, twice a day!

Find another cook, or start cooking 2 days a week and see how you get on.

God I’d fucking love this. Someone else delivering fresh Indian/chinese food every day for less than it would cost to cook myself? Bring it on. OP i’d do as others suggest - scout around for an alternative, maybe for yourself if not DH, and send this lady some feedback.

Yes that's me! That thread got quite side tracked 😂😂

It's not just that it's more salty. The new chef just isn't as good so the balance of flavours isn't correct.

No live in help and no dishwasher. I don't think the dishes would be a lot more than what I do now though as I'd be going for one pot style meals.

I have looked for alternatives but they're so hard to find. Partly a language barrier I think.

@EssentialHummus

God I’d fucking love this. Someone else delivering fresh Indian/chinese food every day for less than it would cost to cook myself? Bring it on. OP i’d do as others suggest - scout around for an alternative, maybe for yourself if not DH, and send this lady some feedback.

Yes, this is one of the things I miss most about Asia. But also, with the service culture in Asia, most home cooks will tailor their food for you. And if not, there are hundreds of others. So I do not see the problem.

Maybe ask the owner of the business if there are any of the dishes that she still cooks herself, and only order those?

Look at preparing food for the week. Maybe you can prep say 5 family meals in a cook-session and they are quick to throw together on the day.

I wouldn't want to be eating food which was over-salted for health reasons.
If you want to continue using this service which does sound good to be honest, then talk to the woman again and explain that you're not happy and ask whether an improvement could be expected shortly. If you don't get any joy there, then change to a different service provider - I'm sure you could find one.

I would reduce the days, but keep a few days that you still get a delivery. Maybe you can talk to the lady to ask which dishes she still makes, or tell her you're pregnant and the spice levels are making you sick to see if the cook can scale it back to how she used to do it. If you use your pregnancy as an excuse, it should stay a friendly conversation! Or even keep it so on days that you want to make something only you fancy without sharing, your husband can eat the food delivery for dinner.

I love cooking, I find it relaxing at the end of the day and I enjoy weekly planning but I realised during lockdown here that I only enjoy doing it when I only cook dinner 3-4 days a week with the other days covered by dinner parties at friends' houses, restaurants, or takeaways. Planning/cooking 3 meals a day, 7 days a week for the family was exhausting and I got completely burnt out. If you don't have takeaways available where you are I'd keep the food delivery going at least a few days a week.

You might also just be sick of the same sort of food all the time. I love Indian/Chinese but I do like variety too!! I bet you're not getting many fresh salads in your tiffin boxes - I made the most glorious Ottolenghi tomato salad the other day and yesterday I had a cobb salad for lunch...sorry I'm digressing now, I can tell I'm hungry for lunch!!!

Hi OP - I don't think you have said where you live, I live in Singapore where food delivery, helpers etc is just the way of life (also the language barrier sometimes!).

If I were you, I would give up on this arrangement. As you said, you have complained and given it plenty of time, but things haven't changed or improved.

Do you have a community group (eg we have a Whatsapp and FB group for all the residents of our apartment block)? If so, you could ask for recommendations from others for similar food delivery set ups?

Would you consider having a part-time helper who would prepare food for you and then leave? Again, you may be able to find someone who you can 'share' with other residents or neighbours, but I do acknowledge the Covid risk of someone going between homes.

For regular meals, we have struck a balance between cooking at home (and stomaching the cost of imported ingredients!) and one or two delivery orders via Grab / FoodPanda or similar during the week.

(I grew up in Asia so I completely understand the dynamic of groceries being more expensive than restaurants/food deliveries - when my mum took over from our cook to make Western food at home, it was like a super expensive treat!!)

I have looked for alternatives but they're so hard to find. Partly a language barrier I think.

Would DH be able to ask people at work if they use similar or there might be people more fluent that could help you out?

Did the lady who used to cook tell you why she has now employed someone? Did it get too much for her or was she expanding? Might be interesting to know as she might take someone else on who might suit better. Maybe the "chef" is more used to doing normal take-away type food rather than being a home cook as your original lady was and it might be difficult to get back to that style.

OP, it's difficult to advise because, although most people in the UK do cook every night, there are lots of things which may make this easier than where you are. Most people have a dishwasher and fairly big fridge and freezer and the UK has a huge range of ready-made and convenience foods.

I cook from scratch maybe 2-3 times a week. One night we have ready-made pizza and salad, so that's just 10 minutes in the oven. We eat defrosted leftovers from batch cooking a couple of nights a week. The rest are easy meals...picnic food, fish fingers, scrambled eggs, baked beans. Personally, I would not want to have to do any more "proper" cooking than I am doing already. So in your case, if cancelling the service meant cooking from scratch every night and having to wash up afterwards, I would either keep it for 3-4 nights a week or find an alternative.

Cheap spicy food direct to your door !!

Where do I sign up for this ?

Is this a stealth brag ???

I wouldn't pay to get food delivered if I didn't actually like it, no.

No amount of convenience would make me eat food that I didn't like every single bloody day!

I think your options are:

1. Tell the woman you don't like it anymore, can she change back? (She might have other feedback along the same lines).
2. Find an alternative supplier perhaps by asking around;
3. Go half supplier and half you and see how you go;
4. Cook everything yourself.

I would start cooking. It is really important for children to watch and get involved, so that they are able to cook healthy balanced meals for themselves in the future.

Good lord, lots of vipers showing their lack of tolerance on here, someone has a different cultural experience of food, and the world turns on its axis!

If it helps, this tiffin service is pivotal in a beautiful film I’ve just watched, if you can get hold of it you might learn something!!

The Lunchbox, “all about the famously efficient Mumbai tiffin system”

OP, sorry, I’m joining the derail, but honestly, I’d start cooking once or twice a week, see how you go, and only cancel the deliveries if you get into the routine easily. Meanwhile, yes ask your neighbours (or maybe your midwife/doctor for any ideas?

She's opened a restaurant which is what she's focusing on I think so fair play to her. I think what someone said upthread is right that the person she's hired is used to restaurant style cooking rather than home cooking. I've asked her whether we can reduce to a couple of days a week so hopefully that works out. It's hard cause it's such a mixed bag like tonight we got a very nice piece of steamed fish that everyone ate but then with it was this weird meat stew that is just incredibly salty with little flavour other than that.

We cook at the weekends and for lunch so children would be exposed to cooking anyway. Not the biggest concern. I would like to improve my cooking myself though so that will be a bonus.

@lborgia

Good lord, lots of vipers showing their lack of tolerance on here, someone has a different cultural experience of food, and the world turns on its axis!

If it helps, this tiffin service is pivotal in a beautiful film I’ve just watched, if you can get hold of it you might learn something!!

The Lunchbox, “all about the famously efficient Mumbai tiffin system”

OP, sorry, I’m joining the derail, but honestly, I’d start cooking once or twice a week, see how you go, and only cancel the deliveries if you get into the routine easily. Meanwhile, yes ask your neighbours (or maybe your midwife/doctor for any ideas?

Where’s the intolerance?! I’m Asian and I don’t see any.

I would reduce the number of days that you have it.

I appreciate there is a language barrier but could you use translating apps and post in a local Facebook group? Even if the service providers don’t have access to the internet, people who use the service might be able to make recommendations?
Or maybe keep an eye out for a delivery person who isn’t yours and ask them?
Sounds like you’ve already given feedback and this isn’t going to change.

In the UK people are saying it’s normal to coco every day however I think it’s much more easy to pick up convenience foods.
For example for my tea tonight I just have to shove the pre- prepared chicken and potatoes in the oven and then microwave the veg!
However you could do more grilled meat and rice dishes? Or batch cook a huge portion once a week?