Restaurant Review: The Pantry’s new frozen ready meals

To launch their new range of frozen ready meals, The Pantry asked us along to a blind tasting – in complete darkness! This may seem a little strange but by suppressing the dominant sense of sight we were able to evaluate these meals using our gastronomic senses of taste and smell – a completely different experience.

The idea for the evening was to give feedback on the flavours, the textures and the seasoning of each meal. To allow the taste buds some measure of comparison, each of The Pantry ready meals were tasted alongside a current ‘competitor’ in the market.

This was a really fun evening and we sampled a variety of dishes. One favourite was the fish pie with a layer of mushy peas and filled with variety of delicious shellfish. We also sampled macaroni cheese with truffle oil and a lentil moussaka. I am certain that the feedback provided to the busy restaurant will ensure that when the meals hit the shelves you will like them very much.

The newly developed selection of ready meals, by Chris Thompson, are all based on ‘Pantry favourites’ and use locally sourced ingredients. There are eight varieties of ready meal in the collection (including four vegetarian options). Each meal is cooked straight from frozen, and comes in a variety of sizes including a family sized serving (servings available for 2/4 or 6).

The meals will be available to purchase from both The Pantry, and a number of local shops. The Pantry team are currently developing an app which, among other things, will provide details of where the ready meals can be purchased and will allow you to pre-order.

Although we heard about the biodegradable packaging, we didn’t see it on the night. That said we are really looking forward to seeing the packaging and branding in the light of day!

The Pantry, 1-2 North West Circus Place, 0131 6290 206