Top Chef Meals
Top Chef Meals Reviews - Prepared Meal Delivery reviews
Top Chef Meals (no relation to the TV show) are New Jersey caterers who now deliver chef-prepared frozen meals nationwide. We get the sincere feeling that this company bends over backward to provide their customers everything they could possibly want from meal delivery service. We found their food to be about as homemade as you can get, and especially with the comfort food meals.
- We loved the option of adding 50% more entree to a meal for a small upcharge.
- We loved the a la carte service with drop-down sections to choose your entree, side dish, and vegetable. Old DineWise customers would like this too!
- The meals come with generous portion sizes and cover a full range of dinner options. Customers can enjoy a Chicken Marsala meal for as little as $7.40 to Ahi Tuna ($11.40), Filet Mignon (14.75), and Prime Rib ($15.65).
- Customers can create original and compelling menus for their freezers for about $10 each, which is well below the national average in both food quality and average price.
Click on any image and read our detailed Top Chef Meals Review
We have reviewed this company many times over the years. One of the things that impressed us was the owner reaching out to us, acknowledging an opportunity to improve their service, and implementing corrections to improve their customer experience. Consumers can take for granted just how difficult it is to make great-tasting meals for a below-average price and above average portion sizes, package and freeze them, deliver them nationwide, make them reheat perfectly, and have the customer enjoy them as if a Top Chef was in their kitchen cooking for them. Consumers will only notice if any one of those steps doesn't work out. It is quite a challenge for any company and requires dedicated management and leadership to adapt and improve their service and keeping the cost within reason. In our opinion, Top Chef Meals scores highest in the country on all points.
- 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - We hold great respect for those meal delivery services that stand by their product and services with a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. In our experience, we never have to use it for companies that offer it.
- Homemade Comfort Food - All the times we have ordered and reviewed this company through the years, we get the feeling food is cooked to order. You've eaten your Mom's Meatloaf a thousand times. It's delicious and consistent, but it's never exactly the same. We get the same feeling from Top Chefs line of Comfort foods. Not only is the food homemade (which is becoming a rare thing these days) the portion sizes are huge, and the prices are less than what you would expect to pay if you were to dine out. These are the core fundamentals of the prepared meal delivery industry, and no one does it better than Top Chef Meals.
- Gourmet and Premium Menus - You can assume you get about any meal on the regular menu for $10 or less. These are exceptional meals like Chicken Marsala, Flank Steak, Lasagna, Meatloaf, Baked Tilapia, and more. But if you want to step up to the Gourmet and Premium menus, you have meals like Seared Ahi Tuna, Roasted Prime Rib, Filet Mignon, Baby Back Ribs, Surf N' Turf Lobster and Flank Steak, and more.
- $1 for 50% Larger Entree - We used this option to buy all of our meals, so you can deduct a dollar if you like to see your regular sized prices. But why would do that? It is the best dollar you can spend.
- Nutritional Diet Support
- Top Chefs has diet plans for people in need of low sodium, diabetic, gluten-free, dairy-free, and low-fat diet plans.
Our Top Chef Meals Review of their Meal Delivery Service
Top Chef Meals We Would Order Again
- Prime Rib, Smashed Red Skin Potatoes, and Zucchini
- Seared Lump Crab Meat Cakes, CousCous and Cabbage
- Turkey Meatloaf w/Gravy, Mashed Potatoes, and Green Beans
- Chicken Parmesan with Rotini Pasta with Cauliflower Florets
- Cavatappi Bolognese with Cabbage
- Meat Lasagna with Peas
- Meatloaf with Gravy, Smashed Red Skin Potatoes, and Corn
- Salsa Omelet with Breakfast Potatoes and Pork Sausage
- Tuscan Style Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Garlic and Sage
- Seared Ahi Tuna with White Quinoa with Spinach
- Flounder Francaise with CousCous with Brussel Sprouts
- Shrimp and Grits
- Thanksgiving Dinner for Two
Top Chef Meals We Would Not Reorder
Prime Rib with Red Skin Potatoes and Zucchini - $17
You are not going to find a national meal delivery service that is going to send you a thick slice of this absolutely stunning Prime Rib dinner, much less one that will do it for $17. We did spend the extra $1 for the thicker cut, and it was well worth it. The Au Jus comes from the drippings of the roast. When you pair the beef, the gravy, and the homemade mashed potatoes, you can't help but close your eyes and savor gourmet dining elegance at a very affordable price. The Zucchini was on par as it was fresh and maintained a firm texture from its original cooking through our microwave reheating. If there was a Yorkshire Pudding, I might have thought I was back home visiting Mum.
-Chef Aldo Piquanti
Seared Lump Crab Meat Cakes with Vegetable CousCous with Cabbage - $13
If you are inclined to order crab cakes from an online prepared meal delivery service, you probably do so with dreams of the Maryland Crabcakes. Maybe you were there, perhaps you ran into someone who knew how to make them, but the experience was unforgettable. These are good, but not the classic recipe of just lump crab, Old Bay Seasoning, and a binder, fried to perfection. They do have filler, and they might not be large enough to be a complete meal for some. We liked them because we found the meal to be a good value for $13 and we would order it again. We could put the vegetable CousCous on every meal we order from Top Chefs, and the Sauteed Cabbage was outstanding.
-Morris Pelphner
Turkey Meatloaf w/Mushroom Gravy, Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes, and Green Beans - $9
This is the best Turkey Meatloaf you can buy. Period. And I mean from other meal delivery services, supermarkets, and anywhere else you may be able to have one delivered to your home. The reason we spend so much time and energy taking pictures of the meals we review is because you can see food quality. Click on the image and look at the close-up view. Isn't that something you would want to eat? Of course, it is. The food is as delicious as it looks in the picture.
The one challenge every chef has when cooking a Turkey Meatloaf is how to make it without being dry. They did an excellent job, and the homemade mashed potatoes and the farm-fresh string beans define what comfort dining is.
-Nicole DiLayne
Chicken Parmesan with Marinara Sauce with Rotini Pasta with Cauliflower Florets - $9
As a chef, I love reviewing companies I have reviewed many times before. Recipes will tend to be consistent, but cooking styles can change. One of the things I love about Top Chef Meals is that I genuinely know they cook their own food because each batch can come out just slightly different. This is a good meal, and for $9 it's a good value, in fact, one of the best Chicken Parmesan Meals you'll find at this price.
From one chef to another, the chicken is pounded too thin, and it's double dipped with breadcrumbs. It looks enormous, but it will disappoint some, as the breading is thicker than the chicken. It makes me wonder who the star of the plate is? Is it the chicken or the breading?
The pasta and I have to say all the pasta I have had from this company over the years has been perfectly cooked and reheated perfectly, is once again a measure of their skill and dedication. I could snack on the Cauliflower, and its hint of garlic, all day long.
-Chaf Aldo Piquanti
Cavatappi Bolognese with Cabbage - $9
Okay, you caught me. I ordered the Seasoned Cabbage again to review this meal. I tried to order something else, but the flavor combination of cabbage, lemons, apples, and seasoning is done perfectly. Usually, Chef Piquanti will review anything we try that has a Bolognese Sauce because he is an authority on making the sauce in the traditional Italian method. He's still eating Prime Rib, so we waved on to me. When I review a pasta meal, I look at what the chef calls the dish. In this case, the pasta is first, and I have to say not many meal delivery services deliver pasta that ends up tasting like it was just made. This one does. We can tell from the item description on the website that this is Meat Sauce instead of a Bolognese. Which is fine with me. You would have a hard time beating the quality and value of this meal for $9.
-Morris Pelphner
Meat Lasagna with Peas - $9
When I go out to my favorite Italian Restaurant to get a delicious Lasagna, it will cost me $14, not come with my choice of side dish, and not be as good as this one is. It's almost like I'm cheating on my boyfriend, except he doesn't see my love of food as competition to him.
Probably the most significant difference is that is Lasagna is layered high and packed with the perfect amount of beef to help the Lasagna stand. The sauce is comparable to any you would find at an Italian Restaurant, and the cheeses are not the low-fat, cheaper and flavorless versions that seem to be infecting Italian eateries all over the country. I chose the peas because that's how my Mom served Lasagna.
-Nicole DiLayne
Meatloaf with Gravy, Smashed Red Skin Potatoes, and Corn - $9
Earlier, I was lucky enough to review the Turkey Meatloaf, and now I get to share with you another comfort meal the rest of the prepared meal industry has forgotten how to make. I ordered it with mashed potatoes and corn to savor the full comfort food experience, and I was not disappointed.
If you were to search this website, you would find a dozen other meatloaf meals that were machine processed patties known to show up in the microwave food sections of gas stations and quick marts. If I had one suggestion it would be that it is light on seasoning, but Top Chefs also have this on their low sodium diet plan so I see why. Adding salt is not the same as cooking with salt in it, but I am doing happy dances in Culinary Joyville that I found a meal delivery service that cares enough to deliver a traditional homemade meatloaf dinner to their customers for just $9.
-Nicole DiLayne
Mexican Salsa Omelet with Roasted Breakfast Potatoes and Pork Sausage - $6
We can't pass on the opportunity to get an omelet from Top Chefs. Once the menu was full of them, now the breakfast section is dwindling. No surprise though, Americans don't think of ordering and stocking their freezers for breakfast, so it is becoming rare that any breakfast options are being offered by any company.
You would pay double at your local diner for a similar breakfast you can add to your order for just $6. All the breakfast meals here are good so if you do have a need, add a few to your order instead of buying breakfast from the "2 for $5" menu at your local fast food drive-thru.
-Morris Pelphner
Tuscan-Style Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Garlic and Sage - $9
Tuscan cooking is defined as simple preparation without heavy sauces. Olive oil is used instead of butter, and local seasonal herbs accompany traditional spices in the recipe. Most meal delivery services use fancy names to make their food sound more expensive, and it's rare when we see a company actually produce what the style of cooking suggests.
In this case, Top Chefs knocked this Pork tenderloin out of the park. Click the image and look at the close up of the meal. You will see the gourmet effort put into how this meal was made, if not taste it. The sides are just as impressive. It is too good to cost $9. Yes, I would order it again.
-Chef Aldo Piquanti
Seared Ahi Tuna with White Quinoa and Spinach - $12.50
No one I am aware of has Seared Ahi Tuna on their prepared meal delivery menu. I am not even sure I can buy a piece of Ahi Tuna this large for $12.50, much less have it delivered to my home as part of a complete meal. I would assume those of you that would order this are familiar with cooking it, but if you are not, be very careful about overheating it. Only the edges are supposed to be seared. You may want to put the tuna on its own microwave safe plate and give it short blasts of 20 seconds just to take the chill off. Another option would be to sear the edges just to warm it up.
But what a wonderful dish!
-Nicole DiLayne
Flounder Francaise with CousCous and Brussel Sprouts - $9
One really gets the sense that Top Chefs cooks their food to order. The light breading on this flounder has the most delicate crunch, which I found quite impressive. More importantly, the fish itself was fresh. It has no "sitting around fishy smell" whatsoever. I envisioned a Top Chef going to the fishmonger, picking out a giant-sized fillet, cooking it, and putting it in my order, because that is what it tasted like.
You already know how I feel about the Vegetable CousCous, so you shouldn't be too surprised to see me take advantage of customizing what goes on my plate, and adding it to another order. The Brussel sprouts are in the same category. If you love them, load up!
-Morris Pelphner
Shrimp and Grits with Ratatouille - $9
I have seen a version of this meal on a meal delivery menu once, and it was awful. The meal is easy enough to make. The challenge is getting it to the customer, having them reheat it, and not having the shrimp shrink to nothing and the grits to turn into concrete. Of course, these are the signs of overheating in a microwave, but the customer will not blame themselves, they will blame the food service.
Top Chefs did a masterful job in preparing the meal. The generous portion of shrimp are seasoned deliciously, and the grits have a hint of Parmesan flavor to them. But the most prominent service is on the well thought out directions of how to reheat the meal. Follow them step by step, and you'll have a perfect dish that's a great value at $9.
-Chef Aldo Piquanti
Thanksgiving Dinner for Two - $28
We are continually being asked what people can send to loved ones for the Holidays as a food gift. Many family members will send expensive food packages to their single or elderly parents when they can't be with them to share in the holiday celebration. Millions and millions of dollars are up for grabs, and we recommend no one. That's right, no one.
Until now. I would be proud to serve my family this Thanksgiving meal. The turkey is real, not sliced from cold cuts as most others do. The mashed potatoes are real, not instant like most others do. I think you get the point. Forget about the cost and send two or three of these. Leftovers will be just as thoughtful as the holiday.
-Nicole DiLayne
Top Chef Meals Review by Chef Piquanti
Published on Aug 25, 2012
Our Top Chef Meals Review of their Meal Delivery Service
Overall, I was somewhat surprised and impressed by the food I purchased from Top Chef Meals. The food was good, the portion sizes were average, and I found the meals to be a good value.
Not all was perfect, however. All of my breakfast meals had the seals on the packaging broken during shipping. I can be understanding about that, but a consumer may find it to be very annoying to purchase meals online, only to receive them with the seals on the packaging broken. I also did not get any heating instructions on my breakfasts. As a result, most of the meals were overcooked in the microwave. I did figure out a few by trial and error, but proper labels should be on every meal.
Some of the meals I had came with excess water in the trays. However, I was able to spoon out the meal components and enjoy the meal without issue. But aside from those issues, I thought these meals were a good value at about $10 each.
Top Chef Meals Reviews from Consumers
Better Than Average
Overall: Silver Medal
- Website Ease of Ordering: Excellent
- Reheating: Excellent
- Customer Service: Not Experienced
- Shipping: Fair
- Taste and Food Quality: Excellent
- Value: Good
-B. Howell Jr.
Maryland
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Morris Pelphner
Founder and Director
Prepared Meal Delivery Reviews
Chef Aldo Piquanti,
Video Food Blogger
Formerly of Gourmet-Reviews.com
Nicole DiLayne
Food Blogger
Formerly of Prepared-Meals.com
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