Elderly and Senior Meal Delivery Solutions from the Experiences of Family Caretakers for New Family Caretakers
Top Chef Meals
Top Chef Meals Review of their Senior Meals and Prepared Meal Delivery Service
About Top Chef Meals - Senior Meal Delivery
Not only do we think Top Chef Meals is the best value for senior meal deliveries, we think their food is the closest you will get to homemade. There may be some minor bumps in the road, especially when someone is cooking homemade comfort food for you, but this service checks a lot of boxes for family caretakers seeking a private-pay option for feeding their loved ones.
Top Chef Meals is located in Elmsford, NY. The company provides breakfast, lunch and dinner entrees, and desserts. Their meals are prepared by chefs using locally sourced meats and vegetables when possible. Family caretakers should note that seniors over 60 years old can receive a 15 percent discount.
Top Chef Meals are created by chefs with vast experience in catering. Every meal can be customized with choices of different side dishes. Meals are packed with dry ice and shipped via FedEx Ground in cardboard boxes with insulating foam liners which keeps food safe for up to three days. They now deliver to the continental U.S., click to read their press release.
We have had some shipping issues, but overall, it is hard to beat the selection of senior meals on their website, the option to customize by nutritional values, and the price for meals that are very similar to homemade comfort meals.
100% Guarantee
- Top Chef Meals does not accept returns of food, but, in the event that your order is spoiled, damaged, or otherwise rendered inedible due to a shipping or delivery issue, the company will replace the food or credit your account for the inedible meals.
Our Top Chef Meals Reviews
We reviewed Top Chef Meals a few years ago and found their meal delivery service to be above average in quality, reasonably priced, but with some shipping and packaging flaws. We did notice packaging upgrades from cardboard to plastic trays, which hold a seal better, but the process is not quite 100% yet.
Our delivery area qualified for overnight delivery, meaning our food arrived frozen, in an insulated tote bag, packed with dry ice on top, and delivered in the middle of the night. Some family caretakers may find this inconvenient, especially if they are ordering for their loved one remotely. We brought our tote in at 7 a.m., and the food was still frozen. Non-local customers will have their meals arrive via FedEx in insulated coolers.
Some Shipping Concerns
We found 4 of our 15 meals had broken seals on the tray, and one meal leaked sauce throughout the bottom of the tote. Although the risk is probably minimal, we prefer not to eat any meals that arrive with the seal broken. We also found excessive water in four other meals, which obviously "waters down" sauces or makes mashed potatoes soupy. In our last review, we suggested Top Chef Meals use trays with three compartments to help alleviate this problem. The company remains committed to single and double compartment trays.
We loved the little "extra sauce or gravy" package that came with some of the meals. Very clever, and it really makes a difference in the preparation of the meals.
The heating instructions say the food has to be defrosted to reheat, and left in the refrigerator overnight. This might seem a bit of an inconvenience for family caretakers caring for an elderly loved one, but we left our meals on the counter for an hour, and they reheated just fine. In our experience, we find prepared meals reheat and taste better if they are microwaved as little as possible, so this is excellent advice. Oven directions are also available.
Our Top Chef Meals Review of Purchased Prepared Senior Meals
Top Chef Meals offers an ordering option of "50% more protein," meaning for about $1 more, the size of your protein doubles. We believe family caretakers should take advantage of this great opportunity, especially if your loved is older or eats less. You will basically two meals for the price of one. Ours came with one giant pork chop on the bone, and two thick slices of pork tenderloin. Both were excellent.
Meals We Would Order Again
Cavatappi Bolognese - $8.95
This meal was the one that spilled over in our delivery tote, but that could have been because the tray was packed with as much Cavatappi Bolognese as could possibly fit, and the weight of all the other meals on top of it. It is not a true "Bolognese," but these days everyone calls a meat sauce a Bolognese. Even so, the pasta was perfectly cooked and reheated without losing its al dente texture, and the amount of meat in the meat sauce is not only plentiful but high quality. It tastes homemade.
Chicken Marsala - $9.10
The sauce didn't appear to be, or taste like "Marsala," but it wasn't bad. We didn't care for the use of canned mushrooms, especially when you are sprinkling a few slices over the chicken. It is an unnecessary cheap decision. The CousCous was nothing short of the best we have ever had from any meal delivery service.
Filet Mignon - $16.10
Amazing the company can produce this in a way where it reheats without overcooking it. It was tender and flavorful. The seasoned spinach was also a home run, but the rice was dry. Having this Filet Mignon prepared meal delivered to your home is a perfectly executed treat.
Wild Mushroom Ravioli - $8.95
Outstanding! The pasta was soft, the filling was great, and the Broccoli Florets were florets instead of stumps like other services may give you.
But once again, the cheap and flavorless canned mushrooms sprinkled on top cheapens the meal. They serve no purpose except to save a few cents, or there is a lazy chef on staff.
Baby Back Ribs - $9.90
Ours came boneless, which will probably be a plus for family caretakers. We imagined Top Chef Meals bought a rack of baby back ribs and cut between the bones, and threw out everything else to make these. They also came extremely tender, and extra BBQ sauce was nice. Again, the rice was dry.
Boneless Beef Short Ribs - $10.45
This entree looked, and tasted, much more like pot roast than Braised Beef Short Ribs. The cabbage was outstanding. The tablespoon-sized mashed potatoes, although good, and certainly homemade, was a disappointment.
Flank Steak - $9.65
We had some excessive water in the tray, which ruined the mashed potatoes, but the steak was tender and flavorful. This time fresh mushrooms were used, not canned.
Any of the Omelet Breakfasts $5.95
We ordered both the ham and cheese and cheese omelet breakfasts, which were excellent. In fact, they tasted like they were made at a local diner.
It is refreshing to see a meal delivery actually cook omelets instead of buying those machine-made omelets you can find at gas stations. The breakfast potatoes are great too.
Grilled Pork Chop - $8.75
Ours came with one giant pork chop on the bone, and two thick slices of pork tenderloin. Both were excellent. The mashed potatoes at Top Chef are always so good but the amount you get always leaves you feeling a little shorted. They are not expensive. We think a little extra would go a long way towards customer satisfaction.
Meals We Probably Would Not Order Again
Please note, we wouldn't say any of these are particular "bad," they just fell short of our expectations. Top Chef Meals is service that offers seniors and family caretakers alike great value. If there were meals we thought you shouldn't order, we would tell you.
American Meatloaf - $8.75
Ours was a little on the dry side. You can see the crusted edges in the pictures as it was a day or two old. The tiny scoop of mashed potatoes was a disappointment. We loved the extra gravy and the Zucchini, which was obviously prepared fresh.
Chicken Parmesan - $9.00
One might think a company with a background in catering would make an excellent chicken Parmesan. We were surprised too.
Ours was lacking flavor, sauce, and cheese. It also seemed like it was triple-breaded to make it look bigger than it was. It could have been just a off day in the chicken because this is not a complicated dish, and a staple in the prepared meal delivery business.
Sesame Salmon - $10.65
The peas were good. The polenta had no flavor, and the sauce that came with the salmon didn't work for our taste buds.
Gouda Mac and Cheese $8.15
We were looking forward to this one, but the excessive water in the tray made the sauce watery and unappetizing.
Vegetable Cheese Lasagna - $9.25
Some meals automatically make your mouth water at the thought of having them. Lasagna is like that. This one disappointed our testers. Ours seemed to be layers of pasta and thinly sliced vegetables without a lot of Ricotta cheese. No one had a second taste.
Summary
Most of the meals we ordered were under $10, with a few over. Our "50%-more" filet mignon meal was $16. Overall, Top Chef Meals offers family caretakers a great value given the quality of the meals you get.
Many prepared meal delivery services use cheap, frozen proteins you can get in volume from a Costco and simply add them to microwave trays. Top Chef Meals cooks all the food themselves, and it truly tastes like it. Their history is in catering, and that is an excellent way to summarize the quality of the food you can expect to receive.
Shared Experiences from Other Family Caregivers
"I really enjoyed the meals and wish i had more of them to eat. They were very good."
-M. Muff, Fort Wayne, IN
"Top Chef was the worst choice regardless of what other reviews claimed. Meal preparation comes with 3 different versions and is difficult for seniors to follow. Vegetables are soggy, potatoes are mushy, meat is rock hard and has no flavor. I purchased 14 meals to cover one week for my parents. They tried 6 different meals and could not get them down. My parents aren't picky and hate to waste anything but they can not eat these Top Chef meals. Very disappointed and out a lot of money."
-T.Nave, Danville, IL
"I am very happy with this service. I ordered the Grilled Pork Chop. The pork chop was terrible. It was ridiculously very tough and chewy. I was really disappointed. Other items where fine. The side dish of sweet potatoes, green beans, potatoes are great. The zucchini was mushy because it was frozen when delivered. Overall, I am pleased with the meals. Thank you."
-Bernie Theus, Hilliard, Ohio
Submitted Reviews and Comments
- Have any comments? We would love to hear yours! Please share your food experiences with other family caretakers below. You can upload pictures to seniormealdeliveries@gmail.com.
Your Top Chef Meals Review
Our reviews are written only
from the viewpoint of a family caretaker who has the responsibility of feeding one or two senior or elderly loved ones. We take into consideration shipping, packaging, storage, reheating, food quality, and price per meal to determine if the meal delivery service is a good value, convenience, and an option to support their family caretaking responsibilities. Advertisers do not influence our reviews.
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