The Good Fork deli box

We can get our groceries delivered from a supermarket, our snacks from graze and our veg boxes from Abel and Cole or Riverford and now, finally, goodies from a deli too.

The Good Fork has launched the first deli box service we’ve seen, and it’s a godsend for folk like us who live some way from the closest deli.

Unlike other food delivery companies, the website only has a couple of box options, a Good Fork or a Bigger Fork, and your can order either as a one off or monthly delivery.

It’s not slick: the website doesn’t have the kind of likes and dislikes and options that other websites offer. But on this occasion, we’ll take substance over style because thankfully the food is carefully and lovingly sourced.

Virginia Webb, who has put the operation together, has lived and worked in Italy and France and comes across as someone who really knows her stuff. Included with our box was a well-presented leaflet with recipe suggestions and detailed information about the products we received, underpinning her ethos of local and quality sourcing.

Our seven-item box contained: Fregola sarda, a type of pasta balls from Sardinia that we have never seen before, Piquillo peppers from Spain, Sardinade, a sardine spread, Gordal olives with chilli that have just won a gold taste award from the guild of fine food, saffron, harissa and green fig preserve. It cost £28.50 including delivery; bigger boxes cost £35.50 and contain 8-10 items.

What did we think? First of all, it’s good value, especially as the price includes postage, and secondly, it got our imaginations racing. We used to relish the days we received veg boxes containing things we had never seen before and had the same kind of thrill here.

We probably wouldn’t order one every month but as a treat it’s excellent, and the website is set up for one-off ordering as well as regular orders. We hear that the company is going to launch gift boxes soon too, which would make great Xmas presents for foodies we know.

The one thing that let it down was the box. We’re so used to the stylish packaging of companies like graze that the unbranded box we got seemed a bit shabby. But like we say, the substance more than makes up for the lack of style. We’re pleased to shout from the rooftops that the deli box has landed…

For more information, or to make your first order, head on over to thegoodfork.co.uk

Reviewed on 2011-09-22 by Matt