Gourmio – The taste of Italy to your doorstep – Review

When we were contacted by Gourmio to review their food, it took us a matter of minutes to say yes. Their beautiful sounding authentic Italian dishes made our taste buds do a little dance with excitement.

Basically, Gourmio brings the best of Italian produce and recipes to your doorstep, for much less than the cost of a flight.

The company was created after a summer holiday in Puglia, a beautiful agricultural region in the ‘heel’ of Italy. It was here that Marco discovered burrata, the special cheese of Puglia. Apparently, when he took his first bite he had a ‘eureka moment’, and Gourmio was born.

Whilst the recipe selection is relatively small, it is clear this new exciting ready-to-cook recipe box company is focused on quality rather than quantity. I’m also told that the menu choices change, so there should always be something new to try. There was of course only one-way to find out, so we ordered 1 starter and 3 mains to try.

Each meal came in its own box, and each component came in its own container. Because the items are produced Italy and packed fresh, the best before date is on the side of each box, so make sure you take note of it before you throw it away. That said, each box had at least 2 weeks and it barely lasted a week.

Each dish is rated for how easy it is to cook and each dish comes with its own menu card and if that isn’t enough, a number of the recipes also have How To: YouTube videos, but you’re unlikely to need them. On the subject of the website, it is easy to use. As the brand develops I look forward to seeing what improvements they come up with and if you’re not sure about something, just ask they seem very quick to respond.

Octopus Elba style

The Elba is a simple, but flavoured recipe which promises you the real taste of the Tyrrhenian sea. While I’m not going to tell you that I felt like I was transported there when I closed my eyes, I can tell you that this dish was as tasty as it was easy to make.

Roast pork in wild fennel

I cooked this dish for my mum when she was visiting, the test with this one was, would she be able to tell that I didn’t ‘cook’ it. Yup she guessed almost instantly, which is a huge positive for the dish, as my cooking is normally very average. The fennel shone through, but delicate and not overpowering. The most complicated part of this dish was ensuring I didn’t overcook the courgette.

Ricotta and spinach tortelli, maremmano sauce and Caciotta

The first main I cooked and if I had to choose, also my favourite, so light and flavoursome. Which isn’t surprising considering the ingredients of this recipe are considered as the highest expression of the typical Maremma’s cuisine: ricotta, ragu and Caciotta of Manciano.

Spelt macaroni with swordfish ragu and lemon zest

This dish was very fishy, but in a good way, it was simply a delightful thing and more importantly simple to cook. Swordfish has been on my list to try for a while, but thankfully I didn’t have follow a recipe book and likely fail in the process.

So, who’s Gourmio for? Each meal feeds two, so keep that in mind. I think Gourmio is perfect for when you want to impress in a hurry. Dinner parties, a romantic meal, parents coming to visit and meet the new partner, you get the idea. Next day delivery is available, but the further in advance that you order, the more likely what you want will be in stock, and delivery is free for orders over £40. Visit their website and explore their recipes.

We collaborated with Gourmio on this review, however, LDN Life retained full editorial direction etc.