Buy West Eat Best members offer a range of meals that you can pick up on your way home from work – or the day before, if you’re planning ahead. Packed with local goodness, the dishes are as varied as your tastebuds.
At Basil’s Fine Foods, in Mindarie, the in-house chef makes all kinds of family favourites, including butter chicken, cottage pie and lasagne. There is always something new to try in the Grab & Go section – for breakfast, lunch or dinner. (In winter, there’s also a selection of gourmet soups made from scratch, so keep that in mind for the cooler months.)
If you fancy some takeaway by the beach or under a shady tree, why not order a platter from The Floreat Market. Keep it simple with a selection of fresh sandwiches or up the ante with a super savoury picnic platter. If there’s a crowd, add a grazing platter that includes charcuterie or selection of dips and freshly cut ‘dippers’ such as carrots, celery and capsicum. The market’s ready-to-eat meals, which include gourmet favourites such as Moroccan spiced chicken, are also made fresh daily.
Inspired by the highest quality ingredients in-store, chefs at The Herdsman Market create a wonderful selection of house-made meals. Think WA grass-fed beef cooked in authentic sugo with handmade gnocchi; rich lasagna made with layers of slow-cooked pork and veal topped with bechamel; or a selection of gourmet pizzas. There is also a delicious array of freshly made salads to choose from. In fact, the hardest thing will be deciding what to take away.
Sisters Nancy and Tina Merenda pack their range of Homestyle Salads with goodness and flavour. There are several potato salads, including bacon, egg and potato and German, as well pasta salads, such as Mexican chicken pasta, devilled pasta, pesto and sundried tomato, and sweet mango chicken. They can be bought in 380g sizes, for one or two, or up to 1kg if you’re feeding the family. And keep your eye out for the new gourmet range, which includes a quinoa salad and a seafood cocktail salad.
Farmer Jack’s offers an array of impressive ready-to-eat meals, too. From hearty pasta salads and rich roast dinners to homemade pies to feed the family, you’re spoilt for choice. With 11 lip-smacking stores around Perth, there’s sure to be one not far from you. Be warned, though, there are so many enticing offerings you are likely to leave with more than you planned.
You can also order some delicious ‘takeaway’ meals with your weekly shop. Matters of Taste delivers the very best local produce to your door and that includes some rather divine local baked goods, including a readymade spanakopita (Greek spinach and cheese pie), meat pies that feed four to six people, as well as an array of mini quiches that can be turned into a quick meal with a simple salad.
One of the simplest meals available to take away from almost any supermarket is a cooked chook. All you have to do when you get home is tear the chicken into small pieces, mix with some salad leaves (try Gourmet Selections’ pre-prepared Italian leaf mix or Oriental slaw) and add any extras you fancy in your fridge, such as feta or haloumi from Bookara Goat Dairy, fresh Roma tomatoes or sliced cucumber. Drizzle with a little chilli and garlic olive oil from The Sathya Olive Company and voila! Dinner is served.