Chefs Plate Canada Review 2024 (Costs, Meals, Plans, Delivery, Service)
Looking for a budget-friendly meal kit? Read our Chefs Plate review and see what Canada’s lowest-cost meal kit can put on your kitchen table. We have an exclusive Chefs Plate promo code for you: COMP299 to get meals starting at $2.99 when you order your first box with Chefs Plate.
This Chefs Plate review provides you with detailed information about the meal kit, top customer reviews, which meal plans they have to offer, and how much they cost.
Chefs Plate Canada: How it Works
The Chefs Plate menu offers a wide variety of meal options that include flavours and spices from all over the world. The meals are organized very easily: all the ingredients are packed in one bag for each meal. You don’t need to think at all about what you are doing for dinner tonight. Everything is very well organized for you.
In case you prefer to use mobile devices in your everyday life, you can download the Chefs Plate app and manage your orders there. The Chefs Plate app is easy to use. It will let you plan your dinners for the week and choose up to 16 meals in five minutes or less! You pick the recipe but it’s like you have a chef cook it in your home; recipes are easy to follow so they turn out every time, no matter your skill level. In case you need to skip a week, you can do that with just a couple of clicks.
If you find yourself eating too many takeout or restaurant meals, Chefs Plate is definitely a superior option that would benefit both your wallet and your waistline. Don’t forget to add Chefs Plate promo code COMP299 for a $100 discount for your first boxes at your first checkout.
Credibility and Reputation
Established in | 2013 |
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Registered in | Toronto, ON |
CEO | Jamie Shea |
Clients in Canada | 90,000 |
Independent rating |
Patrick Meyer and Jaime Shea started Chef’s Plate in 2013. After moving their headquarters to Toronto and selling more than two million meal kits across Canada, the pair saw their company acquired by industry giant HelloFresh for a handsome profit. Now Chefs Plate in Canada is a division of the HelloFresh international meal kit service.
In an interview with Tech Vibes, Shea stated, “The food supply chain in Canada is an archaic industry—there’s been little innovation […] before we came, there were no Canadian companies delivering fresh product directly to consumers’ homes on a scalable level.” This comes at a time when most Canadians and people all over the world are appreciating the importance of eating fresh food over canned food and fast food options.
It is noteworthy that Chef’s Place claims that it is “the first and only meal kit delivery company in Canada to be federally registered as safe for food processing by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.”
Today this Canadian meal kit company is proud to boast that they source much of their food from local Canadian farmers, fishers, and suppliers.
In addition to using their surging revenues to sponsor Canadian programming like Top Chef Canada, Chef’s Plate donates over 50,000 meals per month to Second Harvest (the largest food rescue organization in Canada) and the Abbotsford Food Bank. Their charity-related motto is: “No Waste. No Hunger.”
If you want to see how Chefs Plate compares with others view our detailed comparison of Chefs Plate vs Goodfood and HelloFresh vs Chefs Plate.
Chefs Plate: Meal Plans & Cost
Chefs Plate has three different food subscription box options to choose from. All the boxes are equally priced, and delivery is always free when you order more than two recipes for more than two people each week. Overall, we noticed that Chefs Plate definitely puts more emphasis on quick meals than most other meal kit companies do. Many meals only take 15 minutes to cook. Chefs Plate meals are simpler and easier than many other brands' meals, but they are equally fresh and tasty.
The cost per meal will depend on how many people you’re ordering for and how many recipes you choose. The cheapest price per serving is $8.99 and the most you’ll pay is $11.99. This makes Chefs Plate a favourite among customers looking for excellent value for money, especially in times when grocery is becoming increasingly expensive.
Meat and Vegetables Box
If you and your family eat everything, this plan will be the best for you. It includes the widest variety of meat, seafood, and vegetarian recipes. Some recipes will need 30 minutes of your time, while others will require only 15 minutes. You can order two or four servings of two to five meals per week.
Vegetarian Box
This plan includes delicious vegetarian recipes packed with fresh produce, whole grains, and plant-based protein. You can choose two or four servings of two to five meals per week.
Family Box
What makes this plan different from the previous two is that it contains healthy, easy, and kid-friendly recipes that will help you spend more family time together. You can invite the kids to help you with cooking or reading the recipes, adding more fun and education to your daily routine with them. Similarly to other plans, you can order two or four servings of two to five meals per week.
Recipes and Ingredients
Chefs Plate recipes are inspired by different cuisines from all around the world. Some popular recipes of Chefs Plate are:
We will introduce three of the most popular Chefs Plate recipes, so you can see just how easy they are to whip up.
Sizzling Thai-Inspired Salmon with coconut rice & spicy mango salad
If you like spicy Thai cuisine, this flavourful recipe won’t disappoint.Ingredients (2 servings): 250 g Salmon Fillets, ¾ cup Jasmine Rice, 165 ml Coconut Milk, 1 tbsp Thai Spice Blend, 1 tbsp Soy Sauce, 1 Mango, 1 Red Chili Pepper, 7 g Cilantro, 1 Lime, 28 g Peanuts, chopped, 160 g Sweet Bell Pepper, 2 Garlic, cloves, 4 tbsp Sweet Chili Sauce, 113 g Sugar Snap Peas.
Difficulty level: Easy recipe
Preparation:
- 1. Preheat oven. Bring coconut milk and 1/2 cup warm water to a simmer and add rice, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Cook for 15 min.
- 2. Allow salmon to marinade skin-side up with soy sauce, Thai Spice Blend, half the garlic and 1 tsp oil.
- 3. Juice half the lime. Cut chilli, pepper, lime and mango.
- 4. Bake salmon with snap peas at 350°F until cooked through.
- 5. Whisk together the remaining garlic, chilli peppers, half the lime zest, lime juice and 1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce. Add mango, peppers and cilantro. Season. Stir the remaining lime zest into the rice.
- 6. Serve and enjoy!
Greek-Inspired Pork Chop Dinner with roasted potatoes & dill-garlic sauce
Take a trip to the Mediterranean seaside with this delicious recipe prepared in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients (2 servings): 285 g Pork Chops, boneless, 1 tsp Dill-Garlic Spice Blend, 1 tbsp Mediterranean Spice Blend, 460 g Russet Potato, 56 g Baby Field Greens, ½ tbsp Red Wine Vinegar, 55 g Mayonnaise, 66 g Mini Cucumber, ¼ cup Feta Cheese, crumbled.
Difficulty level: Easy recipe
Preparation:
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Cut potatoes into 1/2-inch wedges. Season pork and potatoes with salt, pepper and Mediterranean Spice Blend. Roast potatoes in the oven until golden.
- 2. Sear pork for 1-2 min per side, until golden brown. Roast in the oven until cooked.
- 3. Combine mayo, Dill-Garlic Spice Blend and 1 tbsp water. Cut cucumbers.
- 4. Whisk together half the vinegar (use all for 4 portions), 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tbsp oil. Add baby field greens and cucumbers.
- 5. Slice pork, serve salad with feta, and enjoy!
Italian Lasagna Soup with seasoned ricotta
Enjoy this family-friendly, rich bowl inspired by traditional Italian cuisine.
Ingredients (2 servings): 227 g Ground Beef, 113 g Yellow Onion, 28 g Baby Spinach, 170 g Orzo, 200 ml Crushed Tomatoes, 1 tbsp Italian Herb Spice Blend, 1 Beef Stock Reduction, 100 g Ricotta Cheese.
Difficulty level: Easy recipe
Preparation:
- 1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Chop spinach, and cut onion.
- 2. Add orzo to pot and cook until tender. Stain.
- 3. Add butter and onion to a pot, and cook for 5 minutes. Add beef and cook. Add Italian Herb Spice Blend. Season. Add crushed tomatoes, beef stock reduction, 2 cups water and 1/2 tsp sugar. Season.
- 4. Mix ricotta with oil, then season.
- 5. Add orzo and spinach to the soup and top with ricotta. Enjoy!
Dietary Options
Chefs Plate has some gluten-free and dairy-free options to choose from in their regular menu rotation. However, there is no exclusive plan for these meals or specific diets like keto.
There’s a good selection of vegetarian meals on the weekly menu and they’re clearly marked as “Veggie”. There are also certain meals that are customizable and let you swap certain ingredients.
How to place an order with Chefs Plate Canada
Placing an order with Chefs Plate is as easy as 1-2-3:
- 1. You pick the recipes you want from a weekly menu
- 2. Chefs Plate delivers the ingredients to your door (each meal in a separate bag) with step-by-step recipe cards
- 3. You take the bag out of the fridge with the ingredients for dinner you want that night and cook it in 30 minutes or less
You can manage your account on a computer, tablet, or phone.
Promotion $100 discount available
Try Chefs Plate Meal Kits From $2.99 Per Serving!!Promo codes
Discount for new customers
If you’re new to Chef’s Plate, use the promo code MKCCP299 to claim a $200 discount off your first 3 boxes at your first checkout.
Senior Discount
Chefs Plate also has a long-term Senior Discount, offering 50% off the first box, plus 10% off every following box. This offer is available for new customers over the age of 60, simply verify your age & save on your meal delivery plan!
Military Discount
A Military Discount is available for CF1 Members who get 50% off the first box, plus 10% off every following box.
Student Discount
A Student Discount is also available, valid for up to 22 FREE meals! Verify you're a student with Student Beans to get your discount code. Enter your code at the checkout to get up to 22 free meals.
Cooking skills needed | Basic |
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Ingredients sourced from | Canadian farms |
Vegetarian restrictions | Select with plan |
Avoid an ingredient | Adjust in settings |
Calorie range | Choose by meal |
Low carb options | Choose by meal |
Allergy restrictions | Choose by meal |
A word from the site’s founder
I think it’s important to say that I am not the target audience for these services. We rarely eat out. I like to find new recipes and actually enjoy cooking. When I was living alone and going to school in an intensive program, grocery shopping and cooking were my leisure activities, and I grew to love them. Don’t get me wrong, I am not a super fancy chef—but I like to eat. And when I can’t be doing that, at least cooking or food prep means I can be around food more often. Plus, I am not great at following recipes and like to add or replace items if I don’t have them and adjust seasonings as needed. [Editor’s Note: This is relative to a kitchen neophyte like me who really appreciates illustrated recipe cards and probably gets way more value out of the step-by-step instruction.]
Finally, I was concerned about how healthy the food would be—I like having control over the food that I eat. I am not affiliated with Weight Watchers (or the new, trendier ‘WW’ rebrand), but by following their program, I have lost 50 pounds over the last few years (48-52 if I’m being honest … today is a 49.6-pound loss). Being able to plan my meals ahead is a big part of my success because I am still fighting that persistent ten pounds. Also, being able to adapt recipes for what I eat and what my husband eats is helpful.
So, for all of these reasons, plus the fact that a number of these services don’t deliver to my area, I hadn’t given meal delivery services a second thought before Kyle approached us to try one out. My first thoughts when I saw which meals my husband had picked were …
Oh Boy, His Choices!
Things that we love—but rarely eat—pasta, potatoes, cream, sugary stir-fry sauces, and fattier cuts of meat! I knew exactly why he picked what he did (this is the man who suggested I go with chicken fingers at a restaurant when I said I wanted to eat healthy after all), but it was going to make staying on track for me pretty tough.The package was delivered to his office, and we brought it home. The ice packs and cooler kept everything together and chilled (they were still frozen solid) while it sat at room temperature all day, and each meal was in its own paper bag to pop in the fridge. Very cute and appealing to my organized nature. The pricing versus other Canadian meal kit options was certainly attractive. I also appreciated how much of the packaging was recyclable!
Everything went in the fridge, and I scoured the recipe book and nutritional information on the bags to calculate my points. The bags + recipe cards made this is a super easy process (the info is also online too if you prefer to read that way). You can see the calories when you choose your meals, which seem to range from 600 to 1000, but not all calories are created equal! I was a little surprised to see some of the sugar and added oil levels that some of the recipes contained. There were, of course, more health-conscious options that my husband could have chosen, but hey, no one’s perfect!
Terms and Fine Print
Delivery
Delivery area | AB, BC, MB, NB, NL, NS, ON, PE, QC, SK |
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Home delivery | Yes |
Work delivery | Yes |
Must be present for delivery | No |
Delivery window | 8am-8pm |
Box stays cold for | 12 hours |
Chefs Plate started as a meal kit delivery company in Toronto and delivered only locally. As soon as it became a branch of HelloFresh, its service area widely expanded. Today the Chefs Plate delivery area is pretty broad. The company delivers food boxes all over Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Manitoba. You can either order home delivery or pick it up from a convenient location. Chefs Plate offers free delivery on all of their plans except the two-person plan with two meals per week (incurs a $6 delivery charge).
Chefs Plate packages your meals so they’re as environmentally friendly as possible. The boxes are 100% recyclable and the kit bags are 100% compostable. The company usually delivers from 8 am to 8 pm. You don’t need to pick it up immediately as the box is very well insulated and will keep your food items fresh for up to 12 hours. For the best results, it is recommended to refrigerate the contents of your box as soon as possible.
Flexibility
Switch between plans | Yes |
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Minimum subscription length | 1 week |
How to cancel subscription | Online account |
Extra charge for skipping week | No |
Weekly deadline to cancel/skip | Wednesday |
Auto-renewal | Yes |
Personalization options | Number of people, recipes per week |
Chefs Plate Canada Usability and Customer Service
The Chefs Plate website is very easy to use. You can order your meals, change your plans, skip a week, or cancel your subscription with just a couple of clicks. The company has active accounts on Facebook and Instagram, so you can contact them via Messenger and Direct. You can also contact their customer support team at 1 (855) 420-2327 or shoot them an email at [email protected].App Review
The Chefs Plate App is a great time saver for those who prefer to do everything on the go. It is available for both Apple and Android platforms. As soon as you download it and register, you can quickly make your choices for the next week, choose the number of recipes and the number of people, switch your meal plan or postpone your upcoming deliveries.
Lost your recipe card? No worries! You can open your recipe in the Chefs Plate App and get cooking with step-by-step instructions on your phone or tablet.
You can even earn free food by inviting your friends to try Chefs Plate. All you need to do is share your referral link. Once they become Chefs Plate customers, you get your free meals.
Producer | Chefs Plate Inc. |
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Available for | All ages |
Price | Free |
Play Store rating | |
App Store rating | |
Total downloads | 15,000 |
Languages |
Chefs Plate Canada Customer Reviews from Trust Pilot
“My family enjoys exploring new flavours and the variety that Chef's Plate adds to our usual meal rotation. With a busy household, I appreciate the convenience of fresh, high-quality meal ingredients delivered to our door and having dinner solved 2 nights a week.”
~Danica Chinnick“Have tried other meal delivery companies and Chefs Plate is a good comparison. The meals are well portioned and tasty. Recipes are easy to follow and the food is tasty. The best before dates, when applicable, are well in advance. Where CP far excels is the cost. It is much more reasonable than the other company I have tried, while maintaining a quality product.”
~Karen Marie MooreReviews compared to industry-wide averages
To see how Chefs Plate stacks up compared to their competitors, we read all of the online Chefs Plate reviews and marked them as positive, negative, or mixed. Positive and negative Chefs Plate reviews were ones where the customers were clearly happy or unhappy with the purchase, while mixed reviews were more middle-of-the-road.
We found that the proportion of positive Chefs Plate reviews was much higher than average. At the same time, the proportion of negative reviews was significantly lower for Chefs Plate than for other companies. This suggests that Chefs Plate customers are happier with their purchase than customers of other, comparable meal kit services.
Most frequently given reasons for liking or disliking the company
To better understand why some customers were extremely happy with their Chefs Plate purchase while others were displeased, we looked at the most commonly cited reasons for leaving a review. Only a tiny fraction of customers complained about unresponsive support and these issues were less frequent for Chefs Plate customers than for other meal kit customers.
When it comes to the quality of the produce and stale produce, Chefs Plate received around the same amount of negative reviews compared to the industry average, which is a good result. Meanwhile, satisfied Chefs Plate reviewers praised the taste of the food and the clarity of the recipes much more often than customers of other meal kits. At the same time, a slightly smaller percentage of consumers favourably reviewed Chefs Plate's customer support responsiveness compared to the industry average.
Three most popular recipes mentioned in Chefs Plate reviews
To see which Chefs Plate dishes are the most popular, we counted the most common recipes brought up by satisfied reviewers. Chefs Plate customers especially praised the applewood smoked chicken burgers, the fennel salad, and the sesame salmon stir-fry. If you’re looking to try out a few Chefs Plate dishes to decide if this meal kit is for you, we recommend starting with one of these three dishes or any of those listed above in the “Recipes” section.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Leaving your box on your front step or direct Chef Plate to leave it wherever you prefer. (The insulated box is engineered to keep your food cool no matter what.) Having Chef’s Plate delivered to your place of work—the box can sit beside your workspace all day, and it won’t be a problem. Kindly ask a friendly neighbor to accept your Chefs Plate delivery—and maybe invite them over to share a meal once in a while? Make friends with a local business that you frequent, and have them accept your food subscription box each week.
Our Final Verdict: is Chefs Plate worth it?
It’s easy to understand why Chefs Plate is one of Canada’s top meal kit companies—their food is delicious, quick, and easy to prepare, and the price is budget-friendly! If you’re looking for the lowest-cost way to try the whole meal kit experience, this is the option for you. With the best vegetarian options in the market, Chef’s Plate is definitely a top choice!
Chefs Plate meal kits will save you time on meal planning and grocery shopping. Their food is restaurant quality, but much cheaper, and you know who cooked it! Even if you are a novice in the kitchen, Chefs Plate recipe cards will guide you step-by-step through the process.
We hope our Chefs Plate review helped you decide whether this is the right choice for you and your family.
Ready to order? Try Chefs Plate now for meals starting at $2.99 when you order your first box with Chefs Plate promo code COMP299.
Select up to four meat and vegetables recipes out of 15 meals each week
This plan contains 4 vegetarian meals with no meat or seafood
Select up to four family-friendly recipes out of 15 meals each week