Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec Meal Kits 2023
Ottawa and Montreal meal kits and other food subscription boxes in Quebec have blossomed from locally run businesses by ma-and-pa entrepreneurs, to nationwide mega-companies. With so many meal kit delivery options to choose from, Montreal and Ottawa residents are fortunate to benefit from competition in the market, and the ability to select from a wide variety of meal kit companies.
We’re not going to look at the various types of pre-made meals that are available for pick up or grocery delivery options. Instead, we’re going to focus on which national meal kit companies (see our Hello Fresh, Goodfood, and Chef’s Plate for more information) deliver to Montreal and the rest of Quebec, and compare them to some of the smaller, local-only options.
Quebec’s Best Meal Kits - December 7th, 2023
In case you have never tried a meal kit, here are a few reasons why we love them so much:
Background on Montreal and Quebec Area and Meal Kits Industry
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Population | 8,751,242 |
| Food stores per 100,000 ppl | 81 |
| Farms per 100,000 ppl | 343 |
| Average family size | 2.28 |
| Experience difficulties with food budget | 30% |
| Eating fruits/vegies 5+ times a day | 35% |
| Time spent eating per day | 104 |
| Vegans and vegetarians | 9.2% |
Duck Poutine – Quebec traditional dishMontreal is the most populous city in Quebec and the second-most populous city in Canada after Toronto. However, there are only 343 farms per 100,000 citizens, which is one of the lowest numbers in the country, and 81 food stores. This may explain why meal kit companies in Montreal are so popular among various demographics — they offer food delivery directly to your door!
The average family size in Montreal is 2.28, the same as in Vancouver, and they both are in fifth place in the country. Thirty-five percent of Montrealites eat fruit and vegetables five or more times a day, which is more than residents of any other city or province in Canada. Over nine percent of them are vegetarians or vegans. Those Montreal meal kit companies that offer vegetarian meal plans have many of them as customers and will no doubt continue to draw more people in, especially those who are shifting to the diet for the first time.
Fun fact: Montrealites spend more time eating than anyone else in the country, 105 minutes a day.
What Does a Meal Kit Look Like?
With several different national and local meal kit companies available in Montreal, Ottawa, and across much of Quebec, it’s tough to say precisely what your specific food box will look like. That said, the “Big 3” companies tend to deliver a very consistent product across Canada. Your meals for the week will arrive in an insulated box that keeps your meats cool with frozen ice packs, and the rest of your meal comes in self-contained bags. Simply store in your fridge, and when suppertime arrives, pluck out the bag, and get cooking!
The boxes are engineered to keep everything cool, no matter how hot it is outside. When we first started ordering Hello Fresh, we tested the claims by leaving the box outside in 32-degree heat for 8+ hours. The ice packs were still more than 50% frozen when we opened the box, and consequently, the meat was still quite chilled, and the produce was cool and crisp. Chef’s Plate and Goodfood employ similar engineering for their boxes to deliver meal kits in Ottawa, Montreal, and other Quebec cities, such as Sherbrooke and Levis.
The boxes come complete with colourful, can’t-screw-it-up-even-if-you’re-a-rookie recipe cards. For a kitchen newbie, these step-by-step instructions are a lifesaver. It’s actually functioned kind of as a cooking 101 class for some of us, to be honest. Now we are much more confident in adding spices or homemade sauces/marinades to other meals that we cook.
The bags come complete with all of the ingredients you need, save for a few kitchen essentials such as salt, sugar, oil, or parchment paper. Chef’s Plate is known for their 15-minute meal options, but most meal kit meals take 20-45 minutes from “fridge to table.” Many people choose to get their meal kits delivered to their place of business or a neighbour’s house if they aren’t home during the day or they don’t have a reliable parcel management system in their building. It’s basically the same deal as getting a package from Amazon. All the packaging is usually recyclable or reusable.
Canadian-Wide Meal Kit Companies Servicing Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec
Local Meal Kit Companies in Ottawa, Montreal, and Quebec
| Company | Rating | Covered Provinces | Dishes in menu | Price / serving | MKC Promo | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | COOK It | n/a | 3 | 17 | $9.08 – $13.16 | CPDO65 ($65 Off) |
COOK It
The little meal kit company that could, COOK It was created on a date night when Judith Fetzer mentioned the idea to Patrick Chamberland. In a romantic twist of fate, Patrick was hooked—on both Judith and the meal kit idea. In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Chamberland revealed: “I got it immediately. I was exactly the type of person who needed something like that, a young professional who wants to eat right and learn new recipes but didn’t have much time or a full range of ingredients at home.” COOK It hit the big time when it appeared on the Quebec entrepreneurship show Dans l’oeil du dragon (think Quebec’s version of CBC’s Dragons’ Den), and made a deal that included selling 35% of their company for $125,000. The local meal kit company believes there is a place in the market for them as a premium product. They are quick to point out that their produce comes from Chez Louis in the Jean-Talon Market, their fish from Poissonerie Falero, and most of their meat from La Maison du Rôti—banking on Quebecers’ passion for elite quality ingredients, as opposed to the “Big 3”. Here are some other local companies:| Company | Year Est. | Serviced Provinces | Google rating | Dishes in menu | Subs. boxes | Order by dish | Fresh or frozen | Price/ weekly | Price/ serving | Promo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook It | 2014 | 5 | 5-6 | $71-$156 | $9.8-$11.8 | 40% off | ||||
| La Reserve Culinaire | 2018 | QC | 32 | $75-$150 | $6-$15 | No promo | ||||
| Mealpro | 2013 | 2 | 29 | $160-$199.5 | $10-$16 | $10 off | ||||
| ketolibriyum | 2018 | 2 | 90 | $119-$485 | $6-$149 | 10% OFF | ||||
| Fresh MTL | 2014 | QC | 50 | $12-$100 | $3.5-$14 | 5%-20% OFF | ||||
| Antoine.ca | 2010 | QC | 25 | $85-$250 | $5-$18 | Points | ||||
| Les 3 Maitres Gourmands | 2014 | QC | 80 | n/d | $4-$19 | $20 off | ||||
| We Cook Meals | 2020 | QC | 14 | $81-$328.5 | $10-$12 | $20 off | ||||
| Fit Menu | 2017 | QC | 70 | $66-$221 | $11-$16 | 18% off | ||||
| Live fit food | 2019 | 3 | 112 | $96-$159 | $7-$14 | 5% off | ||||
| la Boite du Chef | 2017 | QC | 7-13 | $110-$180 | $11-$18 | 17% off |
After its huge achievement of taking over Kuisto in 2017, it made another big move of taking over its largest local competitor, Miss Fresh, in December 2019, with 30,000 subscribers added to its service. To accommodate these new customers efficiently, the company expanded its production facility by over 24,000 sq. ft. Combining both its workforces made it a prominent giant in the market with more than 500 employees ready to make their customers happy. This acquisition for COOK IT meant:
- • Extra recipes
- • Extended menu to choose your ready-to-eat meals
- • Vast pantry items to choose from
- • Over 50% of produce is locally sourced
Cook It offers two meal plans: a regular and a vegetarian plan. From both plans, you can order two to seven meals weekly. This will allow you to enjoy a different taste every night without spending unnecessarily on groceries you don’t use up. This service is one of the cheapest options available. Here’s a quick sneak peek of its rates.
| Number of People / Recipes | Regular Menu | Vegetarian Menu |
| 2 People / 3 Recipes | $13.16 | $12.47 |
| 2 People / 4 Recipes | $12.17 | $11.40 |
| 2 People / 5 Recipes | $11.58 | $11.07 |
| 2 People / 6 Recipes | $11.28 | $10.76 |
| 2 People / 7 Recipes | $11.20 | $10.69 |
| 3 People / 2 Recipes | $13.16 | $12.47 |
| 3 People / 3 Recipes | $11.73 | $11.16 |
| 3 People / 4 Recipes | $11.28 | $10.76 |
| 3 People / 5 Recipes | $10.59 | $10.18 |
| 3 People / 6 Recipes | $10.31 | $9.79 |
| 3 People / 7 Recipes | $10.05 | $9.52 |
| 4 People / 2 Recipes | $12.17 | $11.40 |
| 4 People / 3 Recipes | $11.28 | $10.76 |
| 4 People / 4 Recipes | $10.57 | $10.12 |
| 4 People / 5 Recipes | $10.10 | $9.53 |
| 4 People / 6 Recipes | $9.74 | $9.23 |
| 4 People / 7 Recipes | $9.48 | $9.08 |
Chefs Plate: Get 67% OFF the 1st Box + 22% 2nd & 3rd!
HelloFresh: Get up to 20 Free Meals
Overview of the Ottawa and Montreal Meal Kit Scene
With so many options and price points to choose from, it’s tough to make a blanket recommendation when it comes to meal kits in Quebec. The majority of our team is loyal to Hello Fresh after enjoying their product for over a year and having only great things to say. Once you start getting meal kits, why not give a few different companies a try? It’s worth changing the provider every now and then just to compare the recipes and explore new flavours.
With our exclusive promo discount offers, it’s relatively affordable to order several of these options and give them each a trial period since the first week for each one is such a good sale! Just remember to cancel your subscription before you move on to a new one. For kosher or halal meal delivery, you can check out several local companies that deliver ready-to-eat meals, too. We hope you love trying out your first Canadian meal kit service.
