Destination Dinners Offers DIY Ethnic Recipe Kits
Ever wanted to make exotic, ethnic dishes but had idea where to even begin? Destination Dinners aims to simplify the process by selling DIY recipe kits specific to each region, complete with all the major ingredients, pre-measured spices, a shopping list for additionally required fresh ingredients, and also includes a trivia card to boost your cultural knowledge.
The kits look like they belong more in a science lab than a kitchen, but if you're feeling intimidated by shopping at ethnic groceries for your first attempt at cooking chicken garam masala, it's a helpful baby step. The range of dishes is pretty impressive for its variety, with kits for kibbeh bil-saneeyeh (baked spice lamb) from Lebanon, saikyo miso (black cod in miso marinade) from Kyoto, or jerk chicken and shrimp BBQ from Jamaica.
Sounds a little lazy, to be honest, but some people have found it helpful in their forays in exploring foreign cuisine. Each kit sells for $25, or alternatively, you can sign up for the passport program, which operates very much like a wine club in that you get a new recipe kit from a different country each month ($228 for six months, $441 for one year).
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5 Comments:
OMG! How cool is that?? Maybe I'll finally get the courage to make bulgogi and falafel, but not at the same time.
Chaos at 10:58AM on 06/29/08
I think it is a great idea! Not so intimidating to venture into something new if you don't have to invest in quantities of multiple ingredients you may not use often. Fun for cooking clubs and school projects, too. I don't see it as lazy at all, unless you discover you love the dish/cuisine and persist in buying expensive kits rather than invest in the ingredients at better prices.
Cary at 12:42PM on 06/29/08
Hmm, not for me. I always thought half the fun of trying a new ethnic recipe was having an excuse to wander through the specialty markets!
gfroerer at 7:32PM on 06/29/08
Seems it's geared towards a gift item - not to stock your shelf. That being said, it makes me think of a great Katsudon meal I had in Tokyo. I'd be willing to pay $25 to bring that flavor back.
Mikey_likes_it at 8:27PM on 06/29/08
Just about every grocery store in Paris that I went into had such "kits" - they weren't dignified as such, but it certainly makes sense to buy only as much of several particular spices as you will need for one dish. The ones I noticed were for Indian food, and perhaps some African. They weren't this expensive, though, or so I recall.
Likeswords at 12:33PM on 06/30/08