Frozen meals have a bad reputation in Australia and there’s a very good reason for that. Generally speaking, they are a bit crap.

When I started to mind map made by tobie I had already had a couple of food brands as well as many years behind a stove and more recently as a gun for hire working on NPD (new product development). Here’s what I learnt. The “fresh” meals in supermarkets can have a long shelf life for sure and this is due to the brilliance of food scientists adding a balance of preservatives, stabilisers and pasteurisation to maximise a prodcut’s lifespan which of course reduces waste (thank you) but the main reason is profits because, well you know its business right.

Most of the meals available in the freezer section will be made in large scale manufacturing facilities at around 300kg at a time. The food is then spat out through a tube into a container and autonmatically packed and sealed minimising human touch (expensive labour) and maximising return,

I have been involved in designing such meals numerous times and although I have many good friends working in these industries making food that tastes like it was cooked with a whisper of love is next to impossible. And this is the nature of our system to feed the masses.

I decided to take a different approach. It wasn’t rocket science for me to work out that I could make food in small batches and snap freeze them, eliminating the need for excess sodium or any nasties whatsoever. I also don’t pasteurise the meals as they are essentially pasteurised as they are cooked (above 76C), they are then cooled immediately and packed.