When I think about microwave meals, my mind immediately goes to unhealthy, fatty, rubbery and unappetising meals. I can’t be the only one.
Although that perception is now changing in my own mind, I’ve still come across my fair share of dodgy and uninspiring meals.
It’s important to start this review by calling out my scepticism on tasty ‘ready meals’ because Chefgood boldly promises gourmet restaurant-style dinners. I’m excited to see whether they can actually deliver on this promise.
If you don’t fancy reading my whole Chefgood review, check out the highlights in the box below.
Chefgood Meal Delivery Review
Chefgood Review Summary
Chefgood stands out for delivering genuinely delicious ready-made meals that taste home-cooked rather than factory-made, perfect for busy people who want convenient but high-quality food without compromising on taste. While the portions are on the smaller side, the service is ideal for anyone seeking calorie-controlled meals or following specialty diets like vegan or gluten-free.
Overall
-
Ordering - Website - 8/10
8/10
-
Food - Quality - 9.5/10
9.5/10
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Ordering - Meal Choice - 8/10
8/10
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Food - Taste - 9/10
9/10
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Ordering - Delivery - 7/10
7/10
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Value For Money - 8/10
8/10
Pros
- Every meal tested was genuinely tasty with great flavors
- Extensive menu with 41+ weekly options including specialty diets
- High-quality, real ingredients without preservatives
- Flexible plans from individual meals to full meal programs
Cons
- Portion sizes run small (400-600 calories)
- Limited delivery areas (no WA or NT coverage)
- Chicken-heavy menu (42% of options)
- $12 delivery fee on all orders
Throughout the rest of this Chefgood review, I’ll take a look at their meal variety, options, price and delivery before that all-important taste test.
Full Disclaimer: Chefgood reached out to me directly and offered me a trial of their most popular meals for free. Never one to pass up a free meal, I received my delivery a few days later. This arrangement does not influence any of the comments or ratings provided in this review. If you decide to try Chefgood yourself, using my discount link gets you a great deal and I receive a small affiliate commission. See why this is important to keep Food Box Mate running.
Page Contents
Getting started with Chefgood
Chefgood offers three distinct meal plans to cater for different dietary needs and preferences:
Build Your Own Box allows you to select from their full menu of over 100 different meals, sides, and snacks. You’ll find a mix of regular and high-protein meals, with calorie information clearly displayed for each option.
Slim & Trim focuses on portion-controlled meals under 400 calories, including lower-carb options. Chefgood claims that all meals in this plan are reviewed by dietitians to ensure nutritional balance.
Personal Best provides structured meal plans at either 1,200, 1,500, or 1,800 calories per day. These plans include a combination of ready-made meals and quick-cook recipes, available in 5-day or 7-day options. You can either choose your own meals or follow their suggested meal plans.
Each plan comes with a range of options for both lunch and dinner, although it’s hard to tell the difference between them. From my experience, most of the lunches could very easily pass as dinners… if you were feeling a little rebellious.
With each plan, you can also add breakfast and snacks, meaning that you could definitely have the option to feed yourself for the whole week using Chefgood.
Navigating Chefgood’s menu is straightforward – you can easily browse their full range of meals and customize your box to suit your preferences. Their website makes it simple to view nutritional information, swap meals, and adjust your order to match your weekly needs.
Chefgood meal variety and options
Every week, Chefgood offers a range of 41 different meals, including options from their ‘guest chef’ series where they’ve partnered with interesting chefs including Pierrick Boyer and Sarah Todd.
Based on their menu, I’ve categorised meals by their different protein sources.
| Protein Source | Percentage of Menu |
|---|---|
| Chicken | 42% |
| Beef | 19% |
| Lamb | 0% |
| Pork | 4% |
| Fish | 2% |
| Vegetarian | 33% |
Like most meal delivery services, Chefgood bases their menu primarily on chicken, beef, and vegetarian dishes. Despite this focus, I was otherwise impressed by the variety of dishes available.
You’ll also find a range of 10 different sides, ranging from comfort classics like baked macaroni & cheese and creamy mashed potatoes to fresher options such as rainbow kaleslaw and Greek salad. These sides can be ordered separately to complement your main meals or enjoyed on their own as light lunches.
Quick-Prep Meals
Chefgood has recently introduced a range of quick-prep meal kits that bridge the gap between ready-made meals and home cooking. These meals require some basic assembly and heating, with prep times between 10-15 minutes.
The current menu includes options like Lemon Pepper Beef, Smoky Barbecue Chicken, and Crispy-Skin Salmon. Most meals are designed for one person, though some options like their Wagyu Burger Kit and Falafel Salad Pitas serve two people.
While I haven’t personally tested these quick-prep options yet, they could be an interesting alternative for anyone who enjoys a bit of hands-on meal preparation without the full commitment of cooking from scratch. I’ll update this review with a full taste test once I’ve had the chance to try them.
Breakfast and Snacks
Each week gives you the option to add breakfasts and snacks for an additional cost. Although I haven’t tried these myself, they do appear to be another easy way to simplify your diet.
Chefgood offers an extensive breakfast menu with 11 different options – significantly more variety than most meal delivery services. While I focused my testing on their main meals, the breakfast menu includes both traditional favorites and creative options like their Berry, Yoghurt & Flaxseed Shake.
The snack selection covers familiar territory with protein balls, probiotic treats, and fresh options like hummus with carrot sticks. These can be added to any meal plan for an additional cost.
Special diets and food intolerance
Chefgood have some incredible options available for anyone who’s vegetarian/vegan, or has an allergy to gluten/dairy. If you find yourself needing inspiration on one of these diets then it’s definitely worth giving Chefgood a try.
There are separate Vegetarian and Vegan meal plans, each having 10+ different meals you can choose from. Compared to other meal delivery services, this is quite a significant range of options available.
The same applies for the No Added Gluten and No Added Dairy menus, where they pull together all the options available that week. This actually enables you to have 15+ different meal options and plenty of ideas for new meals you can make at home.
Delivery options
Operating from their kitchen base in Victoria, Chefgood delivers to over 1,200 postcodes across Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland, ACT, and South Australia. They’ve recently started delivering to parts of Tasmania, though coverage there is still limited.
Unfortunately, there is no coverage for Western Australia or the Northern Territory. Hopefully, they’ll be able to expand their delivery network in the future.
Shipping is charged at a flat rate of $12 per delivery, which is comparable to other meal delivery services.
When placing your order (or managing your subscription), you’ll need to plan about a week ahead. Your specific delivery day depends on your location, and you’ll see this information after entering your postcode on the ChefGood website.
How much does Chefgood cost?
The cost of a Chefgood delivery box depends on whether you opt to Build Your Own Box, choose a Weight Loss Plan, or get a personalised plan.
Build Your Own Box
The Build Your Own Box option will vary in price depending on which meals you choose. Individual meals range from $11.20 to $13.90, with savings available when you order in bulk. Order 10 meals to receive 2% off, 15 meals for a 7.5% discount, or maximize your savings with 20 meals for 10% off.
Keep in mind that extras like breakfasts, sides, snacks and desserts aren’t included in these discounts – they’re priced separately and don’t count toward your meal total for discount purposes.
Slim & Trim
| Meals | Total Cost | Price Per Meal |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Meals | $59.50 | $11.90 |
| 7 Meals | $78.00 | $11.10 |
| 10 Meals | $109.00 | $10.90 |
| 14 Meals | $144.00 | $10.30 |
| 20 Meals | $199.00 | $9.95 |
It’s clear that the best value is at the 14 meal range. You can save an extra 60 cents per meal just by adding an extra 4 meals onto the 10 meal plan.
I’m not sure it would be worth upsizing your order to the 20 meal plan in comparison, since you would be buying an extra 6 meals to save just 35 cents per meal.
Personal Best
The Personal Best meal plans offer structured weekly menus with different calorie options (1,200, 1,500, or 1,800 calories per day). The price varies based on three factors:
- Your chosen calorie level
- Whether you want 5 or 7 days of meals
- If you include quick-prep meals or stick to ready-made meals only
Plans start from $159 per week for a 1200 calorie 5-day ready-made meal plan, increasing to $279 for the most comprehensive 1800 calorie 7-day plan including quick-prep meals. This works out to between $31.80 – $39.85 per day, depending on your chosen options.
I appreciate that they offer this flexibility, though it does make comparing prices a bit more complex than their other plans. My suggestion would be to start with a basic 5-day plan to test whether the structure works for you before committing to a more comprehensive option.
Chefgood’s pricing sits around the market average for ready-made meals in Australia, with their $11-$12 per meal range being fairly typical. While there are cheaper options available (see my guide to the cheapest meal delivery services), there are also many services charging significantly more. The real question is whether the quality and taste justify the price point – which I’ll explore below.
Featured Service
Delivery and Packaging
My Chefgood meals arrived in their distinctive cyan-colored box, securely packed with insulation and ice packs. The packaging keeps meals properly chilled for 4-8 hours after delivery (depending on outside temperature), so you don’t need to be home when it arrives.
Each meal comes individually packed with a cardboard sleeve containing heating instructions and nutritional information. The presentation is clean and professional, making it easy to identify and store your meals.
Recycling the contents
While meal delivery services inevitably use more packaging than shopping locally, Chefgood makes recycling straightforward:
- Kerbside Recycling: Cardboard box, meal trays, and cardboard sleeves
- Soft Plastic Collection: Vacuum seal film and foil liner (can be returned to major supermarkets)
- Ice Packs: Gel contents can be safely disposed of in gardens or down the sink (mixed with salt), and the empty bags go with soft plastics
All packaging components can be recycled, though it does require some sorting and effort on your part.
Check out my blog on the environmental impact of food boxes for more information.
Food Quality and Taste
For this review, I tested 10 different meals from Chefgood’s menu, including both their wraps/burritos and full-sized meals.
Ingredients and Quality
One of the first things I look for in ready meals is the ingredients list – it often reveals whether a company is using genuine, home-style ingredients or cutting corners. Chefgood impressed me here, using ingredients you’d expect to find in your own kitchen, without preservatives or artificial additives.
Here’s an example from one of their gnocchi dishes:
Taste and Flavour
This care and attention with ingredients clearly pays off, as every single meal was genuinely delicious. Rather than tasting like bland ready meals, each Chefgood meal packed a punch with flavour. Some examples include the flavourful napoli sauce with the aforementioned gnocchi, as well as the addition of sweet currants to their Middle Eastern lamb salad.
I’m not sure I would go as far to suggest these are ‘restaurant standard’, but they all felt handmade by a real chef using genuinely fresh ingredients. That’s a rarity for meal delivery services and meant I was very happy with every Chefgood meal.
Texture and Portion Sizes
Most Chefgood meals hold up well in the microwave, though I quickly discovered that some dishes deserve special treatment. Their wraps and burritos, for instance, come alive with a quick finish in a sandwich press. Trust me – that extra minute to get a crispy exterior instead of a microwaved tortilla makes all the difference.
When it comes to portion sizes, these meals definitely lean towards the controlled side, ranging from 400-600 calories each. If you’re looking to bulk up or just have a bigger appetite, you might find them a bit modest. These are clearly designed with calorie control in mind rather than hearty portions.
Preparation & Cooking
Cooking every meal was incredibly simple. You need to pierce a few holes into the plastic film covering the meal before placing it into the microwave for 2 – 3 minutes. I found that 2 minutes 30 seconds was the optimum time for my microwave, but I would recommend you experiment based on the power of yours.
The plastic trays are shallow enough to make it easy to eat directly out of them, so if you’re feeling particularly lazy then you won’t even need to bother with a plate.
My Final Thoughts on Chefgood
When I started testing Chefgood, I was naturally skeptical of their promise to deliver restaurant-quality ready meals. While they might not quite match a chef’s fresh-cooked dinner, they’ve genuinely impressed me with their commitment to quality.
What stands out most is their consistency – every meal I tried showed careful attention to ingredients and flavour combinations. The dishes actually taste like they were prepared by someone who cares about food, not just assembled in a factory.
Chefgood particularly shines for certain groups:
- Those wanting well-portioned, calorie-controlled meals
- People following specialty diets (their vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free options are excellent)
- Busy individuals who still prioritize good food
However, it’s worth noting that these aren’t the meals for you if you’re looking for larger portions or trying to bulk up. The portions are deliberately designed for weight management and healthy eating rather than significant calorie intake.
Overall, Chefgood delivers exactly what many Australians are looking for – convenient, healthy meals that you’ll genuinely enjoy eating. While they might cost a little more than cooking from scratch, the quality and convenience make them a solid choice for anyone wanting to eat well without the hassle of daily meal prep.
Chefgood Discount
If you want to give Chefgood a try, then we have agreed a special discount with the Chefgood team. Claim your discount by simply hitting the link below.
I’ve been using them for two weeks. For me quite filling, Almost to the point where dinner comes around and I think I’ve gotta have another one, even though I’m not hungry. Good thing though as you can freeze them apparently. Great for portion control if you want to lose weight. Was worried about the packaging but all good for recycling. 9/10 for me. Hope to loose 20kg my Xmas. !!
Cheers Anita