DIY Gourmet Dining at Home

WHEN THE FIRST Circuit Breaker measures were imposed and restaurants fell over themselves to push out entire menus of takeaway and delivery meals, Nouri started to sell vegetables instead. And vegetable broth. Freshly-baked sourdough bread. A black pepper sauce. Black orange jam. Sort of like a DIY meal kit, but the difference being that you do more than just put pre-marinated meat into an oven and plate it with supplied sauce. Instead it's about using your imagination to compose a gourmet meal, but with some prep work already done for you by a Michelinstarred restaurant.

"We wanted to offer something to people that could empower them in their cooking," says chef-owner Ivan Brehm. "Good restaurants are a dime a dozen and everyone is available online, but my feeling is that people have a real opportunity to reconnect with their food and one another through cooking delicious food, their way. Most people don't cook because they feel they can't or don't know how to, but with a little nudge from initiatives like this, things can be a bit easier."

Nouri's star offering now is its weekly box of organic vegetables grown by a farm in Cameron Highlands which it works closely with. Unlike the usual local veggie box, you'll find European-style produce such as giant heirloom tomatoes, different shapes and sizes of courgettes, romano beans, nasturtium leaves, crosnes, leeks, giant basil leaves and more. Chef Brehm even stars in short videos to explain the various types of produce and ideas on how to cook them.