Frozen meals from…a vending machine?

Recently, you may have noticed COOK frozen meal vending machines appearing in places like Bromley South and Orpington Station. For me, it is a novelty, only seen in high-tech countries like Japan, so naturally I was eager to try it out.

At around £5-£6 per meal, it is almost double the price of frozen meals seen in supermarkets, but it is conveniently situated outside the ticket office in the station, making it easy for commuters to buy a meal after a long day to microwave and eat in the comfort of their home.

It has a wide variety of foods from different cuisines, from Indian to Thai to Italian. I bought the Green Thai Chicken Curry, Chicken and Tomato Pasta Bake, and King Prawn Linguine.

The first issue I encountered was that you can only buy one meal at a time. I was buying multiple meals for my family as well, but I understand the purpose is to sell single meals to commuters who are unable to cook. However, this could be a problem for those who are buying for others or buying multiple to stock up.

In my opinion, the pasta bake and linguine were decent but the Thai green curry was too sweet and not spicy. The pasta bake had slightly better taste than the linguine but overall, it was not too bad considering it is bought from a vending machine.

A member of my family, who ate the linguine, said, “The prawns were nice and it had flavour, but for almost £6, the portion was too small.”

Food: 6/10

Convenience: 9/10

There is still room for improvement but this industry is only in its first stages. If you are hungry after a long day of work or school, check out COOK’s frozen meals.