New Seasons Market has launched a line of branded meal kits through a partnership with noted chef Matt Lightner.
The Portland, Ore.-based neighborhood grocer worked with Lightner, the former executive chef of Atera in New York City and a recipient of two Michelin stars, to develop five meal kits featuring seasonal recipes with fresh ingredients from local farmers, ranchers and fishermen.
Rolled out this week to all 21 New Seasons stores in Oregon, Washington and California, the New Seasons Kitchen Collective meals kits come in vegan and gluten-free options and can serve as stand-alone meals, appetizers or sides, the retailer said.
“You don’t have to sacrifice quality for convenience,” Chief Operating Officer Mark Law said in a statement. “Our new restaurant-quality meal kits are another way we are collaborating with local chefs like Matt Lightner and sharing our passion for delicious, fresh and organic ingredients from local farmers and producers with our communities.”
New Seasons said the prepackaged meal kits serve two to four people and come with user-friendly instructions for preparation in 20 to 45 minutes. Meals include Columbia River steelhead trout with new potatoes, broccolini and bonito butter; miso-glazed chicken with sweet potato and kale; spice-roasted carrots with tahini dressing; cauliflower pilaf with fresh turmeric and fennel; and turnip curry with lemongrass and dates.
Reflecting the tastes of the Pacific Northwest, the meal kits’ recipes and ingredients are intended in part to introduce customers to new flavors, according to New Seasons.
"There isn’t another meal kit like this in the market,” Lightner said. “Rather than simply trying a new recipe, you’re discovering the vegetable or protein flavor profile so you can take what you learned from the meal kit and experiment with your own recipes.”
The kits are packed with fresh and healthy premeasured ingredients in minimal packaging daily in New Seasons’ central kitchen daily, the retailer said. The trout and chicken meals are priced at $24.99, while the sides cost $18.99. Plans call for new seasonal recipes to hit stores this fall.
