Behind The Scenes – HC

Fresh & delicious homestyle food by HouseCook is well-loved and preferred by numerous families and individuals across Ontario. Ever wondered how we manage to serve you quality food right at your doorstep and take the burden of cooking off of your shoulders? That is why we decided to take you behind the scenes a little to show you how we do it!

From taking your order to delivering the food, here is everything you need to know about HouseCook ;)

Planning

One of the most crucial and primary step is planning! Planning begins as soon as we receive your order because we aim to provide a consistent hassle-free service and high quality halal meals. We make sure that customers have placed their orders correctly, which helps us in procuring for the right ingredients, grocery and food items that are required to cook delicious meals for you. This also includes managing the whole cooking process as per standard protocol, creating delivery routes & more!

Our first and main step is planning the whole cooking process once we close the orders. Making a list of all the ingredients we will be needing for cooking the food and then how to manage the cooking procedure, we plan everything beforehand. Packaging materials are sorted out the same day depending on the number of orders. Then we move to the next step!

Meat, is it halal?

The most common yet popular question, we get asked about! As a Muslim living in a foreign country, we understand how important this part is so we never compromise on this at any cost. Which is why we opt for certified halal meat vendors only based in Ontario namely, Zabiha halal meat from either Sargeant Farms in Mississauga or Minha Halal Meat. We aim to pick the best options for you, so that you can enjoy every meal with confidence without having to worry about being non-halal.

Hunt for the freshest veggies aka grocery shopping

As committed, every ingredient we use is absolutely fresh and procured the same day we cook. So the hunting begins early morning, even before the sunrise. The main reason to not store vegetables and do grocery shopping every week is to ensure freshness in the food so it can last longer over a week.

Meal preps and more!

Then the next step is prepping up the kitchen, so, the kitchen is cleaned thoroughly before we start the cooking process along with the utensils. Following all the hygiene guidelines we make sure everyone in the kitchen wears hair and beard net and gloves as well.

Do you know our kitchen is certified and inspected by Toronto Public Health? Now you can imagine the hygiene and safety protocols!

Masalas grinding, chop chop those veggies

As the cooking begins, the very first task is to grind all the spices because we do not use packaged spices or any sort of pre-made ingredient. Grinding every masala right before the cooking adds extra flavor and makes the food more aromatic. We all know desi cuisine is all about flavors and spices so it is not compromised here as well. Along with the grinding, we cut and chop all the veggies to make sure we prepare ingredients for the cooking beforehand. 

Cook, roast and grill!

As we have revamped our menu, we are now adding more grilled items every week. Prior to the cooking, we give ample time for chicken to marinate, because who doesn’t love juicier and tender meat? Our HC Fresh menu includes dishes with a large portion of protein so it is extremely weighty to make it extra delectable. That’s how you can eat healthy and don’t have to compromise on taste! Once the meat is cooked/grilled, we always check the temperature to make sure it is fully cooked and don’t stay raw from inside. 

Packing

Once everything is cooked, packing begins! But before that it is mandatory to let the food cool down prior to the packing as per standard packing safety protocol. This step allows the food to be kept out all day and still not get spoiled, so even if the delivery takes long unexpectedly the food will remain perfectly okay. We use environmental friendly, reusable containers and delivery bags to reduce plastic waste as much as we can.

To ensure the maximum freshness, we keep ice bags inside delivery bags especially during the extremely hot summer season; these bags are a blessing to keep the food cold during delivery.

Delivery

By afternoon, the food gets ready to be dispatched and the delivery process begins here. The route has been set by the delivery company several hours prior to the delivery to avoid any sort of mismanagement. We then hand over the food to the drivers and the customers are notified that their order is on the way and given a time frame so they know when can they expect delivery. If a customer is not at home, they can instruct the driver to drop the package outside and send a delivery confirmation message.

At your dinner table

Once the food arrives, you can set the dinner table and quickly dig in. It is fresh and ready to eat! Our containers are microwave friendly so you can store the remaining food in refrigerator and reheat it later. It is best to use stove top to reheat the food, it makes the food taste absolutely fresh. We do not use any preservatives while cooking so make sure to refrigerate the food immediately. The food remains good for the whole week if stored properly!

 

We take great pride in serving so many customers and being their helping hand when it gets tiresome to manage everything on their own. This is the reason why we try to make it as homely as possible. Especially for the students studying abroad, we know how tough it gets and missing the home-style food is very common. We are here so you can drop one thing from your workload without having to worry about the taste and cleanliness.