The past year has been a challenging one for businesses across all sectors, and thanks to the ongoing lockdowns that have come as the result of the global Covid-19 pandemic, many have been forced to pivot the products and services they offer and the ways in which they offer them in a bid to survive.
For some, however, it has served as a catalyst for the kind of change that has transformed them for the better, with many finding that new ways of working have actually proven beneficial to business growth.
Neat’s Culinary is one such example, having incepted in Bicester as a food consultancy and product development business before pivoting to become an online food store that could cater to people’s culinary needs and desires from the comfort of their own homes – and since doing so, the brand has gone from strength to strength.
This forward-thinking company is the brainchild of Tanuj Grover, and offers mouthwatering vegan cuisine, delivered straight to customers’ doors, across mainland UK. With a focus on North Indian cuisine – much of which is naturally vegan – the orders have been flooding in since the official launch, with popular street foods and vegetable curries winning them an excellent reputation for tasty, high-quality cuisine and excellent service.
With a growing trend towards veganism and plant-based eating, much of which has come as the result of an increasing environmental awareness across society and a growing desire amongst many to reduce their carbon footprint by cutting out or reducing meat and dairy, it’s little wonder that the company has seen such a success from the beginning. At a time when the plant-based market is growing but options are yet to keep up with demand, those that do cater to this burgeoning niche are doing big business – and Neat’s Culinary is no exception.
Going beyond simply providing the tastiest North Indian vegan dishes – all of which are made in-house – Neat’s makes sustainability a priority across all aspects of its business operation. All packaging is either fully recyclable or eco-friendly, which has gone down well with environmentally conscious customers – with all fresh curries delivered cold but easily heatable in just two to three minutes for the utmost in convenience.
Better yet, health enthusiasts will be pleased to know that all food is free from artificial colours, artificial flavourings, and food gums.
The ordering system is simple, and meals can be ordered in advance for up to three months on the checkout page – which has made life far simpler and easier for busy customers who may have spent the past few months juggling demanding jobs with home schooling.
Having trained at the Thames Valley University London, Grover spent nearly two decades working for some of the best-known names in the British hospitality industry, so it’s safe to say that he knows his stuff when it comes to food. From red star hotels to gourmet airline catering and elite airport lounges, he even counts handling the research and food development for a Michelin star chef amongst his many experiences, so it is perhaps unsurprising that such passion would go on to spawn a business of his own.
Conceptualised from his love of developing show-stopping recipes and menus that are certain to impress, Grover is a firm believer in the importance of fresh, natural ingredients, combining them to create memorable flavours and the highest quality dishes possible, and it certainly shows in his plant-based delivery service.
Whilst an environmentally conscious soul himself, Grover’s passion for vegetarian and vegan food has been a lifelong affair. Born into a vegetarian family, he could often be found helping his mother and grandmother to cook, inheriting some recipes he still uses today as a result at Neat’s Catering – albeit in a somewhat modernised fashion.
Health has always been a concern and a priority for Grover and his wife, Anna Grover, who was a hotelier prior to becoming a mother to their child, and has a background in food and beverage management – and the infusion of Indian spices into recipes comes with a plethora of well-documented natural health benefit. But since being diagnosed with high cholesterol back in 2019, the couple decided to go one step further with the recipes they were serving up at Neat’s, ensuring that they were naturally low in fat – and many of them gluten free as well. So, in addition to being some of the tastiest plant-based dishes you’re ever likely to try, they have all the health boxes ticked, too.
Although the brand focuses on vegan food, its customer base is far from only those who eat a strict plant-based diet at all times, and as our collective environmental awareness continues to grow, Grover is seeing more and more meat-eating customers coming to him in a bid to cut down their consumption, reduce their carbon footprints and support animal welfare.
Gone are the days when vegan food was considered to be boring, with many flexitarians opting to eat plant-based dishes purely due to the healthy, delicious, and mouth-watering options available to them today. That much is certainly true at Neat, and here at LLM – Luxury Lifestyle Magazine, we can’t wait to order our next meal. To find out more, peruse the menu or place your order, head to store.neatsculinary.co.uk.
