Kate Stewart: Bargain Box starved of real bargains

Nadia Lim's Bargain Box was not a happy meal for Kate Stewart

WHO doesn't love a bargain?

Regardless of your wealth or lack thereof, the idea of getting something cheap appeals to just about everyone.

So, with my limited income and intrigued by the television advertising, I went online to check out Bargain Box ... and was left with a bad taste in my mouth.

If $9 per plate is classed as a bargain is it any wonder so many families are struggling to put food on the table?

As an advertising copywriter in a previous life, the truth in advertising is important to me. I found the website to be cheap on facts maybe, but not on food.

They hook you in with plates from as little as $5.30. Even that price is steep by my standards and apparently only applicable when you are feeding six people. For two or four persons the prices go up accordingly.

Then comes (and I quote):

No planning, No shopping, No worries. You get the recipes and ingredients for each meal, which means no more shopping lists or supermarket queues.

End quote.

That might be true if you are okay with your family skipping breakfast and lunch, which they will probably have to do in order for you to be able to afford dinner three or four times a week.

And, unless Bargain Box is going to deliver all the remaining weeks shopping, of course you are going to have to go to the bloody supermarket with your list - if for no other reason than to buy all the staples that aren't included, like butter, milk, oils and seasonings.

For nine bucks each, plus the cost of staples and cooking, my remaining lifeform and I could get a take-out each night - and I'm not talking fat-drenched fast food or even fish and chips.

I'm talking healthy, balanced meals like a chicken or pork chow mein, bursting with fresh veg, lean protein and tasty noodles. Alternatively, you could pig out on a delicious kebab, stuffed to the brim with your choice of over 20 healthy fresh ingredients. Custom-made and prepared for you, the average eater would struggle to get through one.

If these outlets, with far greater overheads, can produce cooked healthy food for no more than $10 and turn a profit, you would think a bargain-based website could do a damned sight better, especially with its buying power.

Honestly, what planet do these people live on? Any diligent shopper could make the exact same meals for way less.

Seriously, there is a real gap in the market for affordable, tasty, home-cooked meals - and not just online.

Imagine walking into a take-out shop and seeing giant pans of lasagne, sweet and sour chicken and a hearty beef chili con carne priced from $5 a serve. No cooking. No dishes. No worries. It could be a veritable gold mine.

Unfortunately, I found Bargain Box to be starved of actual bargains.

-Kate Stewart is a staunch advocate of common sense and three-ply toilet tissue.

Feedback to investik8@gmail.com.