Shrewsbury entrepreneur launches healthy meal delivery service

Having grown up surrounded by chefs at The Corbet Arms in Uffington, Taleb Said learnt what it takes to create a healthy, hearty meal from a young age.

Taking inspiration from the restaurant his grandparents ran for years, the 24-year-old has founded Tastebox, a meal prep business which strives to create healthy meals without sacrificing taste.

Taleb, who runs the business using fresh ingredients from his kitchen in Harlescott, said: "I've always loved cooking, for as long as I can remember it's been my passion.

"My gran and grandad had a pub when I was growing up and I would always try and help and get in the kitchen whenever I could – although they rarely let me at that age.

"But I picked up a few things here and there and I've been learning ever since."

With a background in economics, the former accountant spent the early stages of lockdown preparing the service and has now been making contactless deliveries for about a week.

Each meal comes in a paperboard or fully compostable container to reduce plastic waste.

"At the moment it's your popular meals, bolognese, curries, salads and everything in between," said Taleb.

"People deserve healthy food that doesn't sacrifice in taste. A lot of services offer healthy food but it often comes at the cost of taste, dried chicken or boiled vegetables for example, but people deserve tasty and healthy food."

Launching the one-man business during the coronavirus pandemic, Taleb said he has included a range of measures to keep clients safe.

He said: "Leaving my accounting job before lockdown, I had a lot of spare time to work out how the business was going to work.

"The first step was coming up with the menus and recipes suitable, but also taking into account safety measures.

"I wear a mask while delivering and if a customer is the next stop, I'll contact them, let them know they're next and we'll carry out a contactless delivery.

"At the moment I'm making deliveries in and around Shrewsbury, with plans to hire a driver and expand further on down the road.

"My aim was to launch just as we're coming out of lockdown, and in line with gyms reopening on July 25 I have a competition with a prize of £50 of meals, giving people the perfect chance to get fit and eat healthy."

Meals are cooked on the day of deliveries, which are made Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, meaning there is no need to freeze any food.

For more information visit tastebox.uk