Dive into the delicious world of Mindful Chef as it strives to be the UK’s health partner of choice 

As the UK’s highest rated recipe box, Mindful Chef is on a mission to transform the way we view healthy eating. Whilst some may disregard vegetables as boring or dull, Mindful Chef is changing the narrative with exciting recipe boxes bursting with fresh, flavorful food of the finest quality. At its core, the company celebrates the value of seasonal produce, all carefully sourced by ethical suppliers in the most sustainable way possible. Regardless of dietary requirements, there’s a seat for everyone at Mindful Chef’s table, with a variety of different recipes on offer for every lifestyle, whether carnivorous, gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan.   

Food Chain last spoke with Mindful Chef in June 2024, when Chief Commercial Officer, Henry Mills, offered insight into the company’s history and the ethos that sets it apart from its competitors. One year later, we sat down with Jesse Kempner, Head of Food at Mindful Chef, to discuss all of the exciting changes that have been implemented within the business since we last spoke.   

“Over the last ten years, our ambition has been to help people build life-long habits for their health by creating nutritionally balanced recipes made with high-quality ingredients. Whilst that remains true, we’ve recently put more focus into understanding the specific health goals of our customers and tailoring our approach to their needs. We know there’s a strong interest in gut health, so we’ve onboarded gut-loving ingredients such as kefir, kimchi and kraut, that we hope our customers will enjoy,” Jesse begins. “We’ve also really tried to double down on the ease of our recipes. We’ve always had a ‘speedy’ range of recipes that can be made in 15-to-20 minutes, however, our customers are always wanting quicker and easier solutions for their midweek meals.  

In response to that feedback, we’ve recently invested in new ingredients to help make that speed achievable and accessible in any kitchen, whilst maintaining a great cooking experience for our customers. Over the last couple of years, for instance, we’ve invested in high-quality premade sauces and slow cooked meats, which give our customers the taste of a delicious meal that has been cooked for hours but that they can prepare and enjoy in ten minutes.”   

Nutritious and delicious 

As a part of this focus, Mindful Chef’s menu is undergoing its biggest transformation yet, with lots of new, exciting dishes set to be added to its portfolio in July 2025. Each of the recipes will be expertly crafted in alignment with the company’s core values and commitment to quality, using only the best, freshest ingredients to create tasty, nutritious meals.  

“In July, we’re expanding our menu to 28 recipes each week, the most we’ve ever done, which is really exciting,” Jesse shares. “We’re having a big refocus on our family offering in particular, especially ahead of September. Families can be a little more challenging as each one is unique with various different needs, so we’re investigating ways to hit those requirements. If you’re cooking for a family with young children, you don’t want to spend a long time in the kitchen, so the recipes need to be quick, but familiar for children. We aim to add a twist and a sense of adventure to these classic recipes using safe ingredients that we know children will like, such as a fajita-style pasta bake with jalapeno salsa, or a Cajun King prawn and sweet potato tray bake.”  

Whilst the full list of new dishes is yet to be announced, Jesse has revealed two of the tempting treats that will be added to its portfolio: a succulent pesto and parmesan stuffed chicken breast and a chorizo pasta bake. These changes are reflective of Mindful Chef’s devotion to its customers, keeping their feedback and needs at the forefront of its innovation. This kind of consistent research and development is incredibly important to Mindful Chef. Jesse and the company’s talented team find inspiration at every turn, from market trends to customer feedback, extensive industry expertise, and a passion for simply great food.  

“Our partnerships really help us to shout about the things that we do best, from seasonality to premiumization and adventurous cuisines. One particularly exciting partnership we did this year was with Gymkhana, which showed our customers that they can come to us if they want something a little special, super-healthy and at restaurant quality in their own home,” Jesse highlights. “We also have a really exciting partnership with Dr Megan Rossi and her brand Bio&Me. It’s all about creating simple, delicious recipes packed full of fiber and plant diversity, and feature Bio&Me’s kefir to support the gut. All the recipes contain at least 15 grams of fiber and further help us on our mission to be our customers’ health partner.”  

From farm to fork

However, Mindful Chef isn’t just passionate about caring for our health, but also for that of the environment. As a certified B-Corp, the company keeps sustainability close to its heart, investing in a number of initiatives and innovations to further its force for good whilst ensuring that the same standards are met throughout its supply chain. From farm to fork, Mindful Chef is committed to creating a better world for its customers and their families, and, of course, a happy environment grows the tastiest produce.  

“Our focus on sustainability will continue to sit at our core. We’ve achieved industry-leading results, with only 1.2% product wastage in our supply chain, which we’re really proud of,” Jesse explains. “We’ve just upgraded our ice packs, for instance, into a more sustainable option, so the outer packaging can now be recycled at major supermarkets. The packs also now use a water-based gel inside that’s fully biodegradable and compostable, so can just be poured down the sink instead of thrown in the bin. It’s not only great for the environment, but also super safe and convenient for everyone at home.”  

With a greater number of people investing in their health than ever before, Mindful Chef is committed to making mealtimes exciting for many more years to come. 

“Our biggest priority for the future is for us to become a true health partner for our customers and to have a more holistic impact on how they live a balanced lifestyle. We’re also really trying to reduce our usage of any unnecessary preservatives or additives. We’re already incredibly clean; less than two percent of our ingredients use any sort of additives and, where they do, it’s for the purpose of shelf life, but we’re still trying to reduce those further,” Jesse affirms. “This year, we also launched ‘health badging’ on our recipes, labelling those that are high fiber, high protein, low fat, etc. By 2026, we’re aiming to make those even more prominent on our website to make it easier for our customers with health goals to choose exactly what they’re looking for.  

“In the longer term, we’d like to become more of a household name outside of the recipe box,” Jesse concludes. “We’d like to take our ethos of good, sustainable food and bring that to the retail market, perhaps in our own range of sauces or dressings. It would also be super exciting to tap into breakfast, lunch and weekend foods. Whatever we do, we need to ensure that we’re living up to our customers’ expectations above all else.”   

www.mindfulchef.com