The Food Crate Launches, Delivering High End Specialty Prepared Foods to Your Doorstep

Stephanie Webster August 12, 2020

CT based startup, THE FOOD CRATE has launched in the tri-state area (and just beyond) with overnight delivery of chef-sourced specialty and high end prepared foods to residents of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island. Why is this food delivery service different from all others? After eating my way through several of these fully loaded crates, enjoying everything from gluten-free chicken meatballs and marinated shrimp kabobs to Hawaiian Baby Back Ribs, a Lobster Pot for 8 and restaurant quality crab cakes, I can report with great certainty that The Food Crate is a delivery service that relieves the pressure of the dreaded nightly “what’s for dinner” conundrum, and will surely be on repeat order in my home. (Also thru Aug 31st CTbites readers get 15% OFF with Code: CTB15)

There is a reason that The Food Crate has it all figured out. For starters, Owner, Jordan Laudano, and his chef Jeff Caputo, have spent the last six months in his commercial kitchen doing extensive recipe testing. But perhaps even more importantly is the fact that Laudano is anything but new to the food business. In 1982 his family started a specialty food company distributing goods to restaurants across Connecticut. Laudano is deeply rooted in the research, sourcing and creation of high end ingredients, and his connections to “best in class” products near and far goes back a generation. In fact, he even schooled me on a few CT vendors previously unknown (and that’s not an easy feat).

Food Crate’s warehouse has over 4000 frozen, refrigerated and dry goods, and the scale allows Laudano to offer retail customers a restaurant quality experience at very reasonable prices.

As Jordan says “The foundation of The Food Crate is to combine both a restaurant and high-end grocery experience without ever leaving home. What makes us unique is that we aren’t trying to teach you how to cook, nor are we cooking everything for you. We’ve taken the mystery out of what to do with the food and reduced your prep and cook times to 20 minutes or less. You decide what and how to cook based on your needs.”

This is great for people who love to cook and have time on their hands but equally as good for those who don’t. Also, The Food Crate is designed for group meals for 10 or more as well as individual prep for a small family.

The Food Crate currently offers six signature crates: A Customizable Atlantic Steam Pot (fully prepared with over 15 pounds of seafood, meat and vegetables), The Carnivore Grill Crate (feeds 8-10 stacked with Angus NY Strips, Kansas City Ribeye, Rack Hawaiian Ribs (cooked), Japanese BBQ Tenderloin Tip Skewers + more), Sunday Sauce Crate (GF Classic Beef/Pork/Chicken Meatballs, Marinara & Vodka Sauce, pasta +), Surf Crate Smoked BBQ Crate, and a Charcuterie and Fromagerie Crate. Yes, we sampled ALL of them.

Consensus amongst my family was rave reviews for the gluten free meatballs (which miraculously kept their shape through delivery), the meat was all excellent quality and marinades were flavorful and well balanced. The Thai shrimp skewers were flavorful with a light heat; the ribs were a superior version of the classic Chinese BBQ ribs, and the Atlantic Steam Pot was just full on outrageous. For $175, this pot may seem spendy on paper, but packed with lobster, shrimp, clams, mussels, chorizo, corn and potatoes, this easily fed 8 people, and was incredibly easy to prepare. It is the perfect one pot dinner party entree, and our guests went crazy. The smell alone made the evening.

Some additional tasting notes from friends with whom I shared my Food Crate bounty included, “Absolutely everything was ridiculously good and fresh. The chicken sausage was bar none the best I’ve had in recent memory, and the ribs were perfectly cooked and so easy to finish on the grill. We also really enjoyed the crab cakes which were so loaded with real crab, we have no idea how they held together so nicely.” —Andrew Kindt

Since The Food Crate is CT based, Jordan says “we are using as many local products as possible. We are really happy to be able to offer our customer one of best Gluten-Free pastas in the country, DePumas Pasta, located in New Haven. Their Mac n Cheese is made with Arethusa Farm’s cheddar, and Laudano continues to source throughout CT.

The Food Crate’s chef is Jeff Caputo, whose specialty is Italian food. He graduated from the CIA and was the executive chef at Scuzzi in New Haven for many years.

If guests would like a fully curated meal for 4-6, they can sample from one of the well curated “crates”, but all items can be delivered a la carte as well, allowing guests to pick and choose their own experiences. In the past few weeks, The Food Crate has also added pantry and grocery items, desserts, sides and apps such that you can stock up on super high end sauces, oils, gluten free pasta and so much more.

CTbites readers get a 15% discount using Code: CTB15.