The Power of Frozen with Iceland Foods

By : Vaishali Sengupta | 17 Comments | On : September 24, 2015 | Category : Events

Are you a fan of Frozen food?

I definitely am. In fact my freezer is my lifesaver. When I cook, I cook in bulk, freeze half of it and stash it away for those busy weeknights.

Over time, I have realised that once frozen, things stay just as they are and do not spoil at all. The fridge is sometimes your worst enemy. A forgotten bit of food might start getting mouldy in just a few days causing unnecessary wastage. I’m sure we are all guilty of this. We waste food, albeit inadvertently.

Surprisingly, most people frown on frozen food and look upon it as old food or substandard food. This is so not true. Frozen food is as fresh as when it was picked, frozen within just a few hours. No added preservative, no nasties. Just plain simple food. And food that has been cooked and frozen is just as good, sometimes even better.

So when Iceland Foods called me for their event ‘ The power of Frozen’. I thought Yay! This is just the event for me. But then again I thought Well, Iceland? All they have is chips, chicken nuggets and frozen vegetables. Hope there is something interesting.

And I was not disappointing at all. Iceland has revamped its entire product range and added lots and lots of exciting products. They had showcased the very best of its new Autumn range in this event suitably titled #ThepowerofFrozen

The M.D.s of Iceland Foods, Nick Canning and Nigel Broadhurst were both there to share their thoughts about their products, mission and vision for the company.

I got to sample some really good food, right from soups, quinoa, asparagus, through to some really fine fish, sumptuous slow-cooked meat, and lots of delicious desserts.

It is really quite a wide range of food. Iceland Foods have really expanded their range!

Soups I tasted: Thai soup, Tomato Soup, Butternut squash with Cardamom soup- all of which were lip-smacking delicious!

Delicious Thai Soup                                  Tomato Soup

I’m sure this will be one of the best selling products, when it is launched in October- especially with dieters and help with the soup cravings as the weather turns cold.

Fish:  Chef Richard McGeown showed us how to thaw the fish- directly in the oven and just cook it from frozen with a few seasonings on top.

I got to sample some really delicious fish.

  Cod with Sweet Potato Chips

River Sole and Asparagus

Red Snapper with Lentils

I was really impressed with the quality of fish. Cod is commonly available but you do not get red snapper very easily or River Sole.  I am really going to shop for my fish from here. It was fab.

Then on to the Meats– an entire range from the East to the West.

 Iceland Slow Cooked New Zealand Leg Of Lamb Marinated with Rosemary & Garlic                                                                                                                                                           1.8Kg  for £15

Boeuf  Bourguignon & Mash priced at £2.59 for 500gms

  Iceland Oriental Katsu Chicken Curry with Jasmine Rice  £2.59 for 400gm

Then we went on to the Souffle Challenge with Chef Richard McGeown. He demonstrated how to make the perfect souffle and how upward strokes with the brush are very important while greasing – that helps the souffle rise.

So our team went on to try making the Souffle, greasing ramekins, swirling sugar. And then we waited with bated breath to see which souffle was better. Ours or Icelands? The problem with souffles is that they do not rise. Or if they rise , they fall quickly. So making souffles for a party is hard business.

This is the Iceland Souffle. It is UK’s first cook from frozen souffles (perfection straight from the freezer as Iceland says! And they do not fail to impress!

Luxury 2 Lemon Soufflés 140g   £1.99

Light as air and Lemony. Will not fail to impress the guests!

And this was our souffle. It did rise and was tasty, but started to go down after a while, while the Iceland Souffles still held their head high. After seeing these Souffles from Iceland, I’m convinced that there is no point in slogging over something that can let you down.

Best to buy some from Iceland – they rise to the occasion every time!

We also sampled some more vegetables

  Zesty Bean Quinoa 500g  £1.50

   Asparagus Spears with Salted Butter 300g £2 

and not to forget the Desserts, all of which were very sumptuous.

 Iceland Luxury Jersey Cream Rice Pudding 600g £1.49

  Iceland Luxury 2 French Crème Brûlée 252g £2.49

I shamelessly had some extra helpings of the creme brulee, which is on top of my list!

What am I impressed by?

What I really liked was that the company knows its strengths. It is good at frozen food- well, I daresay the are the best in frozen food around.

They have now harnessed this power to completely revamp their range. You now have anything from Chinese, Thai, Indian to Western cuisine all in the Frozen range.

Best part? They are at really competitive prices and have excellent quality and taste!

My verdict? The food is simply brilliant. Food like that straight from the freezer is a Godsend for busy people like us.

The price is unbeatable, the food is excellent. What’s not to like?

So all you doubters out there, I’d say rethink your ideas about frozen food.

Make friends with your freezer.

Frozen food is here to stay.

Go to Iceland Foods and get the delicious food they’ve cooked for you.

Thank you Iceland Foods for inviting me to this event it was a real pleasure!

I’m off to Iceland Foods now. Are you?

All this talk about food has made me really hungry!

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