An end of an era

For some, meal kits were as intrinsic to the pandemic as facemasks and hand sanitiser. The entire concept flipped restaurant service on its head, chefs were forced to scratch their heads and figure out how their carefully crafted menus could be transferred into a series of cardboard boxes to be finished off by customers. They were a concept almost entirely brought on by the lockdown.

A means for some restaurants to carry on for owners to keep employees in a job and for customers to break the monotony of meals and to experience a version of eating out.

Each customer will have their favourite meal kits, from Aimsir at home which involved a branded tweezers, to the stuffed to the brim Allta box to Michael’s satisfying Crab Pasta Kit. But Back to Dine which operated out of the San Lorenzos was perhaps the longest-running of them all.

The team at Back To Dine have announced that they will be sending out their last boxes this weekend, truly marking the end of an era.

San Lorenzo owner Temple Garner, created a series of meal kits with culinary heavy-hitters the likes of Anna Haugh, Jp McMahon, Yann Florio, Lee Hanson and more.

Combining high-end photography, with step-by-step video instructions from Garner, the meal kits truly were a foodies food kit.

Announcing the news, Anthony Remedy encouraged customers to return to San Lorenzos when it reopens on October 2, with a revamped menu.

“It’s been a while since SL has been open, so do come join us. If you loved Back To Dine, you will love the updated San Lorenzo’s with Temple back on George’s Street,” the post reads.

Thanking the team and sommelier Cathryn Bell, Remedy thanked Garner writing, “or smashing it with every single box, every menu, every dish. A man who can see solutions before they become problems and one of the unsung heroes of Irish dining over the last 25 years”.

Remedy admitted that it started off as a “crazy idea” he added that, “it was a hugely ambitious and difficult project to execute, especially taking into account what we were collectively facing last year.”

You can find San Lorenzos on South Great George’s Street, the restaurant is scheduled to reopen October 1 on for more information visit their Instagram.

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