Hi all,

Please, can someone advise where I can get " cheap" ready meals.
I normally find them easily in Sainsbury or Tesco but can I find them in Zurich?

Cheers

The following shops sell ready meals: Coop, Migros, Aldi, Lidl and many more.

You won't find the same quality, nor selection, and you will learn to cook !

Did you tried at the local Coop(mostly the bigger shops of coop should have a
bigger variety)?

Migros and Coop sell ready meals. Presumably the bigger stores will have more of a selection to chose from but don't quote me on that.

Have no idea on pricing, however, as we don't shop for these.

I sense business opportunity for housewives

Refrigerated/frozen ready meals: you can expect prices somewhere from 5-12 CHF per meal, depending on selection.

As for whether that qualifies as "cheap"... it's cheaper than an equally-filling cheap takeaway, put it that way.

Some branches also have a deli section with hot food, grilled chicken legs etc. if that appeals.

some coops (at least the one at zh central) have also grilled chicken parts

you may also use eat.ch for ordering online

cheers folks.

I actually agree with jacek that this could be a good business opportunity
I am still in London and am too lazy to cook. The ready meals are very good solution for people like me who can't be bothered. mmm who wants to become my future business partner in Zurich

If you don't mind Indian food once in a while, you can order healthy home cooked food from here: http://bestcurry.ch/content/menu-list/

Quite cheap and without the usual spiciness/ oiliness that is the woe of Indian cuisine.

Forgot to add: I used their services after a recent surgery, and it was very helpful.

It would be, if...

- most of the population (= "the market") wasn't mostly content with what is available
- you didn't need to pay yourself and your employees some sort of salary (and pay for insurance, social security contributions and taxes, last but not least), thus having to raise prices to the level of what is already available on the market
Then, you have to differentiate yourself on quality - good luck trying to find a cook that works for a low salary and can actually cook decently and does not jump ship to a better paying job ASAP...




Barkat (Schmiede Wiedikon) does sell some ready-made indian style vegetarian meals (imported from the UK and sold with 300% markup...), which are OK-ish once you limit yourself to one of them per week and cook a bit of rice to eat with...

na, they prefer ready meals too nowadays ...

As others have suggested, options are limited.

Best thing I found is the Coop (definitely Bellevue, downstairs. Almost right in front at the bottom of the escalator.
There are pre-packed salads, and sealed meals that you heat up in a pan.

Check out also the pasta selection. Boil pasta for 2mins, and heat up a ready made sauce in another pot.

No, it's not cheap, nothing is cheap here..... but at least these options are (relatively) fresh compared to those crap microwave packet options.

It's not exactly a ready meal but the Globus Thai counter in
Bellevue does a demon lamb rogan josh for CHF 20. It's one
of the new dishes that they introduced lately after a long period
of the same menu. I get their curries as takeout and
soup them up with extra sides at home.

I had the lamb rogan josh twice so far, and the second time
was equally delicious so it wasn't a fluke. (It's very easy to get
unappetizing lamb curry in my experience). For me, it's the
best spicy meal in Zürich right now, takeout or sit-down.

maybe not exact answer, but bombay-karachi close to central (zh) has menus for 12-14frs. but packing them is not the best option, sauce leaks out of the package sometimes.

also: subway, newyork food, doners, etc..

Sada is that you. Welcome back!

We should cook you a meal ... Erm, order one from Coop?

It may not be the answer you wanted, but why not teach yourself to cook a repertoire of easy dishes - like pasta sauces, curry sauces, stews etc - and make a surplus that you can freeze in single portion sizes, to be nuked on the days when you can't be bothered?

Yesterday I made a one-pot beef stew in the pressure cooker that took about half an hour total. The leftovers I froze in single portion sizes.

The more you cook and get into a routine, the faster you get.

A dead easy pasta sauce is fry some bacon cubes and a couple of deseeded and sliced chilli peppers in olive oil for a couple of minutes. Toss in a tin of chopped tomatoes and a bit of oregano. Let it cook slowly with the lid on for about 20mins. Take the lid off and add a few lugs of cream. Take it off the heat. In the 20 mins while the sauce is cooking you can cook your pasta - farfalle works well - and make a side salad.

Cheers,
Nick

__________________

LaZoupa popped up last year, going for the ready meal market. It's about CHF 15 per pot, in Globus and now they have their own outlets -

http://www.lazoupa.ch/

Didn't try it yet but the philosophy seems to be quality ingredients / low preservatives.

It is a lot of money for one - maybe two - meals. And most of them are things you could prepare yourself with relative ease. Stlll, probably fine for the days when you can't be bothered.

I remember watching some TV programme about an English farmer who was trying to start a farm in France and all the various trials and tribulations he and his family went through. One day, his wife mentioned that she really missed having a cheap and cheerful Chinese Takeaway in the village for when you just did not feel like cooking.

Cheers,
Nick

I would recommend going to a UK bookshop and getting a couple of 10 minute meals books. Working full time with a small child these are a great thing. Also, I don't have a freezer, just a freezer shelf, so cook at the weekend and freeze is not an option for me...... If you haven't sorted somewhere to live yet, make sure you get a place with an actual freezer.
Slow cooking is another option, get home from work to some great stew. be warned, meat is expensive, so veg stew might be more often on the menu than you are used to, mind you, horse is affordable, and if you've been eating cheap tescos and sainsburies ready meals......