Peapod partners with Wildfire, Big Bowl restaurants to provide meal kits

Online grocer Peapod said it is teaming up with Wildfire and Big Bowl to expand its meal kit line with its first restaurant collaboration.

In 2014, Peapod began offering a variety of meal kits, and has now partnered with two Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises restaurants - Big Bowl, known for its Chinese and Thai cuisine, and Wildfire, a classic steakhouse specializing in, chops and seafood.

Peapod is introducing three new recipes inspired by the restaurants' dishes for guests to prepare at home. The new meal kits are available for home delivery beginning this month in Chicago as well as the New York and D.C. markets that Skokie-based Peapod serves.

The three new kits include Wildfire and Big Bowl chef-inspired recipes which are available in serving sizes of two and four. They include Wildfire Beef Tenderloin with Couscous, Wildfire BBQ Bison Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes and Caramelized Onions and Big Bowl Sweet and Sour Chicken. The price in this area ranges from $22 to $30 for the four serving size.

Each kit contains pre-measured, pre-washed and pre-chopped ingredients for a home-cooked, restaurant quality meal with minimal prep time, Peapod officials said.

"As the demand for meal kits continues to increase, we are thrilled to collaborate with restaurants like Wildfire and Big Bowl," said Spencer Baird, senior vice president of merchandising for Peapod. "It was a natural progression to work with trusted and popular restaurants based right here in Peapod's hometown of Chicago, and we are excited for our customers to be able to make these delicious recipes right at home."

"By joining forces with Peapod, our recipes will reach a larger audience and give customers who may not have the opportunity to dine in our restaurants, the chance to taste our most popular dishes," says Howard Katz, Wildfire & Big Bowl President.