No name : Chicken penne

Manufacturer : No name

Product : Chicken penne

Contents : Penne pasta, chicken, cream sauce

Cooking time : 5 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 1 / 5

Comments : A bad one. The chicken "crumbs" tasted more like a voodoo chicken in a tasteless sauce. To avoid. I want my money back for this one.

[contribution] High liner : Fillets almondine

Manufacturer : High liner

Product : Fillets almondine with rice

Contents : Fish, sauce, rice, almond topping

Cooking time : 7 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 3 / 5

Comments : A contribution by Flipper MTL : The fish was good, but the sauce was too salty. Almonds were not really good, not grilled and overcooked. Lack of vegetables. (Photograph by The Corporate Gourmet)

Discover cuisine : Butter chicken with cumin rice

Manufacturer : Discover cuisine

Product : Butter chicken with cumin rice (Flavors of India)

Contents : Chicken, indian inspired sauce, white rice mixed with green peas and cumin seeds.

Cooking time : 5 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 5 / 5

Comments : 2 trays, top one for the chicken, bottom one for the rice. Very good. A deluxe version of the frozen Indian meal.

Miscallenous : My company's christmas lunch

Manufacturer : Unknown

Product : My company's christmas lunch

Contents : Ham & cheese croissant, chicken tortilla wrap, celeriac salad, pasta salad, 1/2 egg, cheese, crackers, pear cake, and a mandarin.

Cooking time : none

Rating : 4 / 5

Comments : Definitely not the typical Corporate Gourmet entry as you can definitely not get this one in your local supermarket.

No name : Fettucine alfredo

Manufacturer : No name

Product : Fettucine alfredo

Contents : Fettucine pasta, three cheese alfredo sauce

Cooking time : 4 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 4 / 5

Comments : The first thing I noticed is that 4 minutes in a microwave is definitely too much for the sauce. Although, I have to say I really enjoyed this one. Saucy, cheesy and creamy enough.

No name : Lasagna with meat sauce

Manufacturer : No name

Product : Lasagna with meat sauce

Contents : Lasagna noodles, four cheeses, tomato meat sauce (beef)

Cooking time : 4 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 3 / 5

Comments : I have to admit I got a bit scared when I took this one out of the microwave, but it ended up being better than it looked. Although it contains the main ingredients of lasagna (noodles, sauce, meat and cheese) do not expect it to look like one. Nevertheless, the sauce is quite good though a bit skimpy on the beef and the cheese rounds it out well.

No name : Macaroni & cheese

Manufacturer : No name

Product : Macaroni & cheese

Contents : Pasta, cheese

Cooking time : 4 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 3 / 5

Comments : Not bad. Much better than more "elaborate" and expensive products of the kind. Cheesy enough, but I still prefer the Kraft dinner...

President's Choice : Indian lentil

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Indian lentil low fat instant soup

Contents : Lentil flakes, chickpea powder, tomato powder, dehydrated vegetables, spices.

Cooking time : 7 minutes after adding boiling water

Rating : 2 / 5

Comments : Well, I was expecting a curried lentil soup when I bought this one. Sadly, I was wrong. This is just plain soup with no particular interest. It was rather tasteless actually (lentils? if you say so...). And just like the spicy black bean soup of the same brand, it takes a very long time for it to be ready to eat.

President's Choice : Butter chicken (reduced fat)

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Reduced fat butter chicken

Contents : Chicken, tandoori tomato sauce, basmati rice

Cooking time : 6 minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 2 / 5

Comments : Less fat = less taste...? Well, actually for this one : Yes. The sauce is mediocre : very watery and bland, tastes more like plain tomato sauce. Disappointing. You should definitely get the "regular" one instead (see review below).

President's Choice : Spicy black bean

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Spicy black bean low fat instant soup

Contents : Precooked black beans, corn flour, dehydrated vegetables, spices.

Cooking time : 7 minutes after adding boiling water

Rating : 3 / 5

Comments : Not bad. Although, it takes forever to have it ready. Maybe too mild, but a good one to have on a snowy day.

President's Choice : Madras chicken

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Madras chicken

Contents : Chicken, tomato-coconut sauce, basmati rice

Cooking time : 6 minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 3 / 5

Comments : Spicy, however the sauce is rather liquidy. Too few pieces of chicken. I counted 5 1/2 pieces in the box actually. Not my favorite.

Kraft : Kraft dinner cup original

Manufacturer : Kraft

Product : Kraft dinner cup original

Contents : Pasta, processed cheese

Cooking time : 3½ minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 5 / 5

Comments : Good as usual, I prefer the triple cheese one though.

President's Choice : Corma chicken

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Corma chicken

Contents : Chicken, coconut-almond sauce, basmati rice

Cooking time : 6 minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 3 / 5

Comments : The Indian section is on sale for the moment for $2.99, so it is time to explore. Not very good looking when taken out of the microwave. The sauce is rather good, however due to the mix of almond and coconut it is a bit dry. Not bad.

President's Choice : Butter chicken

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Butter chicken

Contents : Chicken, tandoori tomato sauce, basmati rice

Cooking time : 6 minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 4 / 5

Comments : An industrial version of my favorite Indian dish. It is quite good, I like the sauce, but I should be ashamed of having this knowing that I live 10 minutes away from the best Indian take out in town. I wonder why they don't mix the rice and chicken together though.

Kraft : Kraft dinner triple cheese

Manufacturer : Kraft

Product : Kraft dinner triple cheese

Contents : Pasta, processed cheese

Cooking time : 3½ minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 5 / 5

Comments : A true classic. Probably the best of the kind. Nothing beats it so far.

President's Choice : Chicken biryani

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Chicken biryani

Contents : Chicken, basmati rice with vegetables (raisins, peas and almonds), biryani sauce

Cooking time : 6 minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 4 / 5

Comments : I had it before. Maybe a bit dry, but I quite like this one. I like the fact that the sauce and rice are pre-mixed. It is much less messy to eat especially when you don't have access to a plate. The box says "mild" and I find it just fine.

President's Choice : Ginger-glazed salmon

Manufacturer : President's Choice

Product : Grain medley with ginger glazed salmon (blue menu)

Contents : Salmon, brown rice, ginger sauce, vegetables (red peppers and green beans)

Cooking time : 5 minutes in a microwave over

Rating : 2 / 5

Comments : Disappointing, knowing that I had great expectations of this one. The sauce and the rice were rather good but the salmon was just ok and the veggies really tasteless.

Swanson : Fried chicken

Manufacturer : Swanson

Product : Fried chicken

Contents : Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn & brownie.

Cooking time : 4 minutes in a microwave oven

Rating : 4 / 5

Comments : The second time I try this brand. Not bad actually, even if it seems quite odd to find the brownie between the corn & the potatoes. One question though, why is there three pieces of chicken pictured on the box and two inside?