We tried Saffron Kitchen in Chesterfield - a charity-run catering company that offers a true taste of India - and here's what we thought

Saffron Kitchen, which was set up by the Asian Association of Chesterfield and North Derbyshire, is producing authentic Indian food for shops and eateries.

The outlets will stock chicken rogan josh, chicken biryani, chicken tikka masala, mixed vegetable korma, naan and a selection of rice. Each meal has a launch price of £4.99.

An invitation to a special lunch at Saffron Kitchen’s base in Hasland gave us a true taste of India as we sampled the products. The meals are flavoursome with a subtle use of spices that brings out the best in both poultry and vegetables.

We were treated to extras, which you wouldn't find in a restaurant or takeaway in Derbyshire. Vada, which is a deep-fried lentil snack that looks like a mini Yorkshire pudding, and kalakand, a combination of condensed milk, paneer cheese, pistachios and cashew nuts, were simply divine.

On the savoury side, the potato-filled samosas were up there with the best.

These meals are a must for foodies looking for flavour rather than heat.

Sushri Wells, director of Saffron Kitchen and vice-chairman of the Asian Association of Chesterfield and North Derbyshire, said: "It's not Indian food when it's so hot that you can't taste the flavour. It's a very wrong concept that all Indian food is spicy and hot – it’s only on the southern tip of India where they eat spicy and hot food. Most of the dishes we've eaten today are from north India.

"At Saffron Kitchen, it's authentic Indian cuisine. We buy our spices whole in big bags and blend and make the spices according to what we are cooking. There are no preservatives, it's freshly cooked on the day and has a shelf life of two to five days."

Fellow director Paul Holmes, who lives in Holmewood, said: "It's home cooking. There are no artificial flavourings or colourings."

The five meals we sampled are available to buy in Clay Cross Post Office and Sheffield’s Manor Park Post Office and High Green Post Office.

Fireaway pizza company, which has an outlet at Knifesmithgate in Chesterfield, will begin stocking Saffron Kitchen's meals in August. Naresh Gunapanedu, master franchisee for Fireaway whose patch includes Chesterfield, Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham, said: "I'm from a chef's background and have worked in Indian cuisine so I'm excited about this."

Saffron Kitchen started supplying meals to retail outlets a couple of weeks ago. Paul, who used to work as a hygiene inspector in the food industry, said: "A normal food company would take a minimum of a year to do something like this, we've done it in three months which has been a lot of hard work and a very steep learning curve."

Sushri said: "In the middle of it all, a hygiene inspector from the council came to inspect us, gave us another five star rating and ordered 10 meals for the following week!"

The two directors work tirelessly to help their catering staff prepare and package meals. A third director - Uttam Tripathy who runs the Potli restaurant in London - is Saffron KItchen's commercial advisor.

In addition to preparing meals for retail outlets, Saffron Kitchen delivers to individual customers three times a week, caters for corporate and private bookings, runs community lunches in the company's premises at Penmore Business Centre where there's also a cookery class on the first Wednesday of every month.

Sushri, who lives in Walton, said: "I am very passionate about what I am doing and it gives me immense happiness to be working in the community."

As a trustee of the Asian Association of Chesterfield and North Derbyshire, Sushri identified a need for a meals on wheels service in 2019. She said: "Most of our founder members were in their eighties, they were struggling and there was no meals on wheels project for them. We had over 15 elderly members and thought that we'd set up meals on wheels for them, then Covid happened. Because of Covid, we didn't restrict our service to our members - we provided meals for anyone in the community including struggling families and the elderly who were not in good health.

"At that time we tied up with Rural Action Derbyshire as a partner in their Feeding Derbyshire project. Rural Action Derbyshire provided all the ingredients, we cooked and packed the meals and delivered them to people who needed them. We did 55 meals every day. It wasn't just about delivering meals, it was about picking up prescriptions for them or standing at the door and talking to them. We became like a lifeline for most of the members that were struggling."

During the pandemic Paul was also delivering meals around north Derbyshire on behalf of the Freemasons.

Sushri, who worked as a BME engagement co-ordinator for Links until retirement two years ago, said that she and fellow retiree Paul wanted to give back to the community.

Saffron KItchen is a not for profit community interest company that was awarded £280,000 by the National Lottery in 2023 to cover its overheads for four years. Initial funding of £140,000 from the National Lottery helped to get Saffron Kitchen up and running.

Sushri said: "We never knew when we started Saffron Kitchen during the pandemic that we would come to a point where we would think of growing and updating and getting more meals to more people. We found in the process that there are a lot of people who are still struggling and there are still people who don't eat a single hot meal in the day. There are food banks but they give you tins of this and that and then you have to cook and some people are not capable of doing that. When they receive a nice packed hot meal on the doorstep they are overcome and very touched."

Saffron Kitchen has six cooks who are mums aged between 30 and 40. Sushri said: "Most of them are housewives who came to Derbyshire from India because their husbands had jobs here. Some of these ladies had done Masters degrees in India but English was not their first language so they felt very isolated. Some of them were highly depressed because of leaving their families in India, they had no friends here and they couldn't make friends because English was not their first language. So we brought them to the centre and gave them enough training to start them off in the kitchen. Paul did all the food and hygiene training and I did all the recipes and everything that was needed in the kitchen. Most of them knew the basics of cooking so it was easy to grow from there.

"They have bonded, made friends and have a social life now. Instead of being isolated and depressed, they have found friendship."

As Saffron Kitchen expands its services, the business is rapidly outgrowing its tiny cooking area and needs bigger premises. The company is also on the lookout for an experienced curry chef. Sushri said: "We want a chef who can cook in bulk, organise the team, procure raw ingredients, stock take and do the menus every month."

For further details on Saffron Kitchen’s food and services, go to www.saffron-kitchen.org.uk