Leaping to your service

Now, I'm not one for ready-prepared meals. All those "extra" ingredients just put me off - what is xanthan gum, anyway? But when self-proclaimed "gourmet food home-delivery service" Leapingsalmon.com launched three years ago, I thought: "There's a good idea." Meal kits (said to have no additives or preservatives, and to use the freshest ingredients) come ready-chopped - you just cook them and arrange them artistically on a plate.

"Much more rewarding than a takeaway," cooed The Independent; "a fabulous service that does all the hard work for you," gushed the Daily Mail. Trouble was, it didn't make enough money, so investors started looking round for a buyer.

Then, two weeks ago, along came the 2,100-store Thresher Group, the UK's sixth-largest private retailer, which was looking to "exploit the significant growth opportunities within both the online and food markets".

What a match. Apart from online food and wine pairing opportunities, Alex Hedger, in charge of Leapingsalmon.com's product development, is currently working through Threshers' vast list to find the perfect match for each of the 200 or so different dishes in its repertoire, as your local Threshers could soon be selling Leapingsalmon's meal kits.

"We're very excited about it," says the Thresher Group's Sue Malti. "We've been thinking about doing something like this for some time."

Malti, formerly head of food development at Marks & Spencer, is one of the brains behind the Leapingsalmon purchase (the sum involved remains undisclosed), but how will it actually work? "It's early days yet, but we are working on a new shop concept," she says. "Alongside an edited range of wines and Champagnes, we will sell the meal kits, plus snacks such as marinated olives and stuffed vine leaves - in fact, everything you need for a girls' night in."

It sounds like heaven, but I don't suppose there's any chance my local Threshers will be one of the first to get a makeover. "We haven't decided which shops yet," Malti says, "but we will be trialling it in the central London area first." Drat.

Leapingsalmon's kitchen is near New Covent Garden market and can produce as many as 5,000 meals a day. It will continue to operate as an online business: if you're in central London, you can place your order by 5pm and get dinner delivered between 7pm and 8.30pm; if you live in the suburbs, or further afield (the company will deliver nationally), you place your order and it's delivered between 9am and 5pm the following day.

Threshers staff will be encouraged to cook every one of the dishes to enable them to make wine suggestions to customers, although there will be no more than 10 mains and six starters and puddings available at any one time. "It's important for staff to have an understanding of the menu," says Malti. I can't wait.