All of the food came in a foil pouch (see photo) and was freeze dried, so they were all very light. The pouch itself seemed to be much heavier than the actual food, so if weight was a very significant issue then there would be potential to remove the food from the pouch before taking it on a trip; you could maybe take one empty pouch to use as a cooking vessel and carry the rest of the food in lightweight plastic bags.
The first meal I tried was pasta in a creamy herb sauce. It was made by adding 400ml of boiling water, rolling over the top of the pouch and leaving to sit for 5 to 10 minutes. I did notice that it would be nice if the inside of the pouch had a 'fill line' or similar as I'm not very good at estimating amounts. Nevertheless, it seemed to be about the right amount of water as after 7 minutes, I had a pouch full of cooked pasta in a creamy sauce. The pasta was good; it was salty but I would consider this a plus if I had been out climbing/walking/running etc all day. There were no problems with the pouch leaking or dripping and the foil looked hardy enough to survive being stuck in a rucksack with pointy climbing gear. My biggest concern was that the total calorie count for the entire pouch was only about 500 - possibly not enough after a long day out.
The second product was the chocolate mousse. This was even easier to make as you only had to add cold, rather than boiling, water. It was absolutely excellent as well!
Third were the scrambled eggs with herbs and tomato. I had had a very bad experience with powdered eggs in the past, so I was a bit dubious at the outset with this, but somewhat surprisingly they were actually very good. They were quite filling as well, so even though it didn't look like a lot of food, it was plenty. The downside was that they did require frying; you couldn't just pour in boiling water and let them sit. Like the pasta, the eggs were salty, but again in most outdoor situations I'd see this as a good thing.
So the overall impression - a worthwhile product. All three meals were nice enough to serve as a treat at the end of a long day and would be good for saving weight in the rucksack. They're excellent for time-saving as well, with a bare minimum of preparation and no washing up afterwards (except in the case of the eggs). Give them a go!
UK Availability and details of the full range at : www.rosker.com
Stockists: www.rosker.com/stockists/documents/travellunchstockistlist.pdf
Travellunch are available all over the UK from:Snow and Rock, Cotswold Outdoors, Tisos, Nevisport, Blacks, Footprints, Up and Under, Joe Browns, Outside, Penrith Survival, Outdoor Wharehouse, One Step Beyond, Hitch n Hike, Go Outdoors, FaceWest, Oswald Bailey, Open Air, Tackle Up, Trail Venture, Taunton Leisure, Outdoors and Active and more.
Each menu has been produced to meet the energy and more complex nutritional requirements of outdoor enthusiasts.There is a wide choice of breakfasts, main meals, soup and desserts with numerous options for vegetarians.
Apart from 4 of the menus, the meals are prepared simply and quickly by adding hot water (or cold water for desserts and muesli breakfasts) to the foil pouch which expands as the meal prepares itself ready for eating. The pouch becomes free standing and the foil retains much of the heat. These meals can be eaten straight from the pouch.
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