Dinner's Ready

Dinner's Ready is a small, family-run meal prep service operating out of Canberra, ACT. Founded on a passion for real, hand-cooked food, the business provides a genuine alternative to mass-produced, processed ready meals. Every dish is crafted by specialist chefs who cook by hand, exactly as you would at home, then snap-frozen to lock in flavour and nutrition. For busy families, professionals, retirees, and anyone who loves good food but lacks time to cook, Dinner's Ready offers a straightforward solution: heat, eat, and enjoy.

The menu is far from ordinary. It features a rotating selection of meals, from hearty comfort classics like Cottage Pie and Beef Burgundy with mash to vibrant international dishes such as gluten-free Butter Chicken with saffron rice and Malaysian Caramelised Pork with Asian pickles. With a sharp focus on quality, the team uses only real food produce—no fillers, no food substitutes, and no chemicals. The result is meals with honest, home-cooked flavour and a high protein content, sometimes reaching 62% pure meat in dishes like the Malaysian Chicken Curry.

Menu Highlights at Dinner's Ready

The Dinner's Ready kitchen produces an impressive array of single-serve and sharing meals. Popular items mentioned by customers and featured online include:

• GF Butter Chicken + Saffron Rice — A classic curry, gluten-free, with 27.1g of protein per serve.
• GF Cottage Pie — A gluten-free, high-protein comfort dish packing 34.4g of protein.
• Vegetarian Spinach/Ricotta Ravioli + Primavera Sauce — A plant-forward, cheese-filled pasta with a fresh vegetable sauce.
• Beef Burgundy + Mash & Vegetables — A slow-cooked French-inspired stew paired with creamy mash.
• DF Malaysian Caramelised Pork with Rice & Asian Pickles — A dairy-free, sweet-savoury dish with a bright, tangy finish.
• New Mushroom Lasagna — A seasonal winter warmer introduced to the menu recently.
• Cheese Tortelloni with Vegetable Ragu — A newer pasta addition built for depth of flavour.

Dietary needs are thoughtfully handled. Shoppers can browse dedicated collections for gluten-free, dairy-free, high-protein, and vegetarian meals. The business also curates meal bundles for easy ordering and gifting, while a downloadable PDF menu keeps options clear for regular customers.

Why Customers Choose Dinner's Ready

Google Maps reviewers hold Dinner's Ready in high regard, giving the business a 5.0-star rating based on 40 reviews. The feedback repeatedly praises the food quality, real-home-cooked feel, and convenience. One local guide, Felicia Lim, notes that a single-serve Butter Chicken purchased from a kiosk was so delicious, with whole pieces of chicken, that she was motivated to order more. Another reviewer, Pete S, highlights the excellent taste, good variety, and reasonable pricing, recommending the service to anyone looking for a frozen ready-made meal. Many customers speak of ordering repeatedly and relying on these meals to make their evenings easier and more enjoyable.

Services and Delivery Options

Dinner's Ready provides a seamless home-delivery service. For Canberra-region customers, deliveries go out every Tuesday, with free delivery on orders over $150. This makes it easy to stock the freezer with a week's worth of meals without worrying about extra charges. For those living in southern New South Wales, the team has established specific delivery areas and days, which are clearly laid out on the website, ensuring that even rural and regional households can access quality pre-made meals.

Beyond home delivery, the business partners with a large network of quality independent retailers across Canberra and the Snowy Mountains. These stockists allow customers to pick up meals at their convenience, whether they are running errands, travelling, or prefer to shop in person. Dinner's Ready also supplies meals to sports groups, clubs, motels, resorts, government departments, corporate offices, and even refuges, demonstrating both the versatility and the broad appeal of the product range.

Commitment to Real Food and Quality Ingredients

At the heart of Dinner's Ready is a simple but powerful philosophy: use only real food. The chefs cook with the same ingredients a home cook would reach for—fresh produce, quality meats, and honest seasonings. There are no industrial fillers, no synthetic food substitutes, and no chemical additives. This approach ensures that every meal delivers clean, recognisable flavours and a nutritional profile that aligns with a well-balanced diet. High protein content is a consistent feature across the menu, reflecting the brand’s dedication to satisfying, nourishing food.

The method of snap-freezing meals immediately after cooking is a crucial part of the quality promise. By freezing each dish at its peak, the brand seals in both flavour and nutrients without the need for preservatives. When heated at home, the meals taste remarkably fresh—evidence of the care taken during preparation. Whether it is a slow-cooked casserole, a fragrant curry, or a delicate pasta, the texture and taste rival that of a meal freshly made in a home kitchen.

Who Loves Dinner's Ready Meals

The customer base is as diverse as the menu. Busy parents who want a nutritious dinner on the table without the nightly scramble, professionals working long hours, and retirees looking for convenient yet wholesome meals all form the core audience. Many customers work from home and appreciate having a high-quality lunch they can heat in minutes. People monitoring their weight or protein intake also rely on the clear dietary labelling and real-food composition. Holidaymakers staying in the Snowy Mountains area and those on home-care packages benefit enormously from the easy availability of nourishing, chef-made dishes.

The business also attracts customers who simply need a break from cooking—those who love good food but occasionally want to reclaim their time. Gifting options, such as the gift vouchers starting at $110, have become a popular way to treat friends or family to a taste of convenience and quality. Testimonials on the website confirm a pattern of repeat orders, with many customers staying loyal for years.

Location and Contact Information

Dinner's Ready is based in the Canberra region. The business operates as a meal prep and delivery service, and while the physical kitchen is not a walk-in storefront, customers can reach the team easily by phone or email. The contact details are: telephone 0477 197 617, email info@dinnersready.com.au, and postal address PO Box 4697, Kingston, ACT 2604. The team prides itself on accessibility—when you call, you speak to a real person who works at the business, not an automated system.

The website, dinnersready.com.au, serves as the central hub for ordering, browsing the full menu, reading the latest blog posts, and downloading the current PDF menu. Social media pages on Facebook and Instagram keep followers updated on new menu items and seasonal specials, such as the winter-ready Mushroom Lasagna or the autumn favourite Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Operating Hours and Ordering

As a delivery-based service, Dinner's Ready is not a traditional shopfront, so standard walk-in opening hours do not apply. Orders are accepted online at any time, and the weekly Tuesday delivery schedule in Canberra provides a regular rhythm for customers planning their weekly meals. Cut-off times for Tuesday delivery are communicated on the website, ensuring smooth logistics. For southern NSW customers, delivery days vary by area and are clearly listed on the delivery information page.

Customer service is available during business hours by phone and email. The website offers secure payment options, a dedicated account system for repeat orders, and a straightforward checkout process. Special provisions exist for NDIS and Home Care Package clients, further evidence of the inclusive and thoughtful approach the business takes toward meeting community needs.

Whether you are in Canberra or the surrounding regions, Dinner's Ready offers a reliable, delicious, and truly homemade meal experience. The combination of chef-crafted food, real ingredients, flexible delivery and stockist arrangements, and consistently glowing customer feedback makes this family business a standout choice for anyone who values eating well without the effort.