The sheer extravagance of it, fresh produce delivered to your door...

For years, I’d enviously eyed-up and coveted those mysterious boxes left waiting for discerning foodies.

Riverford began small in Devon in 1987, delivering organic vegetables to 30 local homes but has since expanded to become a hugely-popular national supplier of organic vegetable boxes, delivering 48,000 around the UK each week. The company’s new innovation has upped the game substantially, offering a choice of one of three new recipe boxes: original, quick and vegetarian.

These can be ordered on a one-off basis from the website, and will be delivered to your home free of charge on a Monday.

I was lucky enough to be able to sample one of the vegetarian recipe boxes, which provides three meals for two people, a bottle of wine and costs £39.99.

Being a vegan household, it’s been a constant challenge to make sure we have the right amount of produce in the fridge let alone the quality of its provenance.

As with all of Riverford’s hugely popular recipe boxes, everything is in the exact quantities you need, so there’s no dashing to the shops after work or missing that vital ingredient. All you have to do is cook.

The box’s organisation is something to behold. Fruit and vegetables were neatly stacked on the left, beside three neat little card compartments marked one, two and three. These held the individual components of the meals and ranged from chickpea flour, eggs or a little pot of the exact amount of brown sugar required.

The chilled bag - an ingenious combination of natural fibre insulation surrounding the crème fraiche, perl las blue, medita cheese and a little ice bag - was neatly tucked in on the right. All this careful preparation means there is no need for you to be home when the box arrives - everything will be in perfect condition for several hours.

All the recipes are seasonal and organic, change weekly, and have been developed by Riverford’s cooks. The results were staggering and over the course of a week we knocked up socca crepes and asparagus with blue cheese, spring onions and tomato salad. Then potato and spinach fritters with apple and kohlrabi remoulade and chutney. The final meal was warm beet and carrot salad with mint, sheep’s cheese and rhubarb.

For seasoned vegetarian customers who are stuck in a rut, or those who want to eat a bit less meat but don’t really know how, I’d wholeheartedly recommend the endless variety of veg and interesting original recipes.

Visit www.riverford.co.uk to find out your nearest distributor or to order a box.