Frequently asked questions

Nova Chef's dishes are developed by Culinary Director Sergey Men, a Michelin-Guide restaurateur, and cooked by professional chefs in our SALSA-certified production kitchen in North West London. The same range runs room service, bar menus and canteens in 60 UK hotels and venues.

Yes. Every dish is cooked, portioned and blast-frozen at the point it would normally be plated, then finished on site. It keeps for 12 months in your freezer and cooks straight from frozen, so nothing needs defrosting and you only cook what is ordered.

Over 80 chef-made dishes: breakfast rolls, slow-cooked mains such as sous-vide featherblade beef and lamb shank, curries, pasta, rice bowls, burgers, crispy chicken, arancini, soups and sides, with vegetarian and vegan options across the range. Dishes come as individual portions and as multi-portion trays serving 6–7 people. See the full menu.

Allergen information comes with every dish, on the label and in the documentation we supply. Chicken, beef and lamb come from a certified halal supplier, and the few pork dishes are clearly labelled. There are vegetarian and vegan dishes too.

Nova Chef supplies 60 UK hotels, including Hilton, Marriott, IHG and Radisson Individuals properties, and the testimonials on our hotel page come from their F&B directors and general managers. The honest answer is a tasting: we bring the food, your team cooks it, you judge it.

No. Our chefs cook everything in our London kitchen and it arrives frozen. On site you need counter space, power sockets and room for a freezer. No extraction, no gas and no kitchen fit-out.

No. Whoever is on shift finishes the dishes after one training session: bar staff, reception, night staff or a canteen assistant. The dish comes out the same whoever is working.

Every pack carries a barcode. Staff scan it and the Scan-to-Cook Station programs your combi oven, air fryer or microwave with that dish's mode, temperature and time, then runs it. Nobody chooses a setting. The station can be bought or hired and is installed with staff training.

Every dish works in the combi oven, air fryer or microwave you already have, and each pack carries its finishing instructions. The station makes it foolproof on a busy shift with a new starter, which is why most sites take it.

3–10 minutes to cook from frozen for individual portions. Multi-portion trays for groups take 20–40 minutes in a combi oven.

About an hour. There are three actions to learn: scan, place, serve. We also write the operating procedures that sit behind the service (ordering, storage, stock rotation, finishing, allergens and service) in the language of a duty manager rather than a chef, and you have a named account contact from then on.

Individual portions are around £3.10 to £6.50 each, ex VAT, depending on the dish. There is no management fee and no service charge, and no kitchen chefs to pay for the services it covers. The rate for a specific site is confirmed once we know its size and expected demand.

Orders start from £500 per delivery, and we confirm your free-delivery threshold when you enquire. There is no long-term contract and no monthly minimum: it runs month to month.

Anywhere in mainland UK, usually within 3–5 working days. The food travels frozen and keeps for 12 months in your freezer, so you order when you need to, not every few days.

Through your account manager or the customer portal (the Customer Login link at the top of this site). Most sites order every two to four weeks and hold their menu in the freezer.

Yes. We supply contract caterers and facilities-management companies, hotel groups and multi-site operators, with trade pricing, pack formats and menu documentation for every site. See catering food supplier for the trade price list.

Yes. Book a free tasting and we'll come to your venue, cook a selection on site and let your team taste it. No commitment.

Usually within about two weeks of the first conversation: a tasting, then the freezer and station installed in days rather than a fit-out, about an hour of staff training, and launch with a named account contact. Sites with a combi oven already in place are often serving within days.

Hotels, pubs and bars, workplace canteens, hospitals and healthcare sites, student accommodation, sports and golf clubs, holiday parks, aparthotels, hot food vending and contract caterers. See all sectors.

Yes. Nova Chef is SALSA-certified (Safe and Local Supplier Approval), the UK food-safety and hygiene accreditation for small and medium food producers. Every meal is made in audited, controlled conditions, blast-frozen at its peak and finished on site.

Nova Chef is the trading name of MOOVR UK LTD, a London food manufacturer supplying chef-made meals and the Scan-to-Cook Station to hospitality, workplace and healthcare operators across mainland UK. Meet the team on our team page or get in touch.