FAQ
Our mission is simple, to give at home consumers the opportunity to access the Premium Quality Meats that are usually only available to those with an inside track to the culinary industry, such as restaurateurs and chefs.
We focus on quality and consistency. Every product we offer has been curated by our expert team and meets the highest standards for quality. We have curated a list of premium products from the best suppliers in the world to offer you the best Beef, Poultry and Pork.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN A PRODUCT SAYS "WILL BECOME AVAILABLE IN 48 HRS OR 4 DAYS OR LESS"
We receive inventory every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. If an item is not available immediately, we will be have it within a couple days. So if you don't mind waiting a couple days, go ahead and place your order!
If you require same day delivery, please select items that are currently in stock. Any items not in stock will be delivered as they become available."
Gifts
The billing customer is responsible to confirm gift recipients are available to accept deliveries. Be sure to double-check the addresses for your gift recipients.
Order cancellations
You may cancel an order with advance notice. We will do all that we can to honor your request, but if the order has already begun the shipping process, we cannot change it or cancel it.
DO YOU OFFER DISCOUNTS?
Every now and then we do, that said it is rare. We offer the best prices we can for the quality we sell. We do NOT play the discount game.
Meat is a commodity, prices fluctuate based on supply and demand... that means that NONE of the players get to decide what prices look like. If you want a certain quality, you will have to pay what it costs... and that is what we do.
HOW WILL MY Product BE DELIVERED?
Ideally we would hand-deliver every piece of beef as customer service is the most important part of our business. However, if you live outside our delivery area, we will ship. We believe in person-to-person communication and see technology as a way to empower, and not replace human communication. We aim to be an old-school butcher shop that maximizes the use of technology.
This means someone will call you to arrange delivery and actually knock on your door hand-deliver you the package. Your beef will be Vacuum packaged, as we believed its the best way to store beef.
DO I NEED TO FREEZE MY JUST DELIVERED Product?
As a rule of thumb you can keep the beef in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. However it will likely last MUCH longer, in fact the beef will age and gain flavor and tenderness in a process called wet-aging. Make sure the beef stays between 30 and 34 ºF.
We still recommend freezing it if you will not consume it in the next few days.
Frozen beef will usually stay fresh for about 6 months. Vacuum sealed beef can last up to 2 or 3 years. Do note that over time, freezers will drain the flavor out of food. Our recommendation is not to exceed 6 months of storage.
HOW SHOULD I DEFROST MY Product?
Defrost product properly and the flavor will be great. The best way to thaw product is in a refrigerator. DO NOT thaw product at room temperature. Place it on a tray, inside the refrigerator and let it thaw for 12 hours. Thicker pieces may require longer defrosting times.
If you need it sooner you can thaw the vacuum sealed bag in cold water for around 45 minutes. The last alternative is to use the defrost feature in a microwave.
MY Product ARRIVED THAWED OUT?
If you have ordered outside of our delivery area it is entirely possible your order will arrive thawed out.That is usually ok,
Thawed steaks and chops may be refrozen as long as they have remained refrigerated and have not been thawed longer than one day.
Sometimes the vacuum - package will leak while the product is thawing due to small pinholes that can occur during freezing and/or shipping. As long as it remained frozen and was refrigerated while thawing, this is not a concern.
VACUUM PACKAGING?
Vacuum packaging is a form of Modified Atmosphere Packaging. It simply means changing the atmosphere in which food is stored in order to keep it fresher for longer.
Meat is put inside the specially designed food safe bag and then placed inside the vacuum machine where the machine extracts all the air from inside, creating a vacuum inside the chamber. Once the correct pressure has been reached, the vacuum is released, and two heated bars seal the bag shut.
Depending when you plan to eat your meat you can choose to keep products in the fridge for a longer period of time and can avoid freezing your meat (which we believe affects the taste and tenderness).
At Mandola Food Co, we choose to package all of our beef in Vacuum Sealed bags for your convenience. Also, if you do not eat your beef during the first couple weeks, it will continue its process of wet aging
There are some effects of using Cryovac packaging, but we believe these are far outweighed by the advantages. Specifically, the meat will change to a darker red colour while in the packaging due to the lack of exposure to oxygen. The meat will also sweat while in the packaging and this can result in an unpleasant smell when you first open the packaging (this is not an indication of the freshness of the meat). To overcome both of these effects, all you need to do is when you're ready to eat your meat, simply remove it from the packaging and leave it out for 10-15 minutes. When out of the packaging and exposed to oxygen again the meat will return to the usual red colour. Once you've removed the meat, simply rinse out the bag and throw it in the bin and the smell will disappear too.
MY Product ARRIVED WITH A BROKEN VACUUM SEAL?
Sometimes Vacuum Seal will break while in transfer, specially with products with odd shapes or bones. This is perfectly normal when shipping beef and should not affect the quality of the product. This is a normal risk of ordering beef online to be shipped from somewhere else.
GEL PACKS
The Gel Packs we use for our shipments are NOT toxic and designed to transfer food. As long as you clean them with water from any of the meats, the meats are completely safe to eat.