The Fare Trade Food Subscription Box Review – September 2014
The Fare Trade is a new gourmet food subscription box. Each month the box is curated by a different chef who pairs their food selections with their own recipes. It looked like a really interesting subscription to me, and I decided to sign up for a 6-month subscription when Gilt City was offering a deal on subscriptions
This month they even included a tote bag!
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: The Fare Trade
The Cost: $65 a month
The Products: Tastemaker curated products, included extra info and recipes to go with each new food item. (Bonus video content is available for subscribers as well).
Ships to: US only
Check out the Food Subscription Box Directory for similar boxes!
Each box is curated by a different chef. The folded card includes a note from the chef, details on each food item and why it was selected, and the menu they’ve put together.
This month’s box is curated by chef Jeff Mahin.
Each food item comes with a corresponding recipe card.
Mustard and Co. Classic Mustard – Value $7
Empire Mayonnaise White Truffle Mayo – Value $8
We’ve tried both of these products before thanks to subscription boxes and they are equally excellent so I’m happy to have more!
Olivelle Sundried Tomato Balsamic Vinegar – Value $8
Olivelle Blood Orange Extra Virgin Olive Oil – Value $9
I am always happy to get olive oils in subscription boxes – they last until I need them, and I love trying out different flavors. Both of these sound delicious.
Grist + Toll Sonora White Flour – Value $10?
I can’t find this for sale online, so I’m estimating the value. And since I can’t eat gluten this is going to my mom!
Le Bon Garcon Caramels – Bonus
Jacobsen Salt Co. Oregon Flake Salt – Value $11.95
Typically The Fare Trade includes a little dessert type item in addition to the main food selections for the month. (And these caramels are Oprah approved!)
Verdict: This month’s box has a retail value of about $54. I paid less than that with my Gilt City deal, so I’m happy with the value, but in general I’d say this box does not come even in terms of value with the monthly cost of the box. This is the same with Mantry, and both subscriptions put a lot of time and money into presentation and curation, so it’s a trade-off to keep in mind. I am really impressed with all the food items selected this month, and I love that they make unique recipes for each item!
What do you think of The Fare Trade?
Written by Liz Cadman
Your post says it came with a tote but I don’t see it pictured. I was just wondering because I didn’t get the tote in my box either. Also the recipes seem really hard to me. I haven’t made any of them so far.
I started with the August box and have made 4 items from the august box (the crab pasta and the coffee ice cream were particularly good) and 1 so far from september (the sandwich which was really great). I am not looking forward to the next box as much because the items were a little to strange for me. Tried to skip that month but couldn’t figure out how. I love the service but I wish the website were more user friendly and that it wasn’t so expensive to continue.
No tote for me either
I thought this was a great box except I did not get the tote. I already made pizza and the flour was exceptional. Looking forward to the next box and glad I signed up for a 6 month subscription.
This looks like my sort of food subscription! I always use up items like this! Guilt City says offer expired otherwise I would have done it!
I swear I meant Gilt. Lol
I don’t love the value of items in relation to the box, but everything in this box besides the flour looks incredible and special!
I think this box seems similar to the Hatchery box, and that box seems like a better value to me. They both include exclusive recipes, but I like that the Hatchery box offers smaller sized items so you can test out different flavors. I’ve been really wanting to try the Hatchery box, but I’m in school and don’t have a lot of extra money!