Be careful ordering expensive, parishable food during winter months

For my New Year’s dinner, I thought it would be fun to order a turkey Wellington from Harry & David, a company that sells gift baskets and gourmet food and wine.

I’d ordered their lobster pot pie for gifts plus dessert and wine gifts with no problems.

However, my turkey Wellington, scheduled to arrive Dec. 28, wasn’t delivered until Jan. 7. It was frustrating to watch the tracking information as my New Year’s dinner sat in the FedEx warehouse. Sure, we had a winter snow storm, unusual for the Seattle area, but long after the roads had cleared my dinner sat in the warehouse with the status of delayed.

I finally guessed that FedEx was having trouble getting enough employees to make deliveries during the omicron surge. It wasn’t a FedEx truck that delivered the Harry & David package; it was a guy with a station wagon who had a FedEx sign in the back window.

I made an additional mistake of ordering a turkey Wellington for a friend who just had knee replacement surgery. It also was late and delayed.

It became apparent that my turkey Wellington, if ever delivered, wouldn’t be safe to eat. So, I called about a replacement and guess what? It also was delayed. I baked it, but didn’t eat it. See the photo above.

I did get a refund from Harry & David for the two turkey Wellingtons, an apology, and a 20 percent off coupon for my next order.

So my advice is, don't order expensive, perishable food during winter months. While the dry ice in a light-weight Styrofoam container usually works for two-day shipping, it certainly isn’t adequate for a 10-day delivery.