A private dining experience with La Belle Assiette

Shortly before Christmas, we threw a dinner party for a couple of our friends. Not uncommon you might think, given that we often have friends over and I’m in the habit of feeding people. This was different though – for a start, it wasn’t me doing the feeding. I was one of the people being fed! And, there was no washing up to do either.

We’d been invited to try La Belle Assiette and their private dining services. They’d arranged for Bristol based Italian chef Isabel to come and cook a delicious three course vegan meal for us, in our own home. What a treat!

How does it work?

It’s pretty simple actually. You go to their website, choose the type of food you want (from the chefs available in your area) and number of guests and then La Belle Assiette sorts the rest. They arrange for a chef to call you and arrange the menu and then on the evening itself, the chef will come to your home and prepare and serve a delicious meal for you and your guests. Then, they wash up and go, leaving you with nothing more than full bellies and possibly a hang over.

Our experience

Around a week before the dinner party, our private chef gave me a call to discuss our food options and make sure I have everything she needed in my kitchen. We’d chosen an Italian plant based menu – seeing that Isabel herself is Italian. Everything she suggested sounded delicious and we quickly settled on the following three courses:

Roasted Beetroot salad with pickled vegetables and cashew cheese

Butternut squash & sage risotto 

Orange and coconut pannacotta 

Isabel and her assistant turned up around an hour before our guests were due to arrive to get everything ready. Despite having scrubbed my kitchen to the cleanest it’s EVER been, I was still quite nervous about them being there. It’s a strange experience to see a stranger (and whats more, a qualified chef) using your stuff! Would my pans be ok? Did she have enough bowls? Were the plates big enough?

Turns out there was nothing to worry about. They cooked us the most delicious meal – with stunning presentation throughout and honestly, I can still remember that stunning beetroot starter now. So tasty! And, once we’d gotten used to having them in the kitchen, we were able to really enjoy the evening with our friends – focused on chatting and catching up rather than running in and out to check on the cooking.

Having a La Belle Assiette private chef cook for you at home starts at £39 per person and they have chefs all over the UK cooking a wide range of menus. They work on reviews too so you know that you can trust what the website says (which is a relief if you’re planning something special). Private dining might not be something you’ve considered before but honestly, we had a great time and would definitely recommend it to others!

We were invited to this private dining experience by La Belle Assiette but all opinions are my own, as always!