We’ll admit we’re not the best in the kitchen… cooking is something we simply don’t find the time for often enough. Don’t get us wrong, we can knock up a breakfast that will make your eyes pop out and our Sunday roast is the stuff of legend, but cooking up something special takes time, love, and skill.
This is where La Belle Assiette comes in by bringing talented chefs into your kitchen to take care of the food while you take care of the party. So when La Belle Assiette asked us if we’d like a chef to cook us a dinner party feast, we got out our little black book of contacts and phoned the one person who would be impressed by this most (our mother). Our chef for the evening was Walter Ishizuka, (20 years of experience and a Michelin star background), who would be cooking up a three-course meal for 5 people… in our kitchen.
Now before we tell you about our experience, you might be thinking, ‘that must have cost a flippin’ fortune’. Well, you’ll be positively surprised to learn that there are three tired pricing options set at £39, £59 and £89 per person… so given what you might spend on average at a decent restaurant, it is very affordable.
[easy-image-collage id=110304]So stage one, we have a phone call with Walter and went through the food, told him about some of the difficult people (the mother) and he adapted the menu to suit, as well as answer a few normal questions like if we had a working oven and a hob – we passed. That was about as difficult as it gets, confirming if you like the sound of certain dishes over the phone and getting a date your guests can make.
The evening of our dinner party we meet Walter at our flat; he’s got a big bag with him and a smile on his face which tells us he’s just as excited as we are. Two hours is the time needed from arrival until the first dish is served so we give Walter the quick tour of the kitchen and then watch him in action until the guests arrive, the prosecco is flowing and the smells are starting to waft up.
We dived into a starter of Cornish crab and mango salad, parmesan crumble, pickled cucumber that zinged with flavour and came presented like a fine dining masterpiece. The main saw a juicy portion of duck take centre stage alongside asparagus on a bed of parsnip purée and drizzled in a sweet ponzu sauce. This melted in the mouth, so delicate and so amazing. Dessert was an intricately put together bed of raspberries, smille-feuille and yuzu cream that again was a knockout in presentation and was as sweet as it looked.
The experience is also brilliant, having a chef introduce each dish as presenting them to each person adds such a personal touch. Plus you’ve got the theatre in the kitchen as the background entertainment, with a chef that can answer any food or kitchen question just feet away from you. Would we do it again? We’d do it tomorrow for sure. It’s a brilliant, easy and affordable way to do something a bit different, something very special or just to impress the new neighbours that takes out the stress of cooking and allows you to take part in the evening instead of being slightly lost in the kitchen. Either way, you’re in for great food and a great time. And yes, he even did the washing up…
Find out more, and book your own chef for the dinner party you want to host with La Belle Assiette.