A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette

Saturday, 13 June 2015
La Belle Assiette is a French start-up that recently launched in London, through our website one is able to book a chef that will come to your home with all the ingredients they need to cook a delicious meal. They will cook in your kitchen, serve each dish to you and make sure the kitchen is left sparkling before leaving. Simply allowing you to enjoy the company of your guests.



How fantastic does that sound? When I was asked if I would like to host a test dinner for La Belle Assiette I entered my postcode into their website with some trepidation. Would a London based French company really have chefs in Aberdeenshire? I was thrilled to discover that they do with Rupert and Louisa who met while teaching at London's Leiths School of Food and Wine recently relocating to the area.

A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner party

A date was chosen, menu provided and guests invited. Rupert gave me a quick call to introduce himself, confirm timings and ask a wee bit about my kitchen and what equipment I had available. I'm pretty well kitted out kitchen wise but no worries if your kitchen is on the small side. In that case the chef will prepare most of the work in advance and finalise the dishes at your home. Similarly if you lack any equipment the Chef will bring it. 

A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner party

It felt rather surreal to be expecting guests to arrive for dinner but not having done any planning, preparation or cooking. I kept forgetting that it was happening! Pretty much all I had to do in advance was clean and tidy the kitchen (as much for the benefit of the chefs and photographer as my guests!!), look out cutlery and crockery and organise the drinks. 

AMUSE BOUCHE Flatbreads with beetroot, smoked mackerel and dill

AMUSE BOUCHE
Flatbreads with beetroot, smoked mackerel and dill

It was lovely to be able to spend time with my guests when they arrived rather than constantly popping back and forth to the kitchen to check on the food. Pre dinner drinks of Heather Mule from Tipplebox were quaffed and it was time to be seated at the dining table. Again it was a novelty to not have to sit in the chair that provided easiest access to the kitchen. As barman for the night Foodie Loon was of course positioned to give him best access to the drinks as Rupert & Louisa served up our dinner and introduced each dish. 

A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner partySTARTER Scallops with black pudding and cauliflower

STARTER
Scallops with black pudding and cauliflower




MAIN COURSE Chicken with Jersey Royals, asparagus and broad beans

MAIN COURSE
Chicken with Jersey Royals, asparagus and broad beans

A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner party
A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner party
DESSERT Creme caramel with Sauterne jelly and golden raisins

DESSERT
Creme caramel with Sauterne jelly and golden raisins




The whole meal was absolutely delicious and stunning to look at. A real fine dining experience in my own home. It worked particularly well because my dining kitchen gave a real chefs table experience. A little more interaction with chefs would have made the evening even more special and slightly more time between courses would have been better but the actual food could not be faulted. I did feel rather guilty when it came to the washing up. The promise from La Belle Assiette is that "your kitchen will be left sparkling". I had to sheepishly explain to Rupert & Louisa that unfortunately our dishwasher was broken and the repair man wasn't coming until Monday. I did however provide a pair of Marigolds. It's glamour all the way in the world of a private chef!

A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner party
A stress free dinner party with La Belle Assiette, private chef, dining at home, fine dining, dinner party

Disclosure: We dined with La Belle Assiette at a discounted rate in return for providing feedback in order to validate the chefs.
All photos within this post are by Liana Mitrea Photography.

15 comments

  1. Wow this sounds amazing, a chef cooking and providing you a gourmet meal in your own home.

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    Replies
    1. It was, but slightly surreal too, but I could definitely get used to it!

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  2. Absolutely fascinating!! More businesses need to do this. Do away with takeaways - hire personal home chefs instead! Superb!! Can you send them up to Shetland? :D

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    1. Have you checked their website Elizabeth? Maybe there is someone in Shetland.

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  3. Boy am I jealous! I've just agreed to host 11 of my partner's family in a couple of weekend's time. I think I could do with a private chef! That way I can just focus on drinking the gin :D

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    Replies
    1. Gosh that's a big number to cater for by yourself! Best stay off the Gin until they are all fed.

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  4. My OH has a uni friends reunion planned soon and how amazing would it be to have La Belle Assiette help us out. You lucky thing.

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    Replies
    1. Their service would work perfectly for something like that. Costs no more than you'd pay for a meal out and you provide your own drinks. Win. Win.

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  5. This looks like a lot of fun! And wonderful food :)

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    Replies
    1. It was such a relaxed evening. All the fun of having friends round but with none of the stress.

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  6. This looks marvellous! Need to find out more for my next dinner party :-)

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    Replies
    1. Hi Lucy, Millie from La Belle Assiette here! Definitely have a look on our website, select the location and date for the dinner party to browse the menus. You can then filter them to suit you and choose a price range that suits your budget, menus start from £30 per guest! https://labelleassiette.co.uk/

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    2. Give it a try Lucy, you won't be disappointed. Cost effective too for a larger group.

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  7. Oh my, this would be my dream Claire, I am so jealous! When I worked in catering I used to turn my hand to waitressing in the evening after a day in the kitchen and always dreamed of one day being the customer - still hasn't happened! The food looked fabulous and I'm sure my shade of green will wear off today (eventually):-)

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    Replies
    1. Dreams do come true! Hopefully you can be the customer one day. The food was indeed outstanding.

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