If you’ve ever dreamed of having a Michelin-level chef cook in your kitchen while you swan around holding a glass of something crisp and sophisticated, you’ll definitely want Berkshire-based private chef collective my’lkd on speed dial. And spoiler alert: it’s nowhere near as pricey as you might think.

Founded by chef Mark Apsey, whose culinary pedigree includes working under Nathan Outlaw, John Campbell and Mark Jordan before heading up the kitchen at the acclaimed Michelin star L’Ortolan, my’lkd delivers beautifully bespoke dining experiences straight to your home. And we’re not talking cookie-cutter set menus here. Whether it’s an elegant tasting menu for a birthday celebration, laid-back tapas-style feasting with friends or a show-stopping garden BBQ using sustainable coal and locally sourced produce, every menu is completely tailored to you.

There’s something wonderfully unfussy about the whole experience. Mark is relaxed, charming and instantly puts people at ease, particularly anyone slightly nervous about someone taking over their kitchen for the evening. The food itself is seriously impressive: refined, flavour-packed and beautifully balanced, with no milk products used in the cooking and a huge emphasis on quality seasonal ingredients from local butchers and greengrocers.

Then there’s the bit nobody really talks about: the economics. Because when you factor in no taxis, no babysitters, no service charge and no restaurant wine mark-ups, it suddenly feels ridiculously reasonable for this level of food and service. Oh, and did I mention? ZERO washing up. Winning.

Frankly, Mark and his team of fantastic private chefs are like culinary fairies. They arrive, produce fine dining restaurant-worthy food with astonishing ease (the majority of the food is prepared in advance from their Reading kitchen FYI), restore your kitchen to spotless perfection and disappear without leaving so much as a crumb. It’s as easy as that. Perfect for special occasions, dinner parties, or when you quite literally can’t face whipping up another sad spag bol (with you on that one).