Twice a year I host a big dinner. One in the summer and a Christmas dinner. Together with my dear friend Merel, we come up with the menu, do the shopping, the decorations, we are in the kitchen and serve it. Yep, a lot to do. Luckily, we also get enough help from the guests (my girlfriends with their dates) on the night itself. Refilling drinks and such. Or buying more drinks (during the evening) because it all goes way too fast. Well, you know how it is.

When you invite people yourself, you are always in charge. It's not like you can just sit in your chair all evening with a glass in your hand and chat with your tablemates. No, if you're looking for me, I'm in the kitchen or clearing something up or refilling drinks.
Well, if you also want to host a dinner at home, but feel like handing it over to someone else for a change, that’s of course possible too. It does cost a bit more than doing it yourself, you understand that. I’ll give you a few options where you don’t have to cook yourself, but still eat deliciously at home.

Marleen cooks
This woman serves incredibly delicious organic dishes at home. Made fresh every day in her own kitchen and you only have to warm it up in the oven. She delivers it (by bike!) in beautiful white porcelain dishes that you can just put on the table. This could be an option to let someone else do the cooking. ‘Marleen cooks’ is very suitable for small groups. I would say up to about 12 people. On her site, you can see what the menu of the day is and you order a day in advance. You pay about 11 euros per person for this. This amount is without drinks and without dessert.

The Lion Kitchen
Sesanne has her own food blog, The Lion Kitchen, from which I often draw inspiration. No fuss with super skinny and gluten-free or whatever food, just very tasty, pure, and nutritious. Good pasta dishes, tasty burgers, delicious pieces of fish, and she photographs them all on the most beautiful plates. But besides posting a dish on her blog every day, she also comes to cook at your home. The Lion for rent. You discuss the menu and the price you want to spend per person with her. Think about at least 35 euros per person for a 3-course meal. Sesanne does fresh shopping at the market and comes to cook in your own kitchen. If it’s large groups, she does that together with another nice chef. They serve the courses, so you can stay seated. You just have to arrange the wine yourself. But that’s not so bad because then you can choose your favorite. I find The Lion Kitchen very suitable for dinners with girlfriends, as it doesn’t have to be very expensive and Sesanne could be a friend of mine.

By Gusto
Sven, founder of ByGusto, has often provided the snacks at parties and events we have organized with Amayzine and recently he also cooks dinner for us if we want. Good lasagnas, salmon from the oven, and yesterday there was stamppot on the menu. He also loves to cook at home or he prepares it in his own kitchen in Amsterdam and finishes it in your kitchen. You can just do the decorations and serving yourself, but if you want to hand that over too, that’s possible as well. I always find it nice to decorate the place myself, choose the linen and the dishes. If you prefer not to deal with serving and clearing, you can also hire staff from him. I think Sven is especially great for large parties. I believe he doesn’t really flinch at 200 people. And oh yes, his sweet potato fries with truffle mayo are to die for.