It was the comedy gloves that struck me first. What were people supposed to think as I crept into a neighbour's back garden, holding a smoking polystyrene box, my hands in surgeons rubber gloves, only to reappear empty-handed?

But they can rest assured. In fact, all I was doing was placing Dining-Made-Easy's delivery in the freezer.

Mine was full, so I had to utilise a friend's and the food package that arrived that morning, frozen in dry ice, required special gloves for handling purposes. So it was all very exciting.

I was stuck for a baby-sitter recently and instead of going into the usual self-induced panic and deciding to prepare the banquet myself, I decided that special occasions merited a bit of cheating.

Dining-Made-Easy has jumped into the black hole left by leapingsalmon.com who used to deliver prepared food to your home, leaving you to apply the finishing touches and pretend it was all yours, a sort of cooking by numbers. Sadly, they now only provide this service in their shops which seem to all be based in London.

D- delivers for dinner parties, special occasions and intimate dinners and all you have to do is choose what you want off the internet, order it and then once it arrives on your doorstep, or on this occasion at the office, cook it. The selection is huge, with a large curry section, and has something to cover ever eventuality and event.

Sounds easy, doesn't it? And it is -- on the whole. But there's still a lot of to-ing and fro-ing to be done.

The first problem is that the company only delivers at the beginning of the week, leaving you to freeze the goods until you need them.

I don't know if your freezer is anything like mine, but making space for dinner for two is like giving birth -- lots of pushing, shoving, huffing and puffing for very little progress.

And then you have to cook the dishes. Both starters, Camembert in breadcrumbs and king prawns in filo pastry, needed deep fat frying and I don't own a deep fat fryer.

The second problem is that the food doesn't come with any extras like garnish or sauces, so you have to ransack the fridge trying to find something that will go. Crab apple jelly and a salad garnish were scrabbled together at the last minute and some long-lost sweet chilli sauce was immersed from a cupboard for the prawns. A couple of sachets included in the delivery would make all the difference. But the food itself was really delicious and you feel quite proud because you cooked it, even if you didn't actually make it.

At the same time, you are concentrating on timing the main courses and their vegetables.

Although all the food is clearly labelled with cooking instructions, it still requires brain power, ie you can't completely relax, because our two mains -- Beef Wellington and Roasted Red Pepper, Spinach & Mushroom en Croute needed to be cooked at varying times. The roasted veg also had to go in the oven, while the mangetout was cooking on the hob.

The mains were terribly extravagant and incredibly rich and we did our best, although without gravy, again it was harder work than expected. Either way, these were complicated dishes which would have taken a long time to source and make ourselves, so the hardest bit is certainly made easier for you and the ingredients and attention to detail is meticulous. It's good grub.

For dessert, we had chocolate bavrois and a coconut ice cream, but we were so full, it was more of a taster than a course.

To appreciate D- fully you need to do some planning. Buy the sauces, garnish, veg and gravy beforehand, and think about the timings before you start, to make things as hassle free as possible.

Otherwise, it's a complete treat and to be recommended. If only they could include something in the D- delivery that does the washing up as well. This meal for four would have come to £55.45, which at only £13.86 per head is a bargain, considering the luxurious menu we enjoyed. As for the gloves, they're complementary.

For more information go to www.dining-made-easy.co.uk

KATHERINE MACALISTER