YOU don’t need to reserve a table, book a taxi or venture out into the cold to enjoy great cuisine.

A top chef is offering to bring the restaurant experience to your own living room with his home fine dining service.

Chef Mathew Dines, 27, from Southend, will cook in your kitchen, bring waiters to serve your meal, and even wash the pans and dishes.

He wants everyone to enjoy his new business, not just people with big houses and posh ovens.

“I want it to be accessible to everyone,” Mathew explains.

“I come to you and serve you in the comfort of your own home. You don’t have to do any travelling. The size of your kitchen doesn’t make a difference.

“Even if you don’t have top-of-the-range facilities, I want the chance to show you it doesn’t matter and I can still make top quality meals.”

Mathew visits clients ahead of their booking to discuss the menu, plan the event and assess the kitchen.

“Ninety nine per cent of the time I can achieve what I want in their kitchen,” he says.

“Occasionally we have to work around it. For example, if there are a lot of people and the oven won’t cater for enough baked food, we’ll look at another direction.”

Mathew cooks for couples wanting a romantic meal in, for family barbecues and for groups of work mates and functions.

He is based in Southend and works mainly around Essex, but will consider travelling further afield for a job.

He brings along his own pans and cutlery and spends the evening preparing the food, leaving the hosts free to hobnob with guests or stare lovingly across their own table at their partner.

Every detail of the evening is planned, right down to how much the party wants their chef to interact with the guests.

“I like to think I am approachable,” Mathew adds.

“I think having a personal chef for the evening adds a bit of excitement.

“Most people might feel awkward at first, but after the first course they get into it.”

Typically his service will include a three to five-course menu, based around contemporary British food. Mathew uses locally-sourced ingredients wherever possible and can tailor meal choices around taste or dietary requirements.

There is even the option for ambience-boosting details, such as specially selected wines, a private musician to play during dinner, fire breathers or party games.

The young chef started by working in local restaurants and cooking for friends and family.

His food impressed them and the positive feedback led to the idea to go professional.

“They loved my style of cooking,” he says, slightly embarrassed by having to spell out his obvious skills in the kitchen.

“It eventually got to the point where I believed I could do this.”

Initially Mathew decided to launch a more conventional catering company for private functions.

But during a brainstorming exercise, the idea of a personal chef popped up and he realised he was on to something.

In the first few months, he began getting great reviews.

“I am amazed by the amount of people who said it has been a really nice experience,” he says.

“I guess, I will eventually come up against people who won’t be happy with something.

“But the good thing about this is I can accommodate that, go back into their kitchen and deliver something else.”

And he says the service has appealed to a surprisingly wide audience.

He adds: “I thought it would be something associated with an older, more cultured generation.

“But in fact it has been enjoyed by a real mixture. I have to remember I am in their home, but luckily I am a people person and enjoy getting to know them.”

As well as his personal chef and catering services, he is also offering bespoke cookery lessons in customers’ own homes.

Mathew believes his service is more than a novelty and is dedicated to making a success of it.

“I am 100 per cent focused,” he insists. “It’s a great idea and I know it’s going to be a success.

“It’s just about convincing people that the latest great restaurant is actually their own home!”

For more information call 07757 080616 or visit www.chefmathew dines.co.uk