I have wanted to try one of these “cook your heart out in our kitchen instead of yours” franchises for a while. When my friend invited me to a “party,” I had to sign up. I went to the Marietta, Georgia location in a strip shopping center called The Avenue. The place was spotless and two cheerful workers told me how it works: I had pre-selected a dozen entrees from their menu, which changes monthly. My husband is a vegetarian, so I got two pastas, two shrimp dishes, and two fish dishes for him. I’m a meat-eater who hates seafood, so I chose some other yummy items for myself: blue-cheese-bacon-stuffed turkey burgers, two chicken dishes, two beef dishes and some marinated pork. (Yes, dinner hour at the Chez Ghezzi can be complicated ... )

Everything was all set up. I moved from station to station, following the easy directions to make my meals. It was, pretty much just as I’d been promised. I was a bit pokey and the last to finish. When I did, I paid $160 for my food, packed it up in a cooler and returned home. For the next few weeks, the dinner hour was a bit less stressful, as I followed the brief, easy instructions to cook up my meals.

The burning question, of course: How did it taste? Everything was tasty. A few things were not quite to my liking, such as the BBQ sauce for the steak, which I found too sweet. But overall the food was fresh and high quality, and the recipes were appealing while still offering a little zing such as the cashew chutney that accompanied my chicken. I do think this process saves on food waste, though if the company has food go to waste, I don’t know if that serves the overall good. And the convenience ... LOVE IT.

Now, the downside. First, price. This was an expensive luxury. Some of my friends swear it works out to be cost effective, but I don’t see it. Most entrees required filling out with a salad, some vegetables, brown rice or something like that. With the shrimp, the servings, which were supposed to feed two to three, only made a portion and a half for my husband, who is not a piggy eater. I am a piggy eater, but I couldn’t finish the flank steak entree, after eating it for three days straight.