THERE is a growing trend for what food writers call “slow fast food” which means freezer ready food that has been slowly prepared and home-cooked.

Friends Nancy Gardener and Rebecca Coke of Cavendish Cooks of Bath were quick to tap into this trend and started making upmarket frozen meals for local delivery.

Now, two years later, the business is being rolled out across Dorset so I was invited to try a selection of dishes.

I ordered online, the website (cavendishcooks.co.uk) is clear and easy to navigate and features family favourites such as beef bourguignon, coq au vin, beef wellington, fish pie and seasonal dishes. There are also several vegetarian meals on offer and desserts.

A day later it felt as though Christmas had come early when a large box was delivered to my door.

Everything was neatly packaged using eco-friendly natural fibre insulation so it doesn’t matter if you are not at home when the box arrives as it will be in good condition for several hours.

For the first night my other half and I tucked into potato dauphinoise and beef bourguignon.

The portions were generous – there was enough for two people with added vegetables.

My husband declared it was one of the best he’d tasted in a long time, which I tried not to take too personally!

The next night I had spring roast chicken and rice with chunks of pancetta, shallots, rosemary and thyme which was delicious, while my son tucked into the ragu lasagne, which he assumed was home-made.

The desserts were excellent too – we particularly enjoyed the toffee pecan pie, which was a winner.

This is a great solution for working mums, or anyone who doesn’t always have time to cook meals from scratch, but doesn’t want to resort to processed microwave dinners.

Each meal comes with full instructions on how to defrost and serve.

Main dishes are priced from £4.20 (minimum order £35). All you need to do is pop them in the freezer for whenever takes your fancy.