Sometimes it can be difficult to make a meal every evening of the week, and in many cases, people will turn to takeaways or ready meals.

However, a new family run business in Cheltenham is here to provide a nutritious, and delicious alternative for when you just don’t have the time or energy to cook.

Home Cooked is run by Nikki Harvey-Smith, who says she has always been a dab hand in the kitchen.

“I’ve always been passionate about food and have a flair for cooking,” she said.

Nikki makes home cooked meals – as the name suggests – which customers can either pick up from her kitchen or have delivered to their homes.

“I make everything from scratch,” she continued. “Pasta, sauces, and I cater to any allergy or dietary requirements.”

And here at The Local Answer we were lucky enough to have the chance to sample some of Nikki’s menu.

We were presented with a plethora of meals, including Curried Chicken Lasagne, Creamy Coconut Milk Korma, Chicken Tikka Masala and Tagliatelle Bolognese, which are all on the current Home Cooked menu.

The spread also featured Fish Pie, Stilton and Spinach Quiche and dishes from a new themed curry menu which included Bombay Aloo, Onion Bhajis and Pilaf Rice.

The period of satisfied silence that followed everyone collecting their plates spoke volumes for the quality of the food, as every member of staff gladly tucked into the selection of meals.

For me, the Curried Chicken Lasagne stood out as the highlight – it was something that I had never heard of before and was slightly apprehensive about, but the cheesy pasta and flavoursome chicken worked perfectly. The freshly made tagliatelle also went down a treat.

The Chicken Tikka Masala was also a popular choice and was gone within minutes, as was the Vegan Korma, both of which were rich and creamy with just the right amount of spice in the tikka masala.

The Fish Pie was another personal favourite – bursting with fresh fish and prawns all covered in a smooth sauce. The meal was finished off with a homemade Blackberry and Apple Crumble Pie that had that perfect balance between sweet and tart.

You could really tell that every dish had been made from scratch and they all had that special something that comes with a home cooked meal. The biggest compliment we could give was that there weren’t many leftovers afterwards!

And the fact that Nikki was able to cater to the dietary needs of the whole office – which including nut allergies and a gluten intolerance – while still producing delicious, homely meals was very impressive.

With plans for expanded menus – including themed nights like ‘Curry Friday’ and ‘Chilli Tuesday’, and a summer picnic menu – Nikki is excited for the future of Home Cooked.

“It’s a unique service because we deliver but also customers can come and collect and see the kitchen where their food was made,” she added.

“Also being able to speak to the person preparing you food is unique, I make food to order so I can do things like add less spice depending on tastes and take extra precautions with allergies and intolerances.”

For more information on Home Cooked you can visit www.homecooked43.co.uk or www.facebook.com/homecooked43

To contact Nikki call 07851 063967 or email homecooked43@gmail.com