My husband is a fabulous chef who loves meal planning and cooking. Producing a delicious unplanned weeknight meal for two in 20 minutes, appetizer included – he’s got it covered. Tonight’s dish requires some obscure ingredient – he has it on hand.

While I am one lucky lady, I remain fascinated by the relatively new meal options out there for those not married to an aspiring Ricardo. “Dinner-in-a-box” services like évoilà5 and Cook it are simple: you pre-order meals for the upcoming week, the required recipes and ingredients are then prepared for pick-up or delivered to your front door. No planning, no shopping, no boring meatloaf recipes, no food waste, no restaurant prices. Meal preparation is stripped down to the fun part: the actual cooking that enables you to serve healthy, tasty dishes to your loved ones. Brilliant!

The “you” is critical. Even if you could afford to eat out every night, or hire a personal chef, it wouldn’t be quite the same. There is immeasurable value in using one’s own hands and culinary skills to prepare meals for the family. It is one of modern society’s most significant demonstrations of caring, one we are unlikely to give up anytime soon. The thinking and grocery parts – I’ll “contract those out”. The right to feel “I have it together enough to cook this great meal, just for you” – no way I’ll contract that out on an ongoing basis.