When your fridge is empty save for a bit of sour milk and bacon scraps, wouldn't it be great to have a live-in chef to rustle up dinner for you?

The Cole family from Gloucester got the next best thing when leading chef Rob Rees turned up to cook them a three-course meal from leftovers.

The gourmet known as the Cotswold Chef, who has cooked at embassies and palaces across the world, took over the family's kitchen in Longlevens to launch Zero Waste Challenge Week.

The ethos behind the week is environmental, but with the typical household throwing away more than £600 of food a year, it's also about saving money.

Mr Rees said: "I remember being told in my early days as a chef that the tiniest bit of waste was the difference between a Mini and a Rolls Royce.

"Yet despite being in the restaurant business, my family has always been quite extravagant with food, and our household waste was ridiculous.

"So for the past six months we have really been knuckling down and I've been cooking like my grandma used to, using up leftovers to make chicken rissoles, cottage pie and so on. It's amazing what you can do with the bits that are destined for your dustbin, and it's as good for the money in your pocket as for the environment.

"Milk that's just on the turn makes excellent soda bread. Wrinkly apples make fantastic fritters and leftover ham and potatoes can be rustled up into a Spanish omelette."

Using recipes in a new A-Z guide to cooking leftovers produced by the Recycle For Gloucestershire partnership, Mr Rees cooked up a three-course dinner for Kate and Martin Cole and their three children Theo, 14, Phoebe, 11, and Florrie, nine.

The family have signed up to the Zero Waste Challenge, kicking off on January 26, when they will attempt to live for a week without producing any waste that can't be recycled or composted.

Mrs Cole said she had noticed cutting waste and saving money went hand in hand.

"A lot of the budget brands have the least packaging," she said. "We found lasagne in plain cardboard boxes whereas the posh stuff comes with lots of plastic wrapping."

Eat Well Waste Less: An A-Z Guide to Using Up Leftovers is produced by Recycle For Gloucestershire, a partnership of the county's local authorities.