I suppose it had to happen sooner or later but a smart guy called Gary Cige (who is French, surprisingly) has come up with the idea of a rental-based version of ebay called Zilok.

Actually it’s a great idea for cash-strapped cooks who suddenly need equipment they might only use once or twice. Extra large pans or platters for parties, for example. An extra barbecue for a large family get-together. A preserving pan for jam or marmalade making. A fish kettle. A deep cake tin for making your Christmas cake or a wedding cake.

It would also be a useful way of trying out an appliance to see if you would actually use it much. Like a pressure cooker. a bread machine or an ice cream machine. I recently bought a pressure cooker (on Amazon) to see whether it was a useful asset for a cook on a budget and can only have used it 3 or 4 times.

The downside, I suppose, with appliances being so cheap is that the hire cost may be as much as a third of the purchase price by the time you’ve arranged collection and return. On the other hand you wouldn’t have all the stuff you have cluttering up your home. And of course you can rent out your gear too which would offset the cost.

Zilok has only just launched in the UK today so at the moment there aren’t many options for wannabe renters. When I clicked home and appliances there were ‘no results’ within a radius of 1243.01 miles - and I’m certainly not going to Holland to borrow a bread machine.

It’s an interesting idea, though. Worth keeping an eye on.

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